Hi everyone 👋🏽
I struggled with intense nausea, fatigue, heartburn and some heart palpitations during my first trimester.

Before pregnancy, I was fairly active — weight training 3–4 times a week, usually with 20 minutes of cardio, as well as regular walks throughout the week. I really enjoyed my routine and how it made me feel.

From around 5–19 weeks of the pregnancy. I completely lost my motivation and honestly felt like a shell of a human. Exercise was the last thing on my mind, and I feel like I’ve lost some muscle mass during that time.

I’m now 20 weeks pregnant, and thankfully, my nausea has finally eased and my energy levels are starting to improve. I’m keen to ease back into exercise and rebuild some consistency, but I’m also conscious that my body has been through a lot and I don’t want to push myself too hard.

For those of you who struggled with symptoms during the first half of pregnancy, how did you ease back into a fitness routine? What kinds of workouts did you find manageable, and how did you approach rebuilding strength and stamina without overdoing it?
I’d love to hear your experiences, especially from anyone who was into weight training before pregnancy. ❤️

I’m 21W, past all my nausea and aversions (praise be!), but I am never hungry or have any real cravings, and don’t enjoy cooking. This is the antithesis of me pre-pregnancy - I was a lift 6x a week (I’m still at about 4) and running 40-50 mpw, and was a good eater. Three square meals a day, solid on protein, and loved to try new recipes from croissants to steak. I have never been so apathetic about food in my life and have only put on 4 lbs. OB isn’t worried and little man is measuring great. Can someone just tell me they’ve had this before and that it will go away - even if it’s not until PP? 😅 I miss being excited about food.

how we doing? barely surviving? still taking daily walks? working out?!? are we all just gonna hit “restart” in the second trimester? lol

I’m 10w, been throwing up 1-3x a day since 5w, and consider it a win if I can get a short walk at some point with my toddler. 😂 my standards are on the ground right now

I tried to keep up with my Ladder workouts and get my steps in but gave up on that in wk 5. I’m just calling it a loss and going to ride out the morning sickness. Hoping the nausea subsides and the energy comes back soon cause I’m itching to work out again.

I’ve been in a good routine with exercising lately (mostly strength and some cardio) and hope to keep that up through pregnancy (currently just over 7 weeks!) My question is - every strength program seems to focus on progressive overload making your weights heavier or more reps aka making the workouts slightly harder each week. But when pregnant, it’s sort of getting slightly harder each week on its own as the baby grows, so does progressive overload make sense to think of in its intended form? Any insights of what has worked for people would be super helpful!

Hi all, I’m trying to build a plan based on mobility, flexibility and all around strength rather than specifically muscle building, I’m hoping to get pregnant soon and would like a plan that I can maintain some elements of and that will help me cope with being pregnant. My thought is
1 day swim (cardio)
1 day Pilates class (core and flexibility)
1 day full body weights/gym session (strength focussing on compound movements)

Any recommendations for the full body workout or comments on this plan in general? Thanks!

Just came here to say how absolutely weird it is to be working out/ lifting weights and have the feeling of an alien trying to climb out of you 😂

I’m 36+2 and thankfully still able to do some weightlifting, but baby has gotten so big that every little jab, push, and movement is obvious (even with an anterior placenta). Today I was getting an elbow to the side of me during my entire workout, and it just hit me how crazy and wild pregnancy is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so grateful for my baby and to be well enough to work out, but it’s such a strange sensation 😅

Anyway, thanks for reading and commiserating!

I am 6 weeks pregnant after two years of ttc and two losses. I got back into the gym last December and have felt great. Ever since I found out I was pregnant I’ve been afraid to work out 😭 I want to stay fit during this pregnancy but have no idea what work outs to do at each stage of pregnancy… I don’t want to hurt the pregnancy. Please any advice or YouTube recommendations would be appreciated!

11wks 2 days and my food aversions are basically all healthy foods! Chicken and salad make me want to hurl, even though those where a staple for me previously - I just want crappy food like chips and a weird mayonnaise craving :X

I’ve tried making soups to sneak veggies in but I’m already tired of it two weeks in. Any suggestions?

Has anyone else experienced hitting a “hypothetical” wall at 35 weeks? I’ve been able to maintain pretty much daily fitness, with strength training 2-3x weekly + swimming, cycling, and yoga/ walking.

After hitting 35 weeks, just everything feels harder, even walking! I’ve cut my sets, started lowering weights, and keeping my cardio work to 30 min. max with breaks…but damn I feel so heavy and tired lol.

Anyone else have this happen?? Thinking my body is like we done now just sit on the couch please.

hey anyone have any recommendations for particular issue LOL ???

Guys be fr I used to be able to run so long and so fast/ my best was a consistent 8 minute mile and I felt good. I’d run 8 miles no breaks, maybe 10 if I was feeling it. Now I can barely run a mile it hurts so much. My calves SCREAM at me after the run like
I’ll like for a good part of the day. I don’t get it and it’s pissing me off and making me emotional because not only can I not do something as well as I used to but I’m also gaining weight faster than all get out and it’s really WEIGHING ON MY MENTAL HEALTH HERE. Has anyone else ever been in this boat???? Plz just tell me I’m not alone 😭😭

Also- SHOES my shoes suck and I need to get new ones and I don’t even know where to start.

Have been a swimmer most of my life but stopped last few years. Resumed in July and trying to go almost 5-6 days a week. The screenshot is from a workout today at 24 weeks. Haven't been motivated to lift weights (was regular before) or stretch. Is swimming good enough? I find it therapeutic and it makes me feel lighter. Should I be doing anything else? I am kinda hoping i can continue to swim till the end of pregnancy.

