Doing both cardio (like walking) and strength training (like lifting light weights) while pregnant gives you more health benefits than just doing cardio alone.
Claim Context
Combining aerobic and resistance training during pregnancy leads to greater improvements in maternal health outcomes than aerobic exercise alone, based on high-quality evidence from randomized controlled trials, suggesting a multimodal approach is optimal for prenatal fitness.
“The findings of the systematic reviews also demonstrated that combining aerobic exercise and resistance training during pregnancy was more effective at improving health outcomes than interventions focused on aerobic exercise alone.”
Evidence from Studies
No evidence studies found yet.
What Would Prove This
Per GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this claim, ordered from strongest to weakest.
A high-quality systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs would definitively establish that combined aerobic and resistance training produces superior maternal health outcomes compared to aerobic-only exercise during pregnancy.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind RCTs involving 3,000+ pregnant women randomized to either 150 minutes/week of combined aerobic (e.g., walking, cycling) and resistance training (e.g., resistance bands, bodyweight exercises) or 150 minutes/week of aerobic-only exercise, with outcomes including gestational weight gain, fasting glucose, maternal strength (1RM leg press), and depressive symptoms, using standardized protocols and blinded outcome assessment.
A large RCT would confirm that prescribing combined aerobic and resistance training leads to greater improvements in maternal health outcomes than aerobic-only exercise.
A double-blind RCT with 1,000 pregnant women (BMI 18.5–30, singleton) randomized to either 150 minutes/week of combined aerobic (75 min) and resistance training (75 min, 2x/week) or 150 minutes/week of aerobic-only exercise (e.g., brisk walking), with primary outcomes measured as gestational weight gain, fasting glucose, maternal strength (1RM leg press), and EPDS depression score at 36 weeks.
A prospective cohort study would determine whether women who naturally combine aerobic and resistance training during pregnancy have better health outcomes than those who do only aerobic exercise.
A prospective cohort study following 6,000 pregnant women from 12 weeks gestation, using accelerometers and activity logs to classify exercise patterns into aerobic-only, resistance-only, or combined, with outcomes tracked for gestational weight gain, glucose levels, and muscle strength, adjusting for BMI, diet, and socioeconomic status.
A case-control study would compare the exercise patterns of women with excessive gestational weight gain or gestational diabetes to those without, to assess whether lack of resistance training was a risk factor.
A case-control study comparing 600 women with excessive gestational weight gain or gestational diabetes to 1,200 matched controls, using structured interviews to assess whether they engaged in resistance training ≥2x/week during pregnancy, adjusting for aerobic activity, diet, and BMI.
A cross-sectional study would identify whether women reporting combined aerobic and resistance training at a single point in pregnancy have better health markers than those reporting aerobic-only exercise.
A cross-sectional survey of 4,000 pregnant women at 28 weeks gestation, asking about exercise patterns over the prior 12 weeks and measuring current fasting glucose and grip strength, with no attempt to establish temporal sequence.