Exercise In Second Trimester Of Pregnancy | Safe Workouts

The middle months of pregnancy often bring a noticeable lift in energy, fewer waves of nausea, and a growing bump that feels more real every week. This stretch is an ideal time to build steady movement habits that help your body, your baby, and your mood. Done with care, exercise can ease common aches, help sleep, and prepare muscles for labour and recovery.

Why Movement Matters In The Second Trimester

Regular activity during mid pregnancy links to lower rates of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and excessive weight gain, as shown in large guideline reviews. It can also ease constipation, back pain, and swelling, while lifting mood and sharpening sleep. Moving your body keeps the heart, lungs, and circulation ready for the demands of late pregnancy and birth. Small wins with movement often boost day-to-day mood.

Exercise Type	Typical Intensity	Main Benefits In Mid Pregnancy
Brisk walking	Light to moderate	Easy to start, helps heart health, gentle on joints
Swimming or aquanatal classes	Moderate	Water helps bump and joints, can ease swelling and back strain
Stationary cycling	Moderate	Low impact cardio, steadier balance than outdoor cycling
Prenatal yoga or Pilates	Light to moderate	Supports mobility, posture, breathing awareness, and relaxation
Light strength training	Moderate	Builds muscle to help back, hips, and arms for lifting baby
Pelvic floor exercises	Light	Helps bladder control and recovery after birth
Everyday movement, such as housework or gentle gardening	Light	Adds extra activity to the day without formal workouts
Low impact aerobics or dance	Moderate	Raises heart rate in a playful way while avoiding jumps or twists

Exercise In Second Trimester Of Pregnancy: Weekly Targets And Safety Basics

Most healthy pregnant adults with a single baby and no complications can follow general activity guidance: at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity movement spread across the week. Health bodies such as the World Health Organization recommend this level of activity for pregnant and postpartum adults who feel well enough to move. Shorter sessions, such as three blocks of ten minutes in a day, count toward that total.

Moderate effort means your heart beats faster and you feel warmer, yet you can still talk in full sentences. Many people find a mix of walking, gentle cycling, and prenatal classes works well. If you had a strong routine before pregnancy, you may be able to keep many of the same activities with lower impact and more breaks, as long as your midwife or doctor is happy with the plan.

When You Should Talk With Your Care Team First

Some pregnancy situations call for extra care before adjusting any plan for exercise in second trimester of pregnancy. These situations can include a history of recurrent pregnancy loss, heart or lung disease, severe anaemia, placenta previa after the midway point, risk of preterm birth, or high blood pressure disorders such as pre-eclampsia. In these cases your obstetric team may advise an individual activity plan or short term restriction.

Tell your doctor or midwife about your current movement habits and any symptoms such as shortness of breath at rest, chest pain, or regular contractions. They can check how your pregnancy is progressing and suggest what level and type of activity fits your health, medications, and any monitoring your baby requires.

Simple Safety Rules For Every Workout

As your bump grows, a few safety guidelines become especially helpful. After about 16 weeks, extended exercise while lying flat on your back can press on major blood vessels and leave you dizzy or short of breath, so choose side lying, seated, or standing positions instead. Avoid overheating by dressing in layers, skipping overly hot rooms, and drinking water before, during, and after sessions.

Aim for shoes that help your arches and ankles, since ligaments soften in pregnancy and can leave joints less stable. Start every session with a gentle warm up, such as slow walking and arm circles, then end with slower movement and easy stretches. If a move creates pain, pelvic pressure, leakage of fluid, or a sense that your bump is pulling strongly, stop that move and choose a lighter variation.

Best Types Of Exercise For Mid Pregnancy

Low Impact Cardio You Can Keep Up

Walking remains one of the simplest options in the second trimester, whether on pavements, in parks, or on a treadmill. You can vary pace and incline to change the challenge without adding jumps. Swimming and water aerobics ease pressure on the back and pelvis while still raising heart rate; the water also helps you stay cool on warmer days.

Stationary cycling lets you work the legs and lungs while seated and stable. Many pregnant people feel more secure on a fixed bike than on open roads where balance changes and traffic add stress. Prenatal dance or low impact aerobics classes designed for pregnancy can give a sense of group energy while keeping movements safe for a growing bump.