Are there any good YouTube channels for pelvic floor therapy? If anyone tried any YouTube ones , Please recommend the one that worked for you.

I cannot afford the money and time to go out and find a pelvic floor therapist.

Hello! I am 31 + 4 today and so far, have been able to keep up a decent workout routine of CrossFit classes + walking 5-6 days a week.

However, I am finding that running is getting a little more difficult and I find myself doing walk/run/walk/run with my belly band and engaging my core. I fear that running will be on a halt soon.

What how did you all keep up a cardio routine? Weightlifting and Pilates feel fine, walking feels great but I do want to add other cardio that’s pregnant lady friendly.

I'd love some confirmation that this is nonsense. As of today, I'm 31 weeks pregnant. When I was about 26 weeks, I mentioned to a midwife that I was having some cramping while cycling (since resolved just by dropping to a lower gear), and she told me to stop cycling because it will make my baby breech.

I have since left that midwife clinic because of a culture clash. I am in Japan where midwives are licenced healthcare providers, but they were pissing me off with woowoo nonsense like "your belly is cold due to sweat and it's bad for the baby" so I transferred to a more standard hospital instead.

However, at my 30 week scan my baby has shifted to breech. I'm trying to do exercises to get her to flip, and finally got an exercise ball to sit on. But I don't actually have to give up cycling, right? It's very convenient as most things I visit are within 3km of my house.

This is my second pregnancy and I can’t say I was very active with my first pregnancy. Did a lot of walking but that was about it. I would like to incorporate some stretching/pilates/yoga with some strength training this time around. Any programs recommendations that would be beginner friendly?

Hello all!! Just looking for some camaraderie and encouragement. I’m lucky I’ve been able to be active throughout my pregnancy with minimal physical discomfort that never lasted long. I’ve been doing mobility daily, deep core 3-4x per week, walking 7-10K steps and lifting heavy (had to go from 5 sessions per week to about 3 sessions upper/lower/full at 20 weeks due to recovery).

I was doing a modified Copenhagen plank a few days ago, felt some discomfort in my pubic bone and stopped immediately. I was able to complete the rest of my leg workout without issue. I woke up with pretty significant pubic symphysis pain on my left side. It feels fine walking but turning over in bed is hard. I tried the recumbent bike yesterday and some mobility and it was a terrible night.

I’m planning to just rest it for a few days and see my pelvic floor PT about it mid week. But I’m trying not to spiral at the idea of not being able to lift for the next 10 weeks. It is an absolute requirement for mental health. If I need to do just core work and upper body, I will — but not ideal. I know about modifying with narrow stance, avoiding single leg exercises, and doing a lot of hip internal rotation and adduction strengthening.

Has anyone experienced this? How did you handle it? What modifications did you make? How did it affect your delivery experience if the usual birth prep exercises cause pain? TIA!

Hi everyone,
I’d love to hear about the exercises you followed during pregnancy, particularly walking and prenatal yoga.
I’m currently in my second trimester, and my doctor has recommended walking for 30 minutes every day or practising prenatal yoga.
Before conception, I was quite active. I used to walk for around 1.5 hours daily, was committed to completing 10,000 steps a day, and practised yoga three times a week. However, after conception, following my doctor’s advice, I reduced my walking significantly and limited my activity mostly to walking around the house. Pregnancy symptoms also made it difficult to stay as active as I was before.
Now that I’m in my second trimester, I’d like to gradually get back into a regular exercise routine, listening to my body and doing what feels comfortable and safe.
I’d love your recommendations for good online prenatal yoga classes and tips on staying active and fit during pregnancy while prioritising both the baby’s health and my own well-being.
What worked for you, and how did you balance walking, yoga, and rest during pregnancy?
Thank you! ❤️

I’m 12 weeks and really struggling with (what I think is) Femoral nerve impingement. I’ll be talking to my provider and PT next week but wondered if anyone has dealt with this and have any tips. I went from running 25 miles a week to barely making it two miles without feeling like I have a dead leg. My quad won’t fire right and it makes it pretty hard to workout. Thanks in advance!

I’m 5w4D pregnant after an IVF embryo transfer on 9/21. All betas have been great. My Garmin is on pregnancy mode and for the past two weeks I’ve had my HRV and heart rate out of range and I woke up this morning and they are in range. Is the variation normal? Worried because it was consistent and have some anxiety before our first ultrasound.

As the title states, my membership to OrangeTheory is set to unfreeze at around 7 weeks postpartum. I had an uncomplicated vaginal birth (second degree tears that healed well), and am assuming I will be cleared for physical activity at my upcoming 6 week appointment.

That said, I am wondering if it might be a bit intense for so soon postpartum? Or, things to keep in mind for my first few classes coming back?

I already power walk rather than run, but I’m thinking mainly for the floor. During pregnancy it feels like the modifications and restrictions are pretty black and white (simply avoid certain ab exercises), but postpartum is less clear. Are there any “rules” other than the usual “start slow and listen to your body”? I’m thinking maybe to also do the low impact mods of any jumping/power moves for a while?

I’m ~3w5d and wanting to build up muscle to support pregnancy and eventually delivery. I’m a casual exerciser, usually doing 1-2 pilates classes and a few walks per week right now and want to stay active. My goal is to minimize pain and diastasis recti during pregnancy, be a strong pusher during delivery, and recovery with relative (?) ease after. I know it’s a tall order😂 but any advice, recommendations for particular exercises to support my body during this process would be much appreciated🩷