The question this article answers
You are pregnant, or supporting someone who is, and the questions come quickly. Should training stop? Can it continue? What changes, what stays the same, and who decides? Advice from friends, family and the internet often contradicts itself, and some of it is based on fear rather than evidence.
This article answers one question: how do the universal APEX principles change during pregnancy, and what is the right way to decide what training looks like for you right now? It is general fitness education. It is not medical advice, and it does not replace the person responsible for your pregnancy care.
The simple answer
For many pregnancies without complications, regular physical activity is recommended rather than discouraged, and that includes both aerobic activity and resistance training. Major guidelines encourage it.[1][2][3] But pregnancy changes the person, so the program must change with her. The goal moves from chasing new capacity toward keeping capacity, comfort and confidence. Effort is guided by how you feel rather than by numbers on the bar. Some positions, activities and environments are adjusted or avoided. And the decision about whether exercise is appropriate, and how much, always starts with your midwife, obstetrician or doctor, because some conditions make exercise unsafe and only they can assess that.
Why this matters
Pregnancy is a period when many people stop moving altogether, often out of uncertainty. Others try to carry on exactly as before, as if nothing has changed. Both extremes ignore the first APEX rule: the person comes before the program. Pregnancy is one of the clearest examples of the same human needing a different program from one month to the next.
It also matters because the habits built now can carry into the period after birth (the subject of the next article) and into family life beyond it.
What the evidence says
This section is research evidence and official guidance, kept separate from coaching and from the APEX framework.
- Activity is generally recommended in uncomplicated pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that people with uncomplicated pregnancies should be encouraged to do aerobic and strength-conditioning exercise before, during and after pregnancy, after evaluation by their care provider.[1]
- A weekly amount is suggested. The Canadian guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy recommends, for people without contraindications, at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week, spread over at least three days, with a variety of aerobic and resistance training.[2] The World Health Organization guidelines make a similar recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, with muscle-strengthening and gentle stretching, for pregnant and postpartum women without contraindications.[3]
- Benefits are reported for both health and pregnancy outcomes. The Canadian guideline, based on systematic reviews, reports that prenatal activity is associated with reduced risk of conditions such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and depression, without increased risk of harmful outcomes in pregnancies without contraindications.[2]
- Pelvic floor training is supported. The same guideline suggests pelvic floor muscle training may reduce the odds of urinary incontinence.[2]
- Some situations call for caution or avoidance. Guidelines list absolute and relative contraindications that a healthcare professional assesses, warning signs that mean stopping and seeking care, and activities to avoid, such as those with high risk of falls or blows to the abdomen, and scuba diving.[1][2]
- Lying on the back may need adjusting. Guidelines advise modifying exercise for people who feel light-headed, nauseated or unwell when lying flat on their back.[1][2]
How certain is this? The general direction, that activity is safe and beneficial for most uncomplicated pregnancies, is supported by systematic reviews and consistent guidance from several countries. Evidence on specific details, such as exactly how heavy is too heavy for an experienced lifter or how high-intensity work should be dosed in late pregnancy, is thinner. That is exactly where individual decisions with a professional matter most.
The APEX principle: same human principles, necessary modification
Phase 7 of this course uses one structure for every population: human principles, then individual assessment, then necessary modification, then an appropriate program. Pregnancy follows it exactly.
1. Human principles still apply
The movement families are the same. Squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, carrying and walking remain the backbone of daily life during pregnancy, and arguably matter more, because getting up from a chair, lifting shopping and later lifting a baby all depend on them. Capacity and skill still matter. Recovery still matters. Adherence still beats unused perfection.
2. Individual assessment comes first, and it is shared
In APEX, assessment always starts with safety and health requirements. In pregnancy, that step belongs to your healthcare professional. Before starting or continuing exercise, talk with the person responsible for your care. They know your history and the health of your pregnancy, and they can tell you whether there is any reason to limit or avoid exercise. APEX does not diagnose, screen or clear anyone. That is the safety boundary, and it is not a formality.
Your own part of the assessment is practical: what were you doing before pregnancy, how are you feeling this week, what is comfortable, what time and energy do you really have?
3. Necessary modification
This is coaching principle applied to the guidance above. It describes the kind of adjustments people commonly make, not what you personally should do.
- The goal shifts. Pregnancy is usually not the time for a fat-loss block, a strength peak or a race build. The primary goal becomes health, comfort and keeping the capacity you have. This is the APEX goal framework (article 24) applied honestly: health and safety come first when choosing the primary goal.
- Effort is guided by feel. Heart rate responds differently in pregnancy, so many guidelines lean on perceived effort and the talk test: during moderate activity you should be able to hold a conversation.[1][2] The RPE and RIR ideas from article 42 still help, with more reps kept in reserve and failure set aside.
- Progression changes meaning. In earlier articles, progressive overload meant gradually adding demand. During pregnancy, progression is mostly about tolerance and consistency: keeping a routine going as the body changes, and scaling down without guilt when needed. Adding load week after week is not the aim.
- Positions adapt. As pregnancy progresses, many people move exercises done lying flat on the back to an incline, seated, side-lying or standing position, especially if lying flat causes discomfort or light-headedness.[1][2] Trunk work often shifts toward gentle bracing with breathing and away from movements that cause pressure, bulging or discomfort at the abdomen.
