A video of a pregnant athlete lifting at 40+ weeks recently went viral — and something remarkable happened in the comments: people were supportive. No fear-mongering. No unsolicited advice to “take it easy.” Just encouragement.
If you’ve been following the conversation around exercise and pregnancy, you know this is a big deal. The public understanding of what pregnant women can and should do in the gym has shifted dramatically — and the science is catching up, too.
As a pelvic floor physical therapist, researcher, and competitive weightlifter who has lifted through her own pregnancies, I’m here to break down the six key principles I want every active woman to understand about lifting during pregnancy in 2026.
1. There Are No Longer Hard and Fast Rules About Lifting in Pregnancy
This might be the most liberating thing you’ll read today.
Gone are the days of blanket rules like “don’t lift more than 25 pounds” or “avoid heavy exertion after the first trimester.” What we now understand — and what our 2025 postpartum guidelines reflect — is that exercise during pregnancy should be personalized and individualized.
What works for you may not work for your neighbor. What worked in your first pregnancy may not work in your second.
Some women feel incredible performing heavy compound lifts well into their third trimester. Others feel best scaling back to 50–75% of their usual load early on. Some athletes even hit personal records during pregnancy. All of these experiences can be valid.
The shift is away from rules and toward frameworks — which means the next step is learning how to make informed decisions for your own body.
2. Understanding How Your Body Changes in Pregnancy Is Empowering
Knowledge is your best training tool. When you understand what’s happening in your body, you can make smarter decisions — and stop panicking about normal sensations.
Here’s a quick snapshot of key pregnancy-related physical changes:
Understanding these changes helps you contextualize how exercises feel — and why. Feeling a stretch across your belly during a hanging movement in your third trimester? That makes physiological sense. Experiencing pelvic girdle pain? There’s a reason hip strengthening is a cornerstone of treatment.
2B — Know What to Expect Postpartum, Too
Your labor and delivery story matters for your postpartum return to lifting. Understanding what your body went through gives you a more realistic and compassionate roadmap for rebuilding strength after baby.
3. “Listen to Your Body” Is Actually Great Advice — If You Know What to Listen For
This phrase gets a bad reputation, but hear me out: it’s genuinely useful advice when paired with the right education.
Here’s the key: in pregnancy, your pelvic floor gives you important signals. The big three to watch for during lifting or impact activity are:
These sensations are not a sign that your pelvic floor is permanently damaged. They’re a sign that it’s hitting its current capacity — think of it like muscular fatigue. It’s telling you to shift something: load, volume, range of motion, or position.
A coach’s eyes on your movement can also be invaluable here. Sometimes a small positional change makes a big difference in how your body responds to an exercise.
On the abdominal side, coning (a ridge or peak along the midline of your belly during exertion) is no longer considered an automatic reason to stop an exercise, particularly in the third trimester. However, pulling pain or pressure at the belly button or along the six-pack line is worth paying attention to.
4. Your Fitness History Matters — But It’s Not a Barrier to Starting
If you were active before pregnancy, your body has an established baseline to work from — and that’s a major asset.
But here’s the part that often gets overlooked: pregnancy is not the wrong time to start exercising if you haven’t been. The old guidance that “pregnancy isn’t the time to start a new fitness routine” is outdated and, frankly, harmful.
That doesn’t mean we’re having a newly pregnant beginner attempt a one-rep max deadlift. It means we meet people where they are — with dumbbell work, machines, higher rep ranges, and lower loads to build movement confidence and foundational strength.
One phrase I come back to again and again:
Pregnancy is hard. Pregnancy deconditioned is harder. Postpartum is hard. Postpartum deconditioned is harder.
Nobody walks into a hard season of life wishing they were weaker. Strength helps you carry baby, recover from birth, and manage the physical demands of new motherhood. Getting stronger during pregnancy — whatever that looks like for your body — is always worth it.
5. Modification Timing Is Individual, Not Universal
We have good frameworks for what to look for when considering modifications. What we no longer have is a universal timeline for when to modify.
Some women adjust their training by 20 weeks. Others are doing Olympic lifts at 38 weeks with no issues. The trigger for modification should come from your body, your symptoms, and your individual circumstances — not a calendar date.
The goal is to keep you strong, moving, and feeling good for as long as possible — and to help you recognize meaningful signals when they come.
6. The Research on Lifting in Pregnancy Is Expanding — and It’s Exciting
The evidence base for resistance training in pregnancy is growing fast. Researchers and coaches across the fitness world — from strength coaches to sports scientists — are engaging with this topic more than ever before.
What we’re seeing is that lifting during pregnancy, when approached thoughtfully and with proper support, carries significant benefits for both mother and baby. The conversation is shifting from “is it safe?” to “how do we optimize it?” — and that is a genuinely thrilling development.
The Bottom Line
The rules around lifting in pregnancy have changed. The goal is no longer to restrict — it’s to individualize, educate, and empower.
If you’re pregnant and want to keep lifting, the most important things you can do are:
You don’t have to choose between being an athlete and being a great mom. With the right approach, you can be both. You can listen to the full podcast here
Christina Prevett is a pelvic floor physical therapist, researcher, and host of the Barbell Mamas Podcast. This post is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for individualized medical advice.
Christina Prevett is a pelvic floor physiotherapist who has a passion for helping women with different life transitions, including postpartum care and menopause.
