I thought I would share with you the workouts I have been doing this pregnancy. These have been the best prenatal workouts that are also gentle on the joints!

Many of the prenatal workouts I tried when I was pregnant with Amelia involved a lot of knee bending and things that were difficult to do with rheumatoid arthritis or bad joints.

After she was born, I started doing reformer pilates, barre, and became more educated on better workouts! With this pregnancy, I have been able to enjoy more exercise now that I am feeling better.

Feel free to share this with anyone you know how is expecting or needs some good ideas for prenatal exercise.

The Best Prenatal Workouts That Are Also Gentle On Joints

Before you start ANY movement or exercise, always ask your OBGYN first. Most of them recommend exercise, but many things depend on your specific situation. It is always a good idea to check with them before doing anything. Even though I was very active and exercising daily before pregnancy, I still checked with my doctor first.

If you want to follow me on Instagram, you can check it out here. I share a lot of exercise information, tips, and behind the scenes on daily life.

Walking

This is a generic exercise for so many things, but almost anyone can enjoy walking while pregnant and get benefits from it. When I was very sick my first trimester and weak, I slowly got back into being active by taking slow walks each day. The benefits of walking while pregnant are endless.

I try to walk with Amelia everyday or every few days especially now that I am in my third trimester.

Pilates

Pilates is something I talk about so much, but I can’t recommend it enough. Not only has Pilates helped me recover from knee surgery, it has been so beneficial for RA. It is also wonderful for pregnancy. I do reformer Pilates once a week, but I also do mat Pilates moves at home. The movements are slow and gentle, but very effective. Here is a Youtube video I have been doing for mat pilates.

Locally, I go to The Fit Lounge in Granbury and Blue Door Studio in Stephenville for reformer classes!

Chair Pilates

As I have gotten into my third trimester, the Pilates chair has been really great! It keeps me from having to lay down or strain, and we have them in my Pilates studio. I am looking into getting one for my home because they are wonderful even when you aren’t pregnant!

Barre

After being certified to teach Barre a few years ago, I was impressed with how beneficial it was for a variety of things. You can do barre workouts with bad joints, and they are also great for pregnancy.

You can find Barre workouts online specifically for prenatal and postnatal needs too. I have done several on youtube, and also just do my traditional barre workout and just eliminate the ab work portion. It is just a great exercise for all types of needs, and so easy to modify too!

Prenatal Stretching

Also, stretching has been super helpful for me. With this pregnancy, I have experienced more back and hip pain then I did before. I do many of these exercises on this list every few days. The same Youtube channel listed above also has a great full body prenatal stretch: