My Current Approach to Training During Pregnancy

The goal of my training right now is to get the benefits of exercise without creating unnecessary fatigue, stress, or recovery demands.

I am finally feeling like I am moving through the thick of the first trimester, and honestly, I can taste a little bit of “normalcy” in my training again.

My current plan throughout the week is generally three strength training days and three cardio days. Some days I feel really good. Other days, not as much. Because of that, this season has required a lot more autoregulation, flexibility, and listening to my body. It is not a season of simply pushing through, and that has been such a powerful lesson for me to learn.

Right now, my body’s top priority is not performance.

Its top priority is creating and sustaining life.

Exercise is still incredibly valuable in this season, but I no longer view training as something that should take everything out of me. I view it as something that should support my health, support this pregnancy, and prepare my body for labor, delivery, postpartum, and motherhood.

Exercise and strength training during pregnancy can be incredibly beneficial for both mom and baby, especially for women who were already exercising leading up to pregnancy.

Movement during pregnancy can help support:

• blood sugar regulation

• energy levels

• mood and mental health

• circulation

• mobility and posture

• sleep quality

• maintaining muscle mass and strength

• labor and delivery preparation

• postpartum recovery

• reducing aches and pains associated with pregnancy

• overall physical resilience entering motherhood

It is also an incredible opportunity to practice better breathing mechanics, core control, mobility, and movement awareness rather than becoming completely sedentary and losing some of the strength and movement capacity that are incredibly helpful throughout pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and motherhood itself.

For me personally, training right now looks relatively similar to how it did before pregnancy, just with a very different intention behind it.

Before pregnancy, I often trained hard. Most working sets probably lived around an RPE 8 or 9. I enjoyed pushing myself and seeing improvements week to week.

Now, most sessions live closer to an RPE 6 or 7.

I am focusing more on quality movement, breathing well throughout lifts, leaving more in the tank, and taking longer recovery when needed.

My goal is no longer to finish a workout completely exhausted.

I am paying much closer attention to hydration, fueling, sleep, and recovery than ever before. I am sleeping more than I ever have in my life. I am avoiding overheating and dehydration. I am learning when to push a little and when to pull back.

I am also doing more mobility work and spending more intentional time on breathing and deep core work, which I will talk more about in the future. But aside from that, my training honestly still looks pretty similar from the outside.

Interestingly enough, I think these are principles we should all probably practice more often, regardless of the season of life we are in.

Autoregulation.
Breathing well.
Moving with control.
Paying attention to recovery.
Listening to our bodies instead of constantly overriding them.

Those are not just “pregnancy training principles.”

They are good training principles.

This season has reminded me that exercise does not always have to be about doing more, getting more exhausted, or proving how hard we can push ourselves.

Sometimes the goal is simply to move well, feel good, support your body, and build a foundation that serves you long-term.