The Best at Home Prenatal Workouts

At Home Pregnancy Exercises

You need to work out during pregnancy. It is what is best for you and for your baby! But how can you do safe and effective pregnancy exercises at home? Learn the best prenatal workouts to do at home right here!

**This post may contain affiliate links to items I own and feel would benefit you immensely, please read full disclosure here. NEVER begin a new exercise regime without your trusted physician’s prior consent.**

Should You Do Prenatal Workouts?

By now you probably know that working out during pregnancy is vitally important to the mother and fetus’ health. The notion that women need to rest for the “condition” of pregnancy is an outdated myth. (Unless of course, you have specific contraindications that would bar you from participating in an exercise regime during pregnancy.)

Those who should not exercise during pregnancy are those with:

1. Incompetent Cervix
2. Vaginal Bleeding
3. Ruptured Membranes
4. Placenta Previa after 26 Weeks of Gestation
5. Preterm Labor During THIS Pregnancy
6. Risk of Preterm Labor with Multiples
7. Severe Anemia
8. Heart Disease
9. Lung Disease
10. Pregnancy Induced Hypertension
11. Preeclampsia (high blood pressure)

If you are not in any of those categories then you definitely should be participating in exercise during your pregnancy! 

But sometimes getting up off the couch during pregnancy is HARD! Pregnancy is EXHAUSTING! And not only in the first trimester as you may have been led to believe. And especially if this is not your first and you are already spending your days chasing after your wonderful little creations.

 

 

 

So why should you even bother to exercise during pregnancy?

Because the benefits are huge! They not only affect how you will feel during this pregnancy, how much weight you will gain, and how much strength you will have to endure labor.

The benefits of exercising while pregnant also go directly to your baby! And not just how much they will weigh at birth. You exercising regularly during pregnancy can benefit your baby’s health throughout their entire lives by influencing their genetic programming.

But if you need more convincing to begin a prenatal exercise routine (according to actual scientific studies you can check out yourself) here are the benefits of working out during pregnancy:

1. decreased risk of preeclampsia
2. decreased risk of hypertension
3. less instance of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)
4. more appropriate pregnancy weight gain (learn exactly how to gain the right amount of weight)
5. decreased rate of spontaneous abortion
6. decreased number of congenital abnormalities
7. less incidence of preterm labor
8. the babies of mothers who exercise regularly throughout their pregnancy have more normal growth and development
9. you are more likely to deliver near your estimated due date (EDD)
10. children whose mothers exercised while in utero weigh less and have less fat mass as a prepubescent child and often even into adulthood
11. the offspring whose moms engaged in prenatal exercise had healthier hearts and less instance of heart disease through their adult lives!

 

Are there precautions to take when doing at home prenatal workouts?

Exercising while pregnant can be very different than exercising prior to conception.

There are certain types of exercise that need to be entirely avoided. Think contact sports and scuba diving.

But for the most part there are only simple modifications that will need to be made to your at home prenatal workout depending both on your fitness level prior to conception, as well as the trimester you are in. 

Learn everything you need to know to exercise safely in each trimester. Straight from a personal fitness trainer specializing in prenatal through postpartum exercise.

 

Are at Home Prenatal Workouts Effective?

You can absolutely have 100% success with at home workouts! I will warn you though:

working out at home requires a bit more motivation. Once you’re at a gym you really have no option but to workout, or look foolish, after all why else would you be there?

At home it is so much easier to make excuses to not exercise! The laundry needs done, the food needs prepped, and those Netflix shows aren’t gunna watch themselves!

In the Perfect Pregnancy Fitness Plan you get 20+ workouts, learn how to exercise in each trimester safely and effectively, AND get everything you need to motivate yourself to get moving while pregnant. Save 10% with code 10OFF this month only!

Being an in home personal fitness trainer who has never worked in a gym setting, let me assure you that ALL of your fitness goals can be reached at home! You can easily build a great home gym for pretty cheap, just pick up a few versatile pieces of equipment, or do body weight exercises and utilize what you already have at home!

