prenatal exercise part 4; second trimester

Second Trimester

In the second trimester (weeks 14-27) there are new psychological and physiological changes that take place. Commonly, at this stage of pregnancy, people generally feel a sense of relief and reduced anxiety over miscarriage, less frequent or no longer experiencing nausea or sickness, increased energy, and more social support as they share the news with friends and family. 

With these improvements, your body is also developing more in this stage of pregnancy. During this trimester, you’ll notice you gain the most weight as the baby grows and your body adapts to nourish your expecting child. In exercise, we’ll make minor adjustments to your positions and continue to meet you where you’re at energetically. 

Training goals for a Well-Designed Exercise Program throughout the Second Trimester Include (1):

• Reduce incidence of back and pelvic pain.
  
• Continue to work on strengthening and relaxing pelvic floor muscles.
  
• Encourage good alignment and posture.
  
• Maintain strength and cardiovascular fitness.
  

Additionally, as the baby grows, it may feel less comfortable lying on your back. Research and exercise guidelines vary in their suggestions for being in a supine position during this time and what is most important is your comfort and acknowledgement of any signs or symptoms. We will minimize the time spent lying on your back and incline the supine position to at least 15 degrees to avoid excessive pressure on the vena cava, the main vein that carries blood back to the heart from the lower body. If experiencing light headedness, nausea, shortness of breath, or tingling in the legs at any point when in the supine position it is crucial to communicate this and move out of that position. 

Some common concerns in the second trimester are (2):

• Round ligament pain.
  
• Increase in breast size.
  
• Edema
  
• Leg Cramps
  
• Pelvic Girdle and Low Back Pain
  

Some people may and others may not experience much discomfort at this time, and we will make appropriate modifications as necessary, where needed for you.

Specific strength training modifications in the second trimester include:

1. Continue to encourage connection breath even as the rib cage changes position and growing abdomen pushes diaphragm higher.
   
2. Strength training should be monitored as your abdomen grows, barbell exercises may need to change depending on bar path, heavy loads may need to decrease as the pressure inside the abdomen increases and weight increases as well.
   
3. Checking in with the abdominal musculature and linea alba (vertical center space tissue between each quadrant of abdominals). If doming in the front of the abdomen is present, discontinue that exercise. Decreasing effort in the abdominal region if diastasis rectus abdominis is present. Mid way through trimester, it may be appropriate to discontinue planks, crunches, and sit ups as the linea alba may not be able to support them as the abdomen grows.
   
4. Checking in with pelvic girdle pain and modify single leg exercises, lunges, and deep wide squats.
   
5. Break cardiovascular training into two or three smaller time chunks instead of doing one long walk or run.
   

Cited Sources:

1. The Girls Gone Strong Academy Pre-and Postnatal Coaching Certification Manual. 2018. Girls Gone Strong. P.260
   
2. The Girls Gone Strong Academy Pre-and Postnatal Coaching Certification Manual. 2018. Girls Gone Strong. P.260
   

For questions or to set up your first session please contact Brie at [email protected]

​