Workouts I’m Doing at 6 Months Pregnant

Pregnancy is a funny thing for me. On some days, I get sarcastic remarks from people saying I’ve “blossomed.” On others, I barely pass for bloat. Pre-pregnancy me would be floored at these statements, given I was utterly terrified at the notion of uncontrollably gaining weight. But behold, here we are at the six-month mark and I can still pass for ‘not pregnant.’

The truth is, I haven’t given myself as much as I would have liked to working out. Mostly, I’ve been eating for the health and development of my baby while fiber-maxxing every plate: protein, fats, and since my son is almost 60% Italian... carbs.

I am proud of how far I’ve come diet-wise since it’s been sustaining me and feeding the energy reserves needed to grow this baby. Lately, however—be it the seasonal 5 a.m. runners or hot girl summer—I’ve been getting more serious about working out. In part, for the MILF status. Mostly, however, because the belly is growing beyond the butt.

I have always been into fitness. Full disclosure, before publishing I had my run at being a fitness influencer. I love the gym, I love a peach booty, but mostly, I love feeling hot.

So with pregnancy challenging me at a new level motivation-wise, body-wise, and energy-wise, I’ve had to adjust my fitness strategy more than once. Some weeks (like in the first trimester), there’s no bargaining with my body. But more often than not, it’s just about minor adjustments and working out to support my body for the season I’m in.

I won’t list all the pregnancy workouts I know work, only the ones I really live by.

But if you look up pregnancy-friendly workouts and diastasis recti prevention/recovery workouts, you’ll find a ton of fitness experts (specifically moms) who can inspire your journey. I also share some of their handles below. But for the sake of this article, I just want to share the workouts I do.

Take these workouts at your own pace and please be conscious of the baby inside of you. I don’t buy into mom propaganda that you shouldn’t be lifting (though it comes with its benefits when shopping publicly), but keep in mind that this is also not the time to be hitting personal records. My advice is to work out to stay fit, healthy, prepare yourself for labor, and also to smoothen your recovery.

‘Hug-the-Baby’s’

Since pre-conception, I’ve been doing these breathing exercises. They’re synonymous with vacuums, but a little more fetus-friendly. Not to mention, I am a devout Pilates and barre girly, so in-and-up (like you’re zipping a zipper) has been my best friend.

I learned a lot about diastasis recti before I even got pregnant, thanks to my social media algorithm and blatant self-image issues. Diastasis recti, for those who aren’t familiar, is ab separation that is very commonly found in postpartum women. So I informed myself quite a bit before conceiving to prepare my core, my back, and my... you know... for the demands of labor.

Since then, I do these hug-the-baby’s several dozen times throughout the day, starting in the morning and repeating literally any time I think of it.

Just inhale normally, and when you exhale, empty your entire diaphragm and engage your core upwards as if you were zipping your pre-pregnancy jeans. Disclaimer: this is not like vacuums where you intentionally hold your breath. This is more like a deep core-breathing exercise.

Overhead March with Dumbbell

This was my go-to exercise to tighten my core long before I got pregnant, and it’s still a daily exercise I do. Personally, I aim for 5–10 lb weights and do four sets of 8 reps with every workout I do. For this exercise, I do two sets on each side.

The goal here isn’t to march and blow through the exercise. It’s to hug the baby with every rep and raise your knee as high as you can while maintaining good posture. Slowly.

To add some difficulty for our advanced mamas, I also do another four sets (2x left/right) of eight while crossing the arm that’s holding the weight to the opposite (raised) knee. It’s giving Tae-Bo, but make it prenatal.

Toe Taps

Take an overhead march to the floor, and you’ve got another core workout that’s totally pregnancy-friendly. I personally LOVE this exercise because it slows you way down and brings all your attention to the baby and your belly.

Starting in tabletop position, hug the baby with every toe tap to the floor. When you start to feel confident, add a weight in your hands, keep your arms straight to the ceiling, and alternate one hand to the floor (behind your head).

This is a low-maintenance exercise that I do on those slow, low-energy days that I know have a big impact on core structure.

Weighted Bird Dogs

Hands down, a prenatal favorite. It combines a nice back/shoulder workout with your core and your glutes. I often add anywhere from 3–5 lbs in my raised hand, and I am ALWAYS careful to keep my core engaged, my back supported, and my hips square. Tighten your glutes when you raise, and really hug the baby when you come back into your tabletop position.

I love this workout because the alternating arm raises with the leg extensions also challenge my core stability and demand my focus on balance. You don’t always feel it like you would a high-impact exercise, but trust me, if you’re doing them right... they’re doing something deeper than what’s on the surface.

