What is Pregnancy with Kayla? 

Feel supported, strong, and active throughout every trimester of your pregnancy with this bump-to-birth 40-week program!

If anyone can understand first-hand what it's like to experience the incredible changes your body goes through during pregnancy, it’s our prenatal qualified, head trainer, and soon-to-be mother of 2, Kayla Itsines.

These low-intensity 20-30 minute workouts are designed to be completed in the comfort of your home, using basic equipment or your body weight if needed.

Whether you are looking to maintain your current fitness level if you were active before pregnancy or slowly become introduced to fitness if you are new to exercise, Kayla’s pregnancy program can keep your general health and mental well-being in check.

What is involved in Kayla’s Pregnancy Program? 

Kayla provides 3 resistance, cardio, and recovery workouts per week, however, your goal can be to complete just 1 of each of them if needed as it is important to listen to your body and your doctor during your pregnancy journey. It is also important to allocate at least one rest day per week.

The resistance workouts are broken down into trimesters and target your full body, upper body, and lower body. 

The recovery workouts will also focus on relieving common problem areas woman experience during pregnancy such as lower back relief, hip mobility, and upper back and neck relief. These are great to complete in addition to your resistance and cardio workout, or instead, if you are looking for something a little more low impact.

What week do I start on? 

We recommend that you start Kayla’s program on your equivalent gestational week or if you are trying to conceive start in week 1. 

For example, if you are 20 weeks pregnant, change your week to week 20 of the Second Trimester. If you are 25 weeks pregnant, change your week to week 25 of the Third trimester.  

If you are unsure how to change your week, please follow the instructions in this Help Support Article.

What Equipment do I need to complete this program? 

Kayla recommends completing her program with the following equipment:

• Dumbbells
• Chair
• Step
• Resistance Band/Resistance Tube
• Recovery Band
• Foam Roller (optional for recovery workouts)

However, using your body weight to complete the exercises instead is fine, as well as swapping pieces of equipment for objects you have lying around at home. 

How do the workouts work? 

First Trimester (Week 1 - 12)

Full Body

This workout is going to target all muscle groups, with 2 supersets with 2 exercises in each, both repeated for 3 laps. Complete the exercise for the specific number of reps with a 30-second rest between each lap. The workout ends with a final circuit of 4 exercises performed for 30 seconds each, repeated 3 times also with a 30-second rest between laps.

Upper Body Strength & Posture

In this strength and posture workout, Kayla takes you through 4 sections: Mobility, Strength, Endurance, and Postural exercises. The Mobility section will be your warmup and you will need to complete 2 exercises for the specific number of reps for 3 laps. You will then complete a number of different exercises across the three remaining sections for the specific number of reps, repeated 3 times also with a 30-second rest between laps.

Lower Body

This workout is going to target your lower body by following the same superset structure as the Full Body workout, however, will end with a Triset instead of a circuit. The Triset consists of 3 exercises that are repeated for 3 laps, 30 seconds each with a 30-second rest between laps.

Second Trimester (Week 13 - 24) 

Full Body

This workout is structured exactly the same as the First trimester, however, the final circuit will consist of 3 exercises instead of 4.

Upper Body Strength & Posture

This workout is structured exactly the same as the First trimester.

Lower Body

This workout is structured exactly the same as the First trimester, however, instead of ending with a Triset, you will complete a small circuit of 3 exercises performed for 30 seconds each, repeated 3 times also with a 30-second rest between laps.

Third Trimester (Week 24 - 40) 

Full Body Mobility & Strength

As you move into your last trimester, a Mobility section is added to the beginning of this workout where you will need to complete 2 exercises for the specific number of reps for 3 laps. You then move into 1 superset with 2 exercises repeated for 3 laps. Complete the exercise for the specific number of reps with a 30-second rest between each lap. The workout ends with a small 3-exercise circuit, repeated for 3 laps, with a 30-second rest in between.

Upper Body Strength & Posture

This workout is structured exactly the same as the Second trimester.

Lower Body Mobility & Strength

This workout is structured exactly the same as the Full Body Mobility & Strength, however, has a strong focus on the lower body. 

Recovery

Your Recovery sessions are split into separate workouts: Lower Back Relief, Hip Mobility, and Upper Back and Neck Relief and will consist of a variety of 7-8 stretching exercises. Complete the exercise for the required number of reps or time. These workouts will take approximately 8-10 minutes to complete 

Although exercise during and after pregnancy has been associated with multiple health benefits, you should consult with and obtain permission from your physician or other health care provider before starting this or any other fitness program to determine if it is right for you, especially while pregnant and in the months following your pregnancy. Not all exercise is suitable for everyone or every pregnancy and exercises, including those suggested in this article, may result in injury. Do not start a fitness program if your physician or health care provider advises against it.

This article is for informational purposes only. Any instruction, information, or guidance contained in this article is not a substitute for medical advice, consultation, and/or medical treatment from your doctor or healthcare provider. Do not delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of any instruction, information or guidance contained in this article.

You are responsible for your own safety and are participating in this fitness activity at your own risk. Start slowly and do not exceed the exercise recommended by your physician or health care provider. If you experience faintness, dizziness, pain, discomfort, bleeding, or shortness of breath at any time while exercising, stop immediately and seek medical advice.