As an in-home personal fitness trainer who happens to also be very budget-minded, here are a few of my favorite pieces of workout equipment I think you should have on hand. They are versatile AND extremely affordable.

 

Plus we have the wonderfully versatile free resource of YouTube on hand at all times! It is 100 times more motivating to workout while pregnant when you follow along with a video.

Even I personally had a lot of trouble kicking my motivation into gear to workout during the first trimester, so I used these secret tricks to get it done every day anyways! (Or at least five days a week.)

 

How to Stay Motivated to Do at Home Prenatal Workouts?

While looking up prenatal workouts like those listed below on you tube can be a great free resource, it really doesn’t push that motivation into gear for most people.

A lot of us need a little more motivation and guidance to get our workouts in regularly… especially during pregnancy!

The Perfect Pregnancy Plan has amazing workouts all laid out for you. But I have another great tip for those who need a little more hands on motivation!

As a certified online health coach I also run an online fitness club for ladies just like you! With daily check ins, a motivating team, and daily workouts laid out for you! Not to mention we tackle health in ALL aspects every month. Diet, recipes, mental health, and more!

If that’s something you’d like to learn a little more about I would love to chat! You can read more about my virtual fit club here. 

So let’s get into some awesome at home workouts for each trimester!!

 

 

The Best at Home Prenatal Workouts

Home Workout Routines for the First Trimester:

 

1. First Trimester Full Body Pregnancy Cardio Workout
2. No Crunch Ab Workout (It is really good to strengthen your core before you start to stretch out in the midsection. Be sure to complete abdominal bracing prior to each exercise.)
3. Bye bye Flabby Arms Tricep Routine
4. First Trimester Perfect 15 Minute Cardio Workout (VIDEO)
5. 15 Minute Cardio & Strength 1st Trimester Workout (VIDEO)
6. 25 Minute 1st Trimester Beginners Yoga Flow (VIDEO)

 

Home Workout Routines for the Second Trimester:

1. Morning Yoga Flow for Back Pain
2. Full Body Park Bench Workout (you can totally use a coffee table or chair to do this in your house!)
3. Bumpin’ Body Prenatal Workout from Tone it Up (VIDEO)
4. 25 Minute 2nd Trimester Body Weight Workout (VIDEO)
5. Deep Core and Pelvic Floor Pregnancy Strengthening (VIDEO)

 

Home Workout Routines for the Third Trimester:

Let me preface by saying that even if you read the thorough awesome guide linked earlier in this article about how to exercise safely during pregnancy, that working out in the third trimester is a whole different ballgame!

Unless you are one of the super lucky few, you are going to be really uncomfortable. Most motions are tough at this point, your joints are really loose, and you get winded very easily. Learn exactly how to safely and effectively exercise in the third trimester before starting these routines.

1. Third Trimester Yoga for an Easier Labor and Delivery
2. Third Trimester Cardio Workout (VIDEO) (Modify of skip any plank exercise if it feels bad on your linea alba or if you have abdominal separation)
3. 3rd Trimester Pregnancy Workout at Home (VIDEO)
4. The 3 Most Important 3rd Trimester Exercises

 

Wrapping Up the Best Pregnancy Workouts to Do at Home

This list includes a little something for everyone. Lots of different types of pregnancy safe exercises. Some with videos to follow along, others with photos and really detailed instructions. Some cardio, some yoga, and everything in between.

You will find that quite a few of these routines can cross into different trimesters as well. Definitely anything for the 3rd trimester is safe for the first and second as well. Likewise the at home pregnancy workouts designated for the second trimester are safe for the first also.

Stay safe and listen to your body above all when exercising during pregnancy.

It is very important to focus primarily on keeping your back, core, and pelvic floor strong throughout pregnancy. I also recommend getting your shoulders and arms strong as well before baby comes to alleviate the strain of carrying them all the time.

Which workout is your favorite?

 

At Home Pregnancy Exercises