- Balance and stability get more respect. A changing centre of mass and changing balance make supported tools valuable. Machines, a bench, a wall or a sturdy rail are not a step backward; they are the right tool for the job, as article 21 of the constitution makes clear. Activities with high fall risk are generally avoided.[1][2]
- Environment matters. Guidelines advise avoiding overheating, staying hydrated and taking care with hot, humid conditions.[1][2] Where training happens in a hot climate, this deserves real attention.
- Session length and frequency flex. Several short sessions or daily walks may suit a tired week better than one long session. The 150-minute guideline is a weekly total, not a daily test.
4. An appropriate program
The result is usually something simple: regular walking or other low-impact aerobic activity, two or so short strength sessions covering the main movement families with comfortable loads, pelvic floor work if your care team agrees, and rest when your body asks for it. Simple is not a compromise here. It is minimum necessary complexity, done well.
A real-world picture
Imagine two people, used only as illustrations.
The first has trained consistently for several years with goblet squats, rows, presses and hip hinges. Her care team confirms there is no reason to avoid exercise. She keeps her movements, lowers her loads so every set feels comfortably moderate, moves her pressing to an incline bench, swaps long planks for short standing bracing drills, and drops anything that causes discomfort, pressure or leaking. Her logbook no longer tracks personal records. It tracks whether she trained, how she felt, and whether anything felt wrong.
The second was not active before pregnancy. Her midwife encourages her to start gently. She begins with short daily walks, adds two short sessions a week of sit-to-stand from a chair, wall push-ups, band rows and supported hip hinges, and builds the walks gradually toward a weekly total that feels sustainable. She is not trying to catch up. She is building a habit.
Same principles. Different starting points. Different programs. That is APEX.
What people commonly get wrong
- Stopping all movement out of fear. For many uncomplicated pregnancies, inactivity is the choice that lacks support, not activity. Ask your care provider rather than assuming.
- Training exactly as before. Pregnancy changes the body. Ignoring that turns a good program into the wrong program.
- Starting without a conversation. Some conditions make exercise inadvisable. Only a healthcare professional can assess that.
- Pushing through warning signs. Guidelines list signs that mean stop and get medical help, including vaginal bleeding, fluid leaking from the vagina, regular painful contractions, chest pain, dizziness or feeling faint, shortness of breath before exertion or that does not settle with rest, headache, calf pain or swelling, and muscle weakness affecting balance.[1][2] If any of these happen, stop and contact your healthcare professional or emergency services.
- Treating pregnancy as a body-change project. Using pregnancy for aggressive weight control or appearance goals works against the health goal it should serve.
- Overcomplicating it. A simple, repeatable plan beats an elaborate one you abandon in the third trimester.
Where this fits in APEX
The APEX stages describe current reality, not worth, and they are not a race. Pregnancy is one of the clearest reasons stages are allowed to change, as section 16 of the constitution explains: people may remain in a stage, return to an earlier one or temporarily reduce training. Many people during pregnancy will find their training looks like Foundation: consistent, moderate, building basic capacity and habit. Someone with significant fatigue, complications or very low activity, under the guidance of their healthcare professional, may need something closer to Restoration: gentle movement and tolerance. An experienced trainee may keep much of her movement skill, yet her training emphasis still moves away from pushing capacity forward.
None of this is a demotion. It is the right stage for the current life and goal. Pregnancy is also a time when frequent reassessment matters more than in most training periods, because the body changes from month to month and so may the answer.
This article does not include a sample program. That is deliberate. Pregnancy is individual enough, and close enough to the safety boundary, that a plan should come from your own care team and, if you want one, a qualified prenatal exercise professional who can see you.
What this means at different levels
- New to exercise: start small with walking and simple supported strength movements once your care provider agrees, and build a habit rather than a dose.
- Regularly active: usually you can continue many familiar activities with adjustments, guided by your care provider and by how you feel.[1]
- Highly trained or competitive athletes: pregnancy at high training loads is a specialist situation. Work closely with your healthcare professional and, ideally, someone experienced in training pregnant athletes. Elite routines are not a template for anyone else.
What not to copy
You may see social media clips of heavily pregnant athletes lifting heavy loads or doing intense workouts. Some may be appropriate for that person, with that history, under that care. None of it tells you what is appropriate for you. A famous example illustrates possibility; it is not evidence and not a plan. Equally, do not copy someone who stopped everything. Copy the process instead: professional conversation, honest assessment, sensible modification, simple routine.
Your next best step
Before you start or change any training, book a conversation with your midwife, obstetrician or doctor about exercise. Take your current routine with you, or what you would like to do, and ask three questions: Is there any reason I should not exercise? Are there activities or positions I should avoid? What signs should make me stop and call you?
Then, if you are given the go-ahead, choose one simple habit for this week, such as a daily walk at a pace where you can still talk, and repeat it. Keep it going, adjust as your body changes, and reassess with your care team at each appointment.
Next in the course
The next article, Postnatal Training, covers the period after birth: how the same principles apply as the body recovers, why the return is gradual and guided, and why the timeline belongs to the individual and her healthcare professional rather than to a calendar.
