Resistance Exercise Training During Pregnancy: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Women in the intervention group were enrolled in three sessions/week of individually supervised, resistance exercise training performed over the second and third trimester of pregnancy (in total 26 weeks, \~80 training sessions). Heart rate (HR) was carefully and individually controlled (≤80% of age-predicted maximum HR value, 220-age) through a heart rate monitor during the training sessions. In brief, each session consisted of 35-40 minutes of exercise divided in a light intensity (≤60% maximal heart rate) warm-up period (\~8 minutes), followed by toning and very light resistance exercises (\~20 minutes) and a light intensity cool-down (\~8 minutes) period. Resistance exercises were performed with barbells (≤3kg per exercise) or low-to-medium resistance bands (Therabands).