There is an internal desire to maintain loads and keep lifting as heavy as before through pregnancy.

But how much is too much?

When you are pregnant, form, structure, pressure, tension naturally changes. Therefore, we must adapt to the ever-changing body for support.

So… the real question is how the load is impacting the pressure on the midline and pelvic floor as the body continue to change.

What used to be heavy for you may not sound heavy, but it may be for your hips, vagina, and additional hormones swimming in the body trying to relax your ligaments.

The additional abdominal pressure and changing structure from the growing baby puts force and demands to the core and pelvic floor.

It is great to have a ‘strong pelvic floor’ and it is absolutely necessary.

But it is also having a core system that you can understand and help respond to any task at hand: sneezing, peeing, a squat and being able to expand and relax for birth.

Variables like load, volume, intensity, etc, is something we can control and adapt to fit our current needs and abilities whether you are 3 months pregnant or 6 months pregnant.

Here are some things to think about when training.

• If the lift requires:
• To hold your breath.
• You need to brace hard.
• Grinding your teeth
• Straining through reps
• Losing your breath after that rep
• Generating a lot of tension to support the weight

Every lift you should be able to inhale and exhale fully through full movement

Adjust your ROM as pregnancy continues

Renegotiate your definition of strength