It’s Been a Minute
First off, I apologize that I have been hit or miss lately with blog posts. We have had a lot going on in our household and once we know exactly which direction things are moving I will fill you in on all of it! Until then, I want to discuss what I discussed in my last blog post – workout routines, but this time I want to focus on my pregnancy workout routine.
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Congratulations!
If you are reading this blog post I assume you are either pregnant, soon to be, or planning to be one day soon – so congratulations! What an exciting time! I must admit though that becoming pregnant this third time around was met with so much joy but also some anxiety on my part. I was finally in a good workout groove and was seeing the progress in my body. It initially felt daunting thinking about how I would still continue having an effective workout while pregnant and not completely lose all the progress I have made over the past year or so.
I am happy to say that at the official halfway point of my pregnancy I feel that I have found a great balance between having a pregnancy safe workout without sacrificing good results. I’m here to share my pregnancy workout routine so that maybe you can find a beneficial workout routine that works for you too!
Fears
It may be silly, but as much as I have prayed for this pregnancy and as excited as I am to be pregnant, this pregnancy has also been met with a lot of fears. These fears are not just due to physique and not wanting to lose the progress I’ve made over the last year or so. After our last pregnancy, I have had a lot of anxiety over the health of this baby. We lost our last child five hours after she was born due to a disorder called Edward’s Syndrome (Trisomy 18).
My body went through a lot during those nine months and the recovery felt just as hard. By far, it was a harder postpartum year than I had experienced with our first child. My body naturally seemed to go back to its pre-pregnancy ways after about a year with our first, but after our second child it took A LOT of work to get back in shape.
I have found myself fearing for the health of this third baby and for my own health. Not just that, but I just got my body back to where I wanted it to be after having our second child and I know that I hit the reset as my body is sure to change in this pregnancy and in the next postpartum recovery once again.
Fighting the Fears
Safe to say I have kept busy in this pregnancy to keep my mind from focusing on the PTSD that I have carried from the last pregnancy into this one. While my second pregnancy was a huge blessing it was stressful. There have been many moments in this pregnancy that my husband and I have held a baited breath waiting to know if everything is okay with this little one.
Working out has actually been a fantastic way to stay busy. Working out is also proven to be beneficial for mental health which I can attest to. For more reasons than one, a workout routine is a great way to stay both mentally and physically fit throughout your pregnancy and into your postpartum period no matter your past, present, or future situations.
The Routine
In my last blog post, A Homemaker’s Workout Routine, I broke down in length what I was doing workout wise over the last year or so before becoming pregnant again. My goal in this pregnancy was to keep up with a similar routine, but one that was entirely pregnancy safe. Of course, before you do any workouts in pregnancy it is always good to check with your doctor on what you should and should not do in your specific pregnancy. I cleared my workout routine with my doctor too!
Since my goal has been to keep up with a similar workout routine to what I was doing before pregnancy that has meant that I wanted to include cardio and weight lifting into my routine – and honestly not much had to change!
Cardio
My pre-pregnancy cardio has been nearly identical to my pregnancy safe cardio. My doctor cleared me to continue using a weighted vest for my daily walks. I figure at some point, as my belly gets bigger this may become less comfortable, but for now at the halfway point I am still quite comfortable wearing my vest. With that being said, I have stopped trying to increase the weight of the vest and am happy leaving it at the weight it was when I became pregnant. While you can increase the weight in pregnancy, I would rather focus on that in weight lifting and keep the weight vest similar as I will be carrying more weight naturally as the baby grows and I gain the inevitable weight that comes with a healthy pregnancy.
That natural weight gain and carrying around the extra weight of the baby can also be in lieu of a weighted vest. Since you will already be carrying around extra weight do not feel like you have to use a weighted vest on top of everything else – especially if it feels uncomfortable as you progress in pregnancy and with a growing baby bump!
I have continued walking the same distance (approximately 5,000 steps which takes me about 45 minutes) and for the same amount of days which is 7 days a week. (The walking pad I previously purchased is not on Amazon anymore, but I recently got a new one and while the exact version is no longer sold this one looks identical.)
Weight Lifting
Right before this pregnancy I was really getting into my weight lifting groove. Weight lifting had become my new focus as I felt I had hit a lot of my base workout goals that I had created for myself after my last pregnancy. I was starting to focus on trying to fatigue muscle groups to actually strengthen and grow them further – aka progressive overload if you are familiar with that term. Essentially, the goal is to increase the weight of the weights you are lifting and get close to or hit failure with the exercise you are performing.
After much research, and fighting the fear mongering you will find out there, it is completely safe for most pregnant women (unless your doctor has told you otherwise or something feels off or painful) to lift weights close to failure. You will want to do this gradually, or do less weight and get close to failure in under 30 reps if you are really nervous about lifting too heavy.
I am still sorting out my favorite way of getting close to hitting failure. Since I was just entering this phase before this pregnancy I was in a period of adjustment with my general workout routine, so making it pregnancy safe has been a work in progress as I have found what works for me personally. I like using free YouTube videos for my structured weight lifting classes which I will share down below.
My Pregnancy Safe Weight Lifting YouTube Videos
During my pregnancy I decided that I wanted to switch from a full body weight lifting session to doing arms, legs, and core on separate days in conjunction with my cardio. I do cardio every single day, usually in the morning or early afternoon if the mornings are too busy. My breakdown for weight lifting is: Monday and Thursday: Upper Body / Tuesday and Friday: Lower Body / Wednesday and Saturday: Core / Sunday: Rest Day (I still do cardio though).
My favorite upper body workout videos:
(Note: I am in my second trimester so I included a second trimester video, but Lauren Fitter has some great videos for each trimester. While I have been using a lot of Lauren Fitter’s videos I have started expanding into using Nourish Move Love who I also highly recommend but I have only included one video as I am newer to her channel.)
My favorite lower body workout videos:
My favorite core workout videos:
A Good Reminder
There have definitely been a few days, especially in the first trimester where I did not have the energy levels nor did I feel well enough to workout. Remember, listen to your body, and if you need rest take it. Rest is super important in pregnancy especially during that classically difficult first trimester. A day or two, even a week or two is not going to hurt you to miss. With my first pregnancy, I didn’t workout the entire first trimester and that was completely okay!
There You Go Mamas!
There is my simple and straightforward pregnancy workout routine. It is relatively fast, with on average 15 minute weight lifting sessions, about 45 minutes of cardio, a good variety to keep it fun and interesting and to hit every muscle group, and most importantly all of the workouts are pregnancy safe. Even if you aren’t pregnant, these workouts are great if you have suffered any injuries, and many are postpartum safe too.
Just remember, if you need to rest, then rest. Consistency is super important and is often better than having a really challenging workout session just here or there. Getting good rest, staying hydrated, and eating well balanced meals are also important. Working out is just part of the health plan, but it can do a lot mentally and physically in pregnancy and after. You’ve got this mama!
Looking for More Inspiration?
My last blog post was an in depth look at my workout routine over the last several years through all stages of life, so if you are not pregnant or are in the postpartum stage go check it out. We are still in the season of spring so if you are in full spring mode don’t forget to download my free Spring 2026 Bucket List which you can find here.
Lastly, you know that I always am going to remind you guys (because I don’t want you to miss out!) I have a free downloadable year long cleaning checklist which you can get for FREE on my Homepage. Scroll down near the bottom of the page and click on “Download Your Checklist!” to receive it instantly in your email. It is perfect for spring cleaning!
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