Safe Core Exercises During Pregnancy (That Work for All 3 Trimesters)

Looking for safe core exercises during pregnancy that actually feel good and support your body? Here’s exactly how to train your core in every trimester, without guessing, crunching, or making things worse.

The Truth About Core Training in Pregnancy

Here’s the thing: “just don’t do abs” isn’t a plan.

And neither is blindly doing crunches or planks while your belly grows, your posture shifts, and your pelvic floor takes on more and more pressure.

The truth is, you don’t have to stop training your core during pregnancy, you just have to train it differently.

There ARE pregnancy safe core exercises that help you:

• Build strength where it matters
  
  
• Protect your pelvic floor and prevent coning
  
  
• Reduce the risk of severe diastasis recti or worsening it
  
  
• Relieve pressure, pain, and instability
  
  
• Stay connected to your deep core through every stage of pregnancy
  
  

And no, it’s not about shrinking your waist! It’s about building a strong foundation for birth, postpartum healing, and everything motherhood throws at you.

So What Actually Makes a Core Exercise “Safe” in Pregnancy?

A pregnancy safe core routine isn’t about dumbing things down, it’s about being intentional.

Here’s what we look for in Natal’s Ab Prehab Trimester Series:

✅ Supports deep core activation (TVA and pelvic floor)

✅ Manages pressure well (no doming, coning, or pushing out)

✅ Adjusts to your growing belly

✅ Targets functional movement patterns you’ll use daily

✅ Teaches breath-to-core coordination

✅ Works with your changing alignment and posture

You CAN (and should) train your core in pregnancy. You just need a strategy.

Our Approach: Core Training IN PREGNANCY

Inside the Ab Prehab program in the Natal app, we break core training into three phases. Each builds on the last to give you strength, mobility, and control as your pregnancy progresses.

Here’s what safe core training actually looks like, with real examples you can use today.

First Trimester Core Work: Foundation + Activation

Goal: Build a deep core connection before your belly changes everything.

In early pregnancy, you might not feel different yet but your body is already adapting. This is your window to lay the groundwork.

Key focuses of first trimester ab exercises:

• 360° diaphragmatic breathing (to train intra-abdominal pressure)
  
  
• TVA holds and minis (deep core activation without bearing down)
  
  
• Pelvic floor + breath coordination (not just kegels, but full range of motion)
  
  
• Posture alignment to avoid early rib flare, glute gripping, and anterior tilt
  
  
• Core-integrated strength moves like hip hinges, loaded squats, and banded rows
  
  

First trimester core exercises:

• 360 breathing in quadruped
  
  
• Wall-supported TVA pulses
  
  
• Bird dog holds
  
  
• Incline plank taps (if cleared and supported by breath)
  
  
• Miniband hip bridges + core brace
  
  

We keep reps low and form tight. This isn’t a sweat sesh, it’s strategy.

Second Trimester Core Work: Adaptation + Stability

Goal: Stay strong and aligned as your belly grows and center of gravity shifts.

This is when coning might show up. Your belly is changing, and so should your training. In trimester two, we emphasize eccentric control, posture correction, and breath-to-effort timing.

Key focuses of 2nd trimester ab exercises:

• Modified planks (elevated, side planks, or quadruped)
  
  
• Lateral core strength (obliques, not just front-body)
  
  
• Pelvic alignment support through glutes and upper back
  
  
• Breath-based pressure management in every movement
  
  

Second trimester core exercises:

• Side plank on knees with breath
  
  
• Banded Pallof presses (anti-rotation strength)
  
  
• Elevated incline planks
  
  
• Seated or wall-assisted TVA pulses
  
  
• Bird dog with exhale lift
  
  

We also integrate upper back strengthening (hello, breast and belly prep) and anti-extension work to keep your ribcage and pelvis talking to each other.

Third Trimester Core Work: Mobility + Preparation

Goal: Maintain function, release tension, and train your body for labor.

By the third trimester, the focus shifts from “activation” to coordination, breath, and relaxation. Your workouts should feel supportive, not like you’re muscling through.

Key focuses of 3rd trimester ab exercise:

• Release-based breath work (relaxing pelvic floor on exhale)
  
  
• Gentle dynamic core work in functional patterns
  
  
• Birth prep movements that align your pelvis and calm your nervous system
  
  
• Core-to-glute integration to support stability without over-effort
  
  

Third trimester core exercises:

• Seated or sidelying 360 breathing
  
  
• Knees-wide rockbacks with exhale
  
  
• Glute bridges with supported breath
  
  
• Open books + ribcage rotation
  
  
• Side-lying TVA pulses
  
  
• Gentle cat-cow + hip circles
  
  

We also cue reverse kegels, jaw softening, and low breath sounds, because your pelvic floor needs to know how to let go as much as it knows how to engage.

Core Exercises to Avoid During Pregnancy

These aren’t “bad” but they’re often not the best choice while you’re later in pregnancy for most women. Of course, there is always an exception to the rule but these are a list of commonly problematic exercises that become difficult to manage intra-abdominal pressure optimally in late pregnancy.

Here are 5 common core exercises that are better put on hold later in pregnancy for most women:

🚫 Sit-ups and crunches

🚫 Traditional front-loaded planks

🚫 Some Twisting under load (Russian twists, bicycles)

🚫 High-impact ab moves (V-ups, rock backs)

🚫 Anything that causes coning, bulging, pain, or holding your breath should be looked at and weighed if benefit now out weighs the risks

Why We Don’t Just “Stop Training Core”

Too many women are told to stop training core during pregnancy and then feel shocked postpartum when they:

• Struggle with coning or doming during pregnancy
  
  
• Have no core engagement or awareness during pregnancy
  
  
• Leak during workouts or basic movements in pregnancy
  
  
• Feel like they’ve “lost their body” after baby
  
  

Core dysfunction isn’t just about the abs, it’s about how you breathe, move, lift, and align. And we can train those patterns now, during pregnancy, in ways that feel good and get results.

Why Our Clients Love Ab Prehab

Inside the Natal app, the Ab Prehab Pregnancy Series walks you through:

• Weekly follow-along pregnancy-safe core workouts (12–20 min max)
  
  
• Pregnancy-specific cues and progressions
  
  
• Breath work and pressure strategy tutorials
  
  
• Pregnancy mobility and strength combinations that evolve as you do
  
  
• Real pregnancy exercise support to help you feel capable and strong not confused or anxious about your changing body.
  
  

Whether you’re brand new to prenatal movement or still lifting weights, Ab Prehab meets you where you are and guides you through every phase, with safety, science, and strength.

Final Thoughts: What Makes a Core Program Safe in Pregnancy?

It’s not about avoiding effort, it’s about moving smarter.

Safe core exercises during pregnancy don’t just protect you, they empower you. They help you move better, breathe deeper, and feel more connected to your body in a season that often feels foreign and out of control.

When your workouts evolve with your body in pregnancy, you don’t just “stay fit” you stay functional. And that’s the kind of strength that carries into labor, postpartum, and the long game of motherhood!

✅ Want to train your core the right way during pregnancy?

Our Ab Prehab Trimester Series in the Natal app includes safe, effective core workouts for all 3 trimesters, plus expert coaching, breathwork tools, and mobility routines to support you every step of the way.

No guesswork. No crunches. Just real strategy that works with your changing body!

Get started today with your free trial inside the Natal app.