Sarah,

Thanks for your question. You would be surprised how many pregnant questions I have people ask me. And while I don't have all the answers, I have my own experiences, so hopefully I can shed some light on this for you.

First of all, check out my training log dated from Aug 06 to May 07 (that's when I was pregnant). I kept up to date with it pretty well, so you should get some ideas from that regarding how heavy I went, how much weight I gained and how I was feeling.

But as for basics, was your client pretty involved in weight training prior to being pregnant? How long? The reason I ask is because if she is new to lifting, then I would definitely take it easy and she will be unsure how her body will respond, especially being pregnant.

If she has a good training background, then I would try to keep her doing what she can based on how she feels. For the first 4 months or so, I continued to squat (usually no more than 205) and kept the reps to mostly triples or 5's so I was straining for a max single or holding my breath too long. Books will also tell you not to lay on your back. I continued to flat bench til about 6 or 7 months, then I did mostly incline after that. Again, I did more rep work during this time so I wouldn't be tempted to go heavy or strain hard. I didn't really do any ab work (other than maybe crunches on the stability ball or 1/2 situps). I did walk on the treadmill alot and did elliptical too. Other than squat and bench I continued to do my other exercises normally (pullups, pushups, pulldowns, rows, biceps/triceps, glute hams, back raises, rdl's, band leg curls, lunges, etc.)

My body was used to training and going through that stress which is why I continued with everything. I squatted up until I was due. 4 weeks before i did 135, 3 weeks before i did 115, then 95, then just the bar and body weight stuff for the last week or so. Obviously, your client needs to touch base with her doctor... I am by no means a doctor, nor can I really recommend anything since I do not know her. But those are some suggestions to keep in mind. it really helped my sanity to train and stay with everything as much as I could, so even though i couldn't squat, bench and deadlift as heavy, i did keep up with my other exercises.

Also, we just found out we are having another baby in January, so I am about 2 months pregnant now. So stay tuned on my training log as I will have my updates on my training there, where you can get some more ideas.

Thanks for question, best of luck and let me know if you need any more help!!

2 kids under 2... yikes!,
Julia Ladewski