Strength Training That Helps Your Bump

Light strength work helps prepare you for lifting a baby, car seat, and pram many times a day. Two or three sessions per week, on non-consecutive days, are enough for most people. Choose movements that train major muscle groups in the legs, hips, back, chest, and arms, using body weight, light dumbbells, or resistance bands.

Examples include wall-assisted squats, wall push ups, hip bridges done on an inclined surface, seated rows with bands, and seated overhead presses with light weights. Move through a comfortable range of motion while breathing steadily; avoid holding your breath through a lift, as this can raise blood pressure. If you notice doming or bulging through the midline of your abdomen, ease off and choose a gentler pattern.

Stretching, Mobility, And Pelvic Floor Work

Gentle stretching and mobility practice keep muscles from feeling tight as posture changes. Many people like prenatal yoga, which tends to remove deep twists, strong back bends, and poses that compress the belly. Let your instructor know how many weeks pregnant you are so they can suggest options that keep you safe and comfortable.

Pelvic floor exercises, often called Kegels, are especially useful during this time. Short daily sets where you squeeze and lift the muscles around the vagina and anus, then relax fully, can improve bladder control and help recovery after birth. Health services such as the UK National Health Service offer clear instructions on pregnancy exercise, including pelvic floor practice and safe stretching routines.

Exercises And Activities To Avoid

Even when you feel well, some movements raise risk more than they help during the second trimester. Contact sports such as football, rugby, or martial arts bring a chance of direct blows to the abdomen. So do sports where a ball or racket can strike your bump at speed.

Activities with a high fall risk, including skiing, horse riding, mountain biking on rough trails, and gymnastics, can be hazardous once balance shifts. Scuba diving carries specific risks for the baby because of gas pressure changes, and is not advised at any stage of pregnancy. Hot yoga or strongly heated exercise studios can drive body temperature to levels that are unsafe in pregnancy.

Likewise, avoid breath-holding efforts, high impact interval sessions that leave you gasping, and heavy weights lifted to strain. If an instructor cannot adapt a move around your bump and pelvic floor, take that as a sign to skip that move for now. You can return to more intense training after birth, once you have clearance from your care team.

Sample Week Of Exercise In The Second Trimester

The outline below shows one way a week of exercise in second trimester of pregnancy could look for a healthy person who already moved a little before conceiving. Adjust session length and pace to match your fitness, schedule, and any advice from your midwife or doctor. Rest days still matter, and light walking on those days can help stiffness without pushing your body hard.

Day	Movement Plan	Notes
Monday	25 minutes brisk walking plus 5 minutes pelvic floor work	Gentle start to the week, focus on posture and relaxed breathing
Tuesday	30 minutes prenatal yoga	Stretching and relaxation, avoid deep twists and long back lying
Wednesday	20 minutes stationary cycling plus light upper body strength	Keep resistance moderate and finish with shoulder and neck stretches
Thursday	Rest or 15 minutes easy walking	Short stroll to ease stiffness, extra hydration through the day
Friday	30 minutes swimming or water aerobics	Use a pace that lets you talk, step out if you feel overheated
Saturday	20 minutes lower body strength plus 10 minutes stretching	Focus on glutes, thighs, and hips, avoid heavy weights and deep lunges
Sunday	Family walk or gentle activity day	Light movement such as walking in a park or around your neighbourhood

Practical Tips To Keep Moving When Life Feels Busy

Second trimester life can bring scans, work demands, family duties, and social commitments, so long workouts may feel hard to schedule. Short bouts of ten to fifteen minutes are easier to fit between tasks and still add up across the week. Link movement to existing routines, such as walking after meals or doing pelvic floor work before bed, and lay out trainers and comfortable clothes in advance so there is one less hurdle when it is time to move.

Warning Signs That Mean You Should Stop Exercise

During any session, pay close attention to how your body feels. Stop at once and seek urgent care if you notice vaginal bleeding, fluid leaking from the vagina, painful contractions that come in a pattern, or sudden sharp pain in the abdomen or chest. Loss of balance with a fall, especially onto the bump, also needs quick assessment.

Other signs that your current routine may be too strong include feeling dizzy or faint, severe shortness of breath before starting, severe headache, calf pain or swelling, or reduced baby movements after the point in pregnancy where you normally feel regular kicks. If any of these appear, pause your current plan and speak with your obstetric doctor or midwife before the next session. Safety comes ahead of any fitness target.