| •Medical advice and physician recommendations should be obtained prior to resistance training during pregnancy. |
| •Resistance training for all pregnant women may not be appropriate. If women have any of the contraindications to aerobic exercise as proposed by American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology they should not participate in resistance training. |
| •Women should be encouraged to breathe normally during resistance training, breath holding reduces oxygen delivery to the placenta. The Valsalva movement should be avoided |
| •Relatively low weights with multiple repetitions lifted through a dynamic range of motion appear to be safe. |
| •In the third trimester arm lifting more than 15 pounds or arm pushing more than 25 pounds should be avoided. |
| •An exercise set consisting of at least 12-15 repetitions without undue fatigue is recommended. |
| •As training occurs, overload initially by increasing number of repetitions and, subsequently, by increasing resistance. |
| •Resistance training on machines is preferred to free-weights because machines can be more easily controlled and require less skill. |
| •Heavy resistance should be avoided since it may expose the joints, connective tissue, and skeletal structures of an expectant woman to excessive forces. |
| •Exercise in the supine position should be avoided whenever possible because of the relative obstruction of venous return and, therefore deceased cardiac output and orthostatic hypertension, especially after the first trimester or approximately 16 weeks gestation. |
| •Motionless standing is also associated with a significant decrease in cardiac output so this position should be avoided as much as possible especially during the third trimester. |
| •The ability to perform abdominal exercise may be impeded by the development of diastasis recti and associated abdominal muscle weakening. |
