Exercise during pregnancy can support both your physical and mental well-being while helping prepare your body for labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery. Whether you exercised regularly before pregnancy or are thinking about becoming more active now, it’s important to understand how to work out safely while pregnant.

While many forms of exercise are considered safe during pregnancy, your body also goes through major physical changes that may require modifications to your usual routine. Here’s what to know about exercising during pregnancy, including benefits, safety tips, recommended activities, and workouts to avoid.

Working Out When Pregnant

Talk to your obstetric care provider about exercise at your first prenatal visit.³ Healthy women are encouraged to get at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week during pregnancy. However, there are a few conditions in which exercise may harm you or your baby.^1,4 If your OB care provider gives you the green light to work out when pregnant and you were already active before, you can discuss modification recommendations. If you were not physically active before pregnancy, they can help you develop a pregnancy workout routine to help promote your and your baby’s health.²

If you already have a packed schedule, you may wonder how you can fit the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week.3 You can get creative and break it up into 30 minutes of activity at least five days a week. If that doesn’t sound feasible, try dividing 30 minutes into 10-minute activity sessions three times daily.^3,4

Changes in Pregnancy

As your body undergoes significant changes, your ability to stay physically active during pregnancy may require some adaptations due to the following:

Relaxin

This pregnancy hormone helps soften your pelvic ligaments to make room for your growing baby.² Relaxin also loosens ligaments in other joints, making them more mobile, which can put them at an increased risk for injury. Try to avoid high-impact jerking movements that may strain your joints.³

Balance

As your baby grows, the distribution of weight in your body changes, causing your center of gravity to shift forward. This can affect your balance when performing certain exercises.² To increase your stability and avoid falling, try to move mindfully and perhaps a bit more slowly during your prenatal workout.³

Breathing

During pregnancy, your body demands more oxygen.⁴ You may notice some shortness of breath performing activities that you could previously do without much effort, such as walking uphill. This is due to an increase in progesterone, a pregnancy hormone that can cause you to breathe faster even in early pregnancy.

As your uterus grows, this reduces the space your lungs have to expand, so feeling winded during exercise is common.⁵ It is okay to scale back your workout intensity to breathe more comfortably.

Heart Rate

The natural progression of pregnancy increases the average heart rate of pregnant women.³ Your heart must beat harder and faster, even without physical activity, to keep up with your body’s and baby’s oxygen demands.⁴ During pregnancy, your pre-pregnancy target heart rate is no longer the best way to monitor workout intensity. Your goal is to exercise at a moderate level of intensity, which means you are sweating, but you can talk throughout your activity.¹⁰

Related: How and Why Your Body Changes During Pregnancy

Benefits of Exercise During Pregnancy

Here are some of the physical and psychological benefits you can gain when you exercise during pregnancy:^2,4,10

• Increased energy levels
• Improved physical fitness
• Less back pain
• Healthy weight management
• Faster postpartum recovery
• Reduced stress
• Better sleep quality
• Relief from constipation
• Possible reduction in gestational diabetes and preeclampsia risk
• Lower risk of Cesarean delivery

Safe Exercises During Pregnancy

Fatigue during pregnancy can make it hard to stay physically active. To maintain motivation, you’ll want to choose things you will enjoy. There are many safe ways to work out while pregnant, such as walking, riding a stationary bike, and doing pregnancy exercises like prenatal yoga.⁴ But what about other activities?

Can You Run While Pregnant?

If you were a runner before your pregnancy and have talked with your OB care provider, continuing to run should not hurt your baby’s health.⁷ If you want to begin running during pregnancy, let your OB care provider know before starting a running regimen.⁸

Can You Lift Weights While Pregnant?

If your pregnancy is uncomplicated, strength conditioning with weights or resistance bands can be beneficial during and after pregnancy. Discuss weight lifting with your OB care provider to receive individualized weight recommendations.⁹

After your first trimester, try to avoid overhead weight lifting to prevent worsening of lower back discomfort.¹

Related: Pregnancy Exercises that Tighten and Tone

Can Pregnant Women Bowl?

Bowling is a low-impact activity, and as long as your OB care provider clears you, it should be safe. You may need to adjust your form to maintain your balance as your growing belly shifts your center of gravity forward. Also, remember that loosening joints increases your risk of injury, so bowl gently.⁹

Is Swimming Safe During Pregnancy?

Swimming is one of the safest pregnancy exercises you can do, and many OB care providers recommend it for healthy patients. Swimming offers a good aerobic workout while being gentle on your joints, without the risk of losing your balance and falling.⁸

The Don’ts: Exercises To Avoid During Pregnancy

Certain activities are not recommended if you’re looking to stay physically active during pregnancy due to their increased risk of causing injury to you and your baby. These include anything that puts you at risk for:

• Activities with abdominal impact risk: Boxing, martial arts, ice hockey, and other contact sports^2,3
• Activities with a high fall risk: Downhill skiing, horseback riding, mountain biking, and gymnastics³
• Overheating activities: Hot yoga, hot Pilates, or exercising outdoors in excessive heat^3,4
• Activities involving pressure changes: Scuba diving²
• High-altitude exercise: Hiking above 6,000 feet if you do not normally live at high altitude³

If you are unsure whether a specific workout is safe during pregnancy, check with your OB care provider before trying it. Also, tune into your body. If your body feels like it needs rest on a planned workout day, it’s okay to rest and conserve your energy.²

When Can You Work Out Again After Giving Birth?

After delivery, you and your OB care provider can discuss when it is safe to resume workouts. If you have an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, it may be as soon as a few days after giving birth if you are feeling up to it. If you have a C-section, you may need to take things more slowly, as this is a major abdominal surgery, and your body will need more time to recover.⁴

Gradually increasing exercise intensity is vital postpartum. Physical activity postpartum has been shown to decrease the incidence of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders like postpartum depression. Physical activity is also encouraged in lactating women and should not affect your milk supply.¹⁰

If your OB care provider has cleared you for exercise, staying physically active during pregnancy can be a healthy way to support both your body and your growing baby. Choosing low-impact activities you enjoy and modifying workouts as needed can help make exercise feel more manageable and sustainable throughout pregnancy. Most importantly, listen to your body, prioritize safety, and appreciate all the incredible changes your body is going through during this season.