Third trimester training often gets treated as a time to automatically scale back, regardless of how someone is actually training or feeling. But intensity in the third trimester isn’t something to abandon by default, it’s something to guide with awareness. Rather than following a fixed rule based on trimester or week number, training decisions can be based on how the body is actually responding, session to session.

RPE as a tool, not outdated blanket advice

RPE, or rate of perceived exertion, is a simple scale used to rate how hard an effort feels, typically from 1 to 10. It’s a useful tool because it reflects real, individual effort rather than relying on a fixed percentage or number that doesn’t account for how someone is actually feeling that day.

A common piece of advice in the pregnancy space is to reduce effort to around 7 RPE by a certain week, regardless of the individual. This kind of blanket guidance is outdated. As long as training feels comfortable and pressure and effort are being well managed, there’s no fixed ceiling that needs to apply to everyone at the same point in pregnancy. Some people may need to reduce intensity earlier, others may be able to continue pushing effort levels further, depending entirely on their own response to training.

Training through my second pregnancy

During my second pregnancy, I lifted heavier and pushed my RPE threshold further than what’s often recommended for the third trimester. This wasn’t about ignoring how I felt, it was the opposite, I was training based on how my body was actually responding, session to session, rather than following a fixed number tied to my week of pregnancy.

This isn’t a prescription for everyone to follow exactly, it’s an example of what individualised, awareness based training can look like when effort is guided by real feedback rather than a generic rule.

What changes with pressure management in the third trimester

As pregnancy progresses into the third trimester, several physical changes affect how pressure is managed during training. The growing uterus changes the position and mechanics of the abdominal wall, and takes up more space in the trunk, which can reduce how far the diaphragm is able to move during a full breath. This reduced diaphragmatic excursion changes how effectively 360 breathing can be used to manage pressure the way it might have been managed earlier in pregnancy.

Postural changes also play a role. Increased lumbar lordosis and rib flare, common as the uterus grows and shifts the body’s centre of gravity, can change the position pressure is being managed from, similar to how pelvic or hip position affects pressure distribution outside of pregnancy. On top of this, simply carrying the weight and volume of a third trimester pregnancy increases baseline intra-abdominal pressure, even before exercise is added on top of it.

None of this means training needs to stop or scale back automatically. It means pressure management may need more conscious attention and adjustment than it did earlier in pregnancy, which is exactly what the next section covers.

What you can do to support pressure management

Keep prioritising breath

Even as diaphragm breath becomes more limited, maintaining 360 breathing as much as possible helps distribute pressure more evenly through the trunk, rather than concentrating it in one direction. This may look different than it did earlier in pregnancy, less range of movement through the breath, but the same principle still applies. I include a lot of programming on both lateral and posterior expansion, as well as thoracic rotation, to help maintain that range of motion of the ribcage.

Adjust positioning where needed

Modifying exercise setup, such as working from an incline rather than flat, or adjusting the angle or height of a position, can reduce direct pressure on the abdominal wall in movements where it’s become harder to manage. This isn’t about avoiding certain positions altogether, and instead focusing on adjusting them so pressure can still be well managed within them.

Use pressure management as the guide, not the trimester

The same markers that apply throughout training, whether pressure is distributing evenly or being forced through with a bearing down pattern, remain the most reliable guide in the third trimester. This matters more than a rule based on which week or trimester someone is in.

Adjust exercise selection and range based on that day

Capacity in the third trimester can shift week to week, or even day to day. Being willing to adjust exercise selection, range of motion, or load based on how pressure is being managed in that specific session, rather than sticking rigidly to a plan set earlier in pregnancy, supports training that actually matches what the body can manage in the moment.

A few more things worth considering

Addressing fear around intensity

Many women feel hesitant to train with real intensity in the third trimester, worried that pushing effort somehow isn’t safe simply because of where they are in pregnancy. This fear often isn’t based on how the body is actually responding, but on a general sense that trimester three means pulling back by default.

Some of this hesitancy also comes from outdated guidance still being repeated today. The commonly cited advice to avoid lifting more than 25lb during pregnancy originated in the 80s, and doesn’t reflect current understanding of pregnancy, load management, or individual capacity. Guidance like this often gets passed on without context, leading to caution based on a decades old blanket rule rather than how someone is actually training or responding.

Recognising this can help separate genuine caution, based on real feedback from the body, from caution driven by outdated advice or fear alone.

Reducing intensity for the right reasons

There’s an important difference between reducing intensity because of genuine fatigue, symptoms, or a change in how pressure is being managed, and reducing it purely because of which trimester or week someone is in. The first is a legitimate, individual response to real feedback. The second is a rule applied regardless of what’s actually happening.

Expect day-to-day variability

Capacity in the third trimester can shift more noticeably than earlier in pregnancy, sometimes week to week, sometimes day to day. A session that feels strong one day might feel like it needs to be scaled back the next, and that’s a normal part of training through this stage, not a sign that something is wrong.

Bringing it all together

Training through the third trimester doesn’t need to follow a fixed rule based on week or trimester number. With attention to how pressure is being managed, and a willingness to adjust breath, positioning, and load session to session, intensity can continue to be guided by real feedback rather than assumption.

If you’re looking for pregnancy training built around this kind of individualised, awareness-based approach, Strong in Pregnancy is designed to guide you through exactly that, all the way through your third trimester. Start your 7-day free trial today.