There is so much information out there nowadays, it is hard to sift through what is actually important and TRUE. Some doctors might tell you not to lift over 20 pounds and then you see someone on Instagram squatting 300 pounds while fully pregnant. Unfortunately there is no cookie cutter answer for what people should and shouldn’t do because each body is different and each pregnancy is different.

However, there are some things you should keep in mind when working out in the second trimester:

Limit or eliminate high impact movements:

This can include things like running, jumping rope, and box jumps. As your belly grows and the pressure on your pelvic floor increases, it is important to ask yourself why are you doing a particular exercise. If it puts too much continuous stress on the pelvic floor it could lead to fatigue.

Eliminate movements that cause coning or doming of the abs:

Exercises such as planks, sit ups, toes to bar, and kipping pull ups put a tremendous amount of strain on the ab muscles forcing them to cone. When you see your belly coning, what is happening is that too much pressure is being put on the linea alba (the connective tissue between your abs). Repetition of such movements without managing pressure well could add to diastasis recti.

Limit or eliminate barbell movements when your belly gets in the way of the bar:

You do not want to compromise your form for a movement such as a clean or snatch in order to get the bar around your belly. Compromising your form can lead to back pain or accidentally hitting your bump.

So what can I do?

That seems like a long list of don’ts, but there are things you can still do to enjoy fitness during the second trimester.

Use a bike, rower, or go on an uphill walk

Any of those things can give you the heart rate increase you would normally get from the high impact movements. You can also do box step ups if you are able!

Ab moves during pregnancy

There are still ways you can work the abs during pregnancy. You can do side planks, TVA breathing, standing marches, as well as sled pushes, and farmers carry.

Switching out the barbell for a dumbbell

If you want to do those Olympic lifts, switch out the barbell for a dumbbell. You can do single arm snatches and cleans which (hopefully) satisfies some of the lifting urge.

Every body and every pregnancy is different, so it is important to check in with yourself and see how you are feeling. Some days you might feel like you are able to push it a little more, other days you may feel like you can’t do much of anything and that’s OK. Give yourself some grace and patience as you grow a tiny human.