The first trimester of pregnancy can feel like a bit of a wildcard. One moment you’re excited, motivated, and determined to keep up with your regular workouts—and the next, you’re hit with waves of nausea, exhaustion, or both. Every pregnancy is different and how you can feel can even shift week by week.
For some people, early pregnancy barely interrupts their fitness routine. For others, morning sickness and fatigue can make usual workouts feel impossible. The good news? Movement is still possible and beneficial. This post will walk you through key considerations and practical ways to modify your workouts in the first trimester.
First of all, from a physical/anatomy standpoint, there aren’t any necessary modifications at this stage of pregnancy. You can still do sit ups, jump, run, anything you were already doing is fine to continue. That being said, if you start to notice symptoms of pain, leakage, or pressure, you may consider modifying those movements and reaching out to a PT to begin addressing them.
Just because anatomically speaking, your body can handle your regular workout routine, the truth is you may just not feel up to due to sickness or fatigue. Let’s talk through how to modify in these instances:
Modify intensity or frequency.
Maybe you are used to going all out at Crossfit 4-5x a week. You may have to consider scaling back the intensity. Here’s how:
- Instead of working at 8-9/10 you may only be able to push at 5-7/10.
- Consider decreasing your frequency. Instead of 5 intense days, try 3x a week to allow your body more time to rest and recover between sessions.
- The other days of the week, consider doing something a little lighter like walking or a stationary bike.
- Use RPE to guide you,rather than trying to meet your pre-pregnancy benchmarks.
Change the time of day you exercise.
Most people experience more nausea in the mornings. If you are used to getting up at 5 am to exercise, this may not be possible for a season. Consider shifting your workout to a time of day that you feel less sick or tired.
Be prepared.
If you do experience nausea or vomiting, prep ahead of time. Some items you may consider having ready: take meds ahead of time so they can kick in, have an emesis bag, small snack, fluids that aren’t water to sip on, (for me personally I couldn’t handle drinking water, I liked liquid IV and body armour) , if you’re working out at a gym and feel comfortable, let the coach know or a trusted friend in your class just in case you need support.
Manage expectations.
Some days your body may just not feel up to exercising or you may start to feel sick mid-session. Give yourself grace. The first trimester is extremely challenging. Hormones are constantly changing and your body is working hard to grow a baby and placenta! If a nap or TV session just feels better, don’t feel guilty. It also doesn’t have to be the time to set PRs. Just moving is enough some days. Fitness will be there for you when you are ready. Take it from someone who had to significantly modify it during pregnancy due to HG, you can and will get back to it.
Here’s another simple shift that helped me get started on tough days: Choosing workouts I actually enjoyed.
It might sound too simple, but it made a huge difference. Instead of forcing myself through something I dreaded, I’d pick 3–4 of my favorite exercises and turn them into a quick circuit. Just getting started with something I liked was often enough to get me moving and sometimes even gave me the momentum to do a little more!
Final thoughts: Exercise can be SO good for you and baby in the first trimester. However, first trimester symptoms may make it difficult. Take it day by day, hour by hour. Instead of completely throwing exercise out the window, consider modifying intensity, frequency, or time of day. Manage your expectations and remember exercise will be there for you when you are ready, whether that’s the second trimester or further into postpartum.