Achieve your fit pregnancy goals with these 10 Prenatal and Pregnancy Workouts. From low impact cardio and pregnancy strength training, to baby bump barre and prenatal yoga, these pregnancy workouts include the best exercises for pregnant women.
Prenatal workouts have quickly become my most popular workout videos. In fact, this 30 Minute Pregnancy Workout is my most popular video on YouTube (and potentially how you discovered NML).
A quick glance at the comments on this pregnancy workout video on YouTube and you’ll notice my free pregnancy workouts on YouTube are challenging (yet still safe pregnancy workouts).
“Thank you for this workout! So many pregnancy workouts on YouTube don’t have the intensity that I want…this workout video has been a part of my weekly routine!” Mariah M.
“Thank you so much for making this video! It’s so hard to find more challenging pregnancy workouts and this one is perfect for my level. Also love the sporadic “yes you cans!” THANK YOU!!”Laura B.
I created these 10 pregnancy workouts at home out of my own discontentment with existing pregnancy workouts on YouTube. As someone who was training 5-6 days a week prior to pregnancy, I had a hard time finding pregnancy workout videos that challenged me.
Turns out I wasn’t the only one searching for ‘challenging pregnancy workouts on YouTube’ and ‘advanced pregnancy workouts at home.’ So I’ve rounded up the 10 best prenatal and pregnancy workouts on NML.
I also created this FREE Pregnancy Workout Plan for expecting moms — 30 days of the best exercises for pregnant women!
Disclaimer: I say this will all my workouts, but it’s especially important with prenatal workouts. Listen to your body. If you have any concerns, or if you’re starting a fitness program for the first time, please consult your doctor or midwife.
Format: Full-length, follow along workout video (filmed in my third trimester)
Equipment: Dumbbells and chair
Description: A challenging, full body pregnancy workout focused on strength training. This full body strength workout is designed to help expecting moms maintain strength through their second and third trimesters.
Workout Focus: Full body strength training to tone the legs, butt, thighs, arms, shoulders, and back.
Format: Full-length, follow along workout video (filmed in my third trimester)
Equipment: No equipment, bodyweight
Description: Quick and efficient, no jumping cardio workout! This low impact, prenatal cardio workout is safe for pregnancy and a great way to raise your heart rate at home.
Workout Focus: Cardiovascular endurance; great for maintaining a healthy heart and managing pregnancy weight gain.
Format: Full-length, follow along workout video (filmed in my second trimester)
Equipment: Dumbbells
Description: A challenging, lower body strength workout using squats, lunges and deadlifts to tone the legs and butt. I personally dropped my weights several times throughout this workout and performed the leg exercises with just my bodyweight (and added baby weight).
Workout Focus: Strength training, with a focus on building lean muscle in the legs, butt, hamstrings, inner and outer thighs.
Format: Full-length, follow along workout video (filmed in my second trimester)
Equipment: Dumbbells
Description: A challenging, upper body strength workout. From dumbbell rows and bicep curls to chest flys and tricep kickbacks this arm workout hits every muscle in the upper body.
Workout Focus: Strength training to tone the arms, biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest and back.
Format: Full-length, follow along workout video (filmed in my second trimester)
Equipment: Optional light dumbbells (2-5 lbs)
Description: 20 minutes of full body sculpting in an upbeat barre class at home! There is an advanced plank sequence in this workout for which you might want to substitute these 7 Pregnancy Safe Ab Exercises for Every Trimester. I also offer modifications for all levels during the optional cardio intervals.
Workout Focus: Full body toning, using light weights and high reps to sculpt and tone the entire body.
Format: Full-length, follow along workout video (filmed in my second trimester)
Equipment: No equipment, bodyweight
Description: This cardio barre workout is low impact but high intensity! You’ll get all the benefits of a heart-pumping cardio barre class without jumping or running.
Workout Focus: Full body cardio barre workout with an extra emphasis on toning the legs, thighs and butt.
Format: 1-minute “overview” video demonstrating moves, and picture demonstrations (filmed in my third trimester)
Equipment: No equipment, bodyweight
Description: Prepare for labor with this prenatal yoga routine! A gentle yoga flow designed to open tight hips and shoulders, and reduce lower back pain during pregnancy.
Workout Focus: Mobility and total body stretching to release tight and sore muscles due to the increased load of pregnancy.
Format: Full-length, follow along workout video (originally filmed in my second trimester, then re-filmed 6 months postpartum)
Equipment: Dumbbells
Description: This workout combines 7 compound, pregnancy-safe strength training exercises. Squats, lunges, bicep curls and shoulder presses this workout hits every major muscle group in just 30 minutes.
Workout Focus: Total body strength training to build and maintain strength during pregnancy.
Format: 1-minute “overview” video demonstrating moves, and picture demonstrations (filmed in my third trimester)
Equipment: Optional light dumbbells (2-5 lbs)
Description: A low impact, high repetition way to strengthen and tone during pregnancy. From pulsing plíe squats for the lower body to leg lefts that challenge balance and core engagement.
Workout Focus: Total body strength and low impact cardio; a great pregnancy workout for the third trimester.
Format: 1-minute “overview” video demonstrating moves, and picture demonstrations (filmed in my third trimester)
Equipment: Medium dumbbells (5-10 lbs)
Description: A full body prenatal strength and low impact cardio workout. Alternating two full body strength training exercises with one cardio exercise. A challenging pregnancy workout for the second and third trimesters.
Workout Focus: Total body strength, cardio and core conditioning.
Download my FREE Pregnancy Workout Plan for expecting moms — 30 days of the best exercises for pregnant women!
Pregnancy Workouts FAQs
I get a lot of questions about the workouts I did during pregnancy, how I adapted workouts for pregnancy, what’s safe during pregnancy….and I get it!
I remember being both totally overwhelmed with the amount of information and underwhelmed with real answers to my questions about working out while pregnant.
That’s why I created a FREE, 30-Day Pregnancy Workout Plan, designed for mamas who were active before pregnancy and want safe ways to keep moving. You’ll find all of the best prenatal workouts (including those linked in this post) in this 30-Day Pregnancy Exercise Routine.
Best exercises for pregnant women?
Transverse abdominal breathing (TA breathing or TVA breathing)
Disclaimer: Please make sure you’ve consulted your doctor or midwife and have been cleared for exercise during pregnancy. These workout are for women who were working out prior to pregnancy and have maintained an active fitness routine throughout pregnancy.
That said, every pregnancy is different. If you have any concerns, or if you’re starting a fitness program for the first time, please consult your doctor or midwife.
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