Second Trimester Pregnancy Workout Plan

About this plan

Three sessions a week built around glute strength, pelvic stability and core work that stays safe as the abdomen changes shape.

Day one runs standing pelvic tilts, bent-knee hip abduction, bent-knee hip extension, sit squats and bird dogs. Day two moves to bodyweight good mornings, wall squats, kneeling kickbacks, straight-leg kickbacks and standing hip work. Day three covers sit squats at twelve, bent-knee abduction, kneeling kickbacks, clam shells and side planks.

Clear it with your provider first, and mention if you have been told you have diastasis recti or any pelvic floor concern.

There is no lying-on-your-back work here, and that is deliberate. From around the middle of the second trimester, extended time supine can compress the vena cava and reduce blood flow, so the plan uses standing, kneeling and side-lying positions instead. That constraint is also why so much of it is hip work — those positions are where the glutes can still be loaded well.

There are also no crunches, sit-ups or planks on the hands. As the abdomen stretches, exercises that pull the rectus abdominis hard toward the midline can worsen separation. Bird dogs, side planks and standing pelvic tilts train the trunk without that.

Glute strength is the theme because this is the trimester where the load starts to tell. Stronger glutes take work off the lower back as the centre of gravity moves forward, and pelvic stability is what keeps hip and pubic pain manageable.

Breathe out on the effort, never hold your breath, and stop for the warning signs your provider gave you. If a movement causes coning or doming along the midline, take it out.