The Best Exercises In Pregnancy, Safe For All Levels & Trimesters

Reviewed May 2022

Well, we're doing it. We're calling out our top five exercises for pregnancy. Five moves that you can do anytime, anywhere with just your body weight. Five moves we'd recommend to every expecting mama, regardless of your fitness level or stage of pregnancy (yes, they're really that universal). And of course, they're all exercises that are specifically designed to support a growing bump and ease common pregnancy symptoms.

Typically, we don't like playing favorites, especially when it comes to healthy lifestyles, because it should be all about variety, balance, and enjoying the things you love to do. That's true for your exercise routine as well. A sustainable and effective exercise routine should have enough variety and balance to prevent your muscles (and your mind) from getting bored. Plus, your workouts should be ones that you enjoy above all else. Just because something is our favorite doesn't mean it has to be your favorite.

That said, we're still excited to call out our top 5 pregnancy exercises to help you know what your body can benefit from at this time. This round-up is also perfect if you need a bit of encouragement to kickstart a prenatal fitness routine. So, let's get to it…

The 5 best exercises to do in pregnancy:

Keep in mind these are the basics, but if you do these moves (or variations of them) regularly and properly, you'll notice an increase in mobility and a decrease in pain throughout your pregnancy journey — meaning a boost to your wellbeing overall.

1. The "do-it-everyday" exercise: pelvic floor exercises (aka kegels)

Yes, you should do pelvic floor exercises every day. In fact, multiple times a day if you can! Your pelvic floor is the basket of muscles that sits almost like a hammock in your pelvis and supports... everything on top of that. This includes your uterus, your growing baby, and your bladder. Your pelvic floor also forms the foundation of your core and strengthening it can support your hips and back, reducing pain overall.

How to do it: We have a simple animated exercise you can follow along with in the Baby2Body app, as well as audio-guided routines that explain these critical muscles in detail. Check it out today, as our pelvic floor exercises are free on the Bab2Body app.

Pregnancy benefits: Reduce the risk of incontinence, reduce lower back pain, improve labor outcomes, and postpartum recovery.

2. The "yes, you can work your core in pregnancy" exercise: Bird Dogs

Your core is made up of more than just your abdominal muscles (which baby is currently stretching out). Those abdominal muscles will be under pressure and continually strained during pregnancy, and improper exercise can worsen diastasis recti (aka coning). The good news is you can work those muscles gently and safely (we'll teach you on the Baby2Body app), and you can also target all of the other supporting core muscles, including low back stabilizers, glutes, and obliques. The Bird Dog is one of our favorite moves to do all of these things.

How to do it: Come into an all-fours position (on your hands and knees). Gently engage your abdomen to pull your baby towards you, as if they were in a sling. Tuck your hips in slightly to protect your lower back. From here, extend your left arm forward as you extend your right leg backward, forming a straight line from your left fingers, to your right toes. Hold this pose for 2-3 breaths, then return to all fours. Repeat on the other side, extending your right arm and left leg this time. Hold again for 2-3 breaths, then return to all fours. Repeat 5x.

Pregnancy benefits: Reduce low back and hip pain, improve stability, and improve labor outcomes

3. The "posture protector" exercise: seated rows

Your posture is going to take a hit during pregnancy, because as your bump grows your center of gravity will shift, and that will pull on your posture as well, but seated rows can help. The game here isn't to work on perfect posture, it's to do simple moves that keep your chest open, shoulders down, and core supported as best as possible to reduce back and hip pain. We love seated rows for this! They'll strengthen those upper back muscles and shoulders that help keep your chest lifted.

How to do it: Sit in a supportive chair and tuck your hips slightly while engaging your core to protect your lower back. Raise your arms straight out in front of you so they are parallel to the floor and make fists with your hands. From here, pull your elbows back towards you in a rowing motion, bringing your fists to either side of your chest and your elbows pointing straight back behind you. Only go until you feel your upper back muscles engage. Make sure to keep your shoulders down and breathe through the exercise, checking in on that hip tuck to make sure you're not spilling forward too much! To increase the intensity you can add hand weights.

Pregnancy benefits: Reduce feelings of breathlessness, improve posture and circulation, reduce low back and hip pain.

4. The "stabilizer" exercise: chair squats

Squats (in any of their variations) were always going to make an exercise favorites list for us. It's a beautiful bodyweight-only move that fires up your glutes and activates those small stabilizing and balancing muscles. We've recommended chair squats as they can help you work on proper form while having the added safety benefit of a chair behind you in case you squat back too far.

You can intensify chair squats by holding weights and making it a goblet squat or make it easier by doing a wall squat (using an exercise ball behind your back to support you as you roll down the wall and into the squat). If you're experiencing significant knee pain, you can opt for bridge lifts instead, as this is a great glute alternative glute exercise that won't put pressure on your knees.

How to do it: Place a sturdy chair behind you and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. You can hold your arms out in front of you for added balance. Keeping your knees stacked above your foot, bend down into a squat as if you were going to sit down in the chair. You can tap the chair with your bum or lower to an inch or two above it, and then engage your glutes to press back up to standing. We recommend doing 3 sets of 20 squats for a quick workout.

Pregnancy benefits: Increase overall balance and stability, reduce hip and low back pain, improve labor outcomes, and increase stamina.

5. The "good all over" exercise: swimming

In lieu of easy swimming access, then you can try walking!

OK, we're kind of cheating here and adding two in one, and we'll explain why! We had to pick swimming as our favorite 'good all over' routine. It's a fantastic cardio exercise that works your upper body and legs at the same time. Plus, the buoyancy of the water will reduce pressure on your joints and help you feel lighter overall, which can bring so much relief, especially in the later stages of pregnancy. What's more, moving through water naturally delivers a kind of lymphatic massage, helping move toxins out of the body. Win-win-win-win?!

But we know that access to swimming isn't always possible or suited to everyone, and as an alternative, we'd proudly recommend good old-fashioned walking. It's also a great cardio workout, it develops excellent lower body strength and balance, it's easier on your joints than running, it's been linked to countless health benefits like weight management and reducing your risk of heart disease, and best of all, it's so accessible.

Pregnancy benefits of regular cardio workouts: Reduced risk of prenatal complications (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and excess weight gain), improved stamina, improved labor outcomes, improved sleep, and boosts moods.

The truth is you can do so many different exercises in pregnancy. Pilates, Barre, HIIT, yoga, strength training, cardio — you name it. As long as you have exercise clearance, are following the right modifications for your stage, and are listening to your body, you can really have fun and get a lot out of your prenatal workouts. The Baby2Body app has so many different routines to keep you challenged but safe so be sure to build your own personalized program today.

Is there a type of prenatal exercise you would like to know more about? Let us know in the comments below as we're working on building new routines all the time and we want to hear from you!

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