07/14/2026
Emily here! 👋 Owner of Emerge Fitness, and I’m just about out of the first trimester of my second pregnancy. I wanted to share a few survival tips for navigating fitness during those first 14-ish weeks.
The hardest part of the first trimester—for me—is simply managing the symptoms. I was extremely sick with my first pregnancy, and while this one has been a little better, I’ve still spent more free time napping than working out (being fully transparent 😅)… and that’s okay.
Prioritize rest. Manage your symptoms. Train when you feel good enough to train.
Some weeks that might look like 2–3 workouts. Other weeks it might be 0–1. This is just a season, and your fitness will be waiting for you when you feel like yourself again.
One thing that helped me tremendously was accountability.
Right before getting pregnant, I started weekly physical therapy sessions to address some recurring aches and pains. Having those appointments on my calendar made it so much easier to show up because self-motivation is HARD when you’re nauseous and exhausted. (Shoutout to .pt)
Whether it’s a trainer, a workout buddy, or simply scheduling workouts ahead of time, having someone expecting you can make all the difference.
There aren’t any mandatory exercise changes during the first trimester for most healthy pregnancies, but that doesn’t mean every movement will feel good.
A few modifications I’ve personally made:
• Swapped flat bench exercises for an incline because lying flat made my nausea much worse.
• Skipped barbell hip thrusts because the pressure across my abdomen just wasn’t comfortable. Instead, I opted for banded or single-leg hip thrusts.
• Avoided anything with a meaningful risk of falling. If I didn’t feel 100% stable, I’d hold onto something or choose a different exercise.
Pregnancy isn’t the time to prove anything. There’s almost always another exercise that accomplishes the same goal with less risk.
Lastly…
✨ Keep snacks with you. (Watermelon Sour Patch Kids and carby snack bars were my MVPs. 😂)
✨ Stay hydrated. (Flavored water was WAY easier for me than plain water.)
✨ &&& Give yourself grace. ❤️