Glute Bridges

Now this is a controversial one. One: because I’m a glute girly and don’t feel like I’ve had a productive workout until I’ve done glute bridges. But two! You have to be much more cautious when pregnant. Like I said, this is not the time to hit PRs, and it’s not the time to add unnecessary weight.

However, if you structure these correctly and add just the right amount of weight (I usually range anywhere from 35–50 lb when I’m NOT pregnant, but have found the 20 lb range to suit me very well during pregnancy), these can defeat mom butt and prolong that booty > belly ratio as long as possible.

Not to mention, there’s something to be said about lower back support during pregnancy. You just have to know your body’s (and baby’s) limits and play within them. Keep your form right and your core engaged, always hugging that sweet little baby, and above all, stop when you notice any strain on your back.

When I first entered the gym in the second trimester and I was blooming with all this new energy, I admit to pushing myself too much and regretting it for days afterward. Back strain is amplified exponentially during pregnancy, so don’t wipe yourself out of the game before you’ve even started. Take my advice: if London Bridge is falling down... you’ve probably added too much weight.

Squats, Deadlifts, and Variations of Such

On the subject of mom butt. As a certified 45”+ girly, losing a third of my ass to the first trimester was no joke. I take absolute pride in my hip-to-waist ratio and still get triggered on those days the belly out-perks my booty. So I’ve been mixing a variation of squats and deadlifts with an exclusive focus on form over facade.

I can’t state this enough: this is not the time to add unnecessary weight. It is, however, the perfect opportunity to train for all the lifting and lowering of your baby you will be doing in the soon-to-come months. One of the most common complaints I’ve heard from other moms is that their lower backs were not prepared for the load of raising a baby.

So while you’re doing those squats, deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, RDLs, and all of the kinds, do so by imagining yourself lifting an ever-growing baby.

I even play around with envisioning the weights as my baby and practicing how I will lift them from the Baby Bjorn Bouncer we were gifted and how I will get them out of the crib.

Calf Raises and Quad (Leg) Extensions

Cankles, who? I’ve been doing 80–100 calf raises daily because I refuse to let leg swelling become a thing. I do seated ankle rolls as often as I think about it. And... between you and I... I do leg extensions because I don’t want mom knees either.

I haven’t found it in me to do weighted leg extensions yet, but I focus on the isolated movements as my inner ballerina would have it... pointed toes and all.

Safe to say, you don’t need a gym for these exercises. Just do them whenever you’ve been sitting around for too long, just to get your lymphatic system draining and your blood flowing.

[On a side note to this, I’ve also been doing cold foot baths every evening, or just rinsing off my feet with ice-cold water after a shower to lower that heat-induced foot bloating. IYKYK.]

Cardio

I haven’t been 10k-steps-per-day-ing as much as I would like, but I do recognize the importance of cardio activity. I am a runner, and I love me a good StairMaster climb or re-enacting Elle Woods on the elliptical. It’s really based on the mood of the day.

But I do try to get my steps in, and whether I’m waddling through or confidently increasing my strides, I do recommend implementing some form of low-impact activity into your day.

With my pregnancy taking place in peak summer, I’ll also be swimming more. I hear that swimming is all the rage during pregnancy—being beneficial for both cardio health and preventing lower back strain. Not to mention, I bought a ton of cute bikinis to show off the bump as hot-girl summer takes a twist toward hot-mom summer.

Kegels

Last but most definitely not least... your coochie’s best friend! Kegels! I never thought we would be here, but alas—I’ve ruined too many outfits with a single sneeze. Enough said.

This doesn’t need a long paragraph. Just do ‘em. Do them when you laugh, when you cough, when you sneeze... Girl, just do ‘em when you breathe.

And there you have it, ladies. These exercises are on repeat with several variations, postures, weight classes, and playlists.

My goal is not to bounce back while I’m still bouncing on my medicine ball. Rather, I want to prepare my body, prevent any postpartum complications or injuries... and yes, look hot doing it.

I’ve stayed disciplined with my fitness without being overly diligent because I understand that every body is different and every pregnancy is, too. I made sure to prioritize my diet above all, fueling my body and not giving into every single craving I have. I am staying active and familiarizing myself with these new limits. But above all, I’m learning about the kind of wife, mother, and woman I want to be and showing up as she would.

Are there any workouts you’ve been loving or have sworn by during your motherhood journey?

Lately, some of my favorite prenatal/postnatal influencers have been:

@nikizoub
@violetta.fitness
@amycarmodymovement
@stef.williams
@every_mother

And let’s not forget the infamous Jane Fonda workout I did a little while ago. If you haven’t already, give it a read!

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