Top 5 Second Trimester Exercises for Strength, Mobility, and a Healthy Pelvic Floor

Your second trimester is often called the “sweet spot” of pregnancy — energy starts coming back, nausea eases up, and your belly begins to show. It’s also the perfect time to build strength, improve mobility, and support your pelvic flooras your body changes.

As a pelvic floor physical therapist, I see so many women who either stop moving out of fear — or push too hard trying to “stay fit.” The truth? Pregnancy movement should help you connect, not compensate.

Here are my top 5 second trimester exercises that I recommend to my patients to stay strong, mobile, and confident throughout pregnancy

Curtsey Squats

Why it’s great:
Curtsey squats strengthen your glutes and outer hips, which play a key role in pelvic and core stability. They also help prevent the hip and low back discomfort that can come with a growing belly.

Form tips:

• Keep your ribs stacked over your hips
• Inhale as you lower, exhale as you rise
• Move slowly to keep your pelvis stable

Pelvic floor benefit:
Strong glutes help your pelvic floor work more efficiently, supporting your entire core system.

Split Stance Deadlifts

Why it’s great:
This exercise strengthens your hamstrings and glutes while improving single-leg balance — something your body needs more of as your center of gravity shifts.

Form tips:

• Hinge from your hips, not your low back
• Keep your front foot grounded
• Maintain a neutral spine and gentle core engagement

Pelvic floor benefit:
Encourages stability through the pelvis and prevents overuse of your low back muscles.

Adductor Rock Backs

Why it’s great:
This gentle mobility move targets your inner thighs and pelvic floor, helping to maintain flexibility and even tension through your hips.

Form tips:

• Start on hands and knees, one leg extended out to the side
• Rock your hips back slowly
• Breathe deeply into your inner thigh as you move

Pelvic floor benefit:
Lengthens and relaxes the pelvic floor — perfect for preparing for labor and improving pelvic balance.

Bent Over Rows

Why it’s great:
Pregnancy often leads to rounding through the upper back and shoulders. Bent over rows help strengthen your upper back and improve posture, reducing tension in your neck and shoulders.

Form tips:

• Keep your spine long
• Draw your shoulders down and back
• Exhale as you pull

Pelvic floor benefit:
Good posture supports proper breathing and keeps pressure off your pelvic floor.

Kneeling Thoracic Rotations

Why it’s great:
This is one of my favorite pregnancy exercises for improving rib and upper back mobility. It helps you breathe deeper and improves the connection between your diaphragm and pelvic floor.

Form tips:

• Start in a quadruped or kneeling position
• Place one hand behind your head
• Rotate open on your exhale

Pelvic floor benefit:
Better rib mobility = better breathing, and better breathing = a more responsive, functional pelvic floor.

Why These Exercises Matter

These five movements work together to help you:
✅ Support your changing posture
✅ Strengthen your hips and glutes for pelvic stability
✅ Improve breathing and rib mobility
✅ Prepare your body for labor and postpartum recovery

By staying consistent with gentle strength and mobility work, you’ll reduce common pregnancy aches, feel more confident in your body, and build a strong foundation for birth and beyond.

A Few Tips Before You Start

• Focus on form and breath, not intensity
• Exhale through exertion to engage your core
• Avoid exercises that cause pain, heaviness, or pressure in your pelvic floor or lower abdomen
• Listen to your body — every pregnancy is different

Final Thoughts

Movement during pregnancy isn’t about doing more — it’s about moving with purpose.
These second trimester exercises will help you stay connected, strong, and supported through every stage.

If you want trimester-specific workouts designed by a pelvic floor physical therapist, book a personalized prenatal wellness session to get started.

You deserve to feel strong, confident, and empowered in your changing body.