The world-class triathlete shares her journey of adapting elite training through each trimester
When Emma Pallant-Browne announced her pregnancy in March 2025, the triathlon world celebrated the arrival of “Baby Browne.” The British athlete, who has established herself as one of triathlon’s most accomplished competitors, has been open about how she’s adapting her training while expecting her first child.
First Trimester: Finding a New Rhythm
The changes began almost immediately. “In the first trimester I almost immediately held a lot higher HR and this became our tool to check that I wasn’t over doing things,” Pallant-Browne explains. She established clear heart rate guidelines that would become the foundation of her pregnancy training approach.
The magic numbers? Keeping her heart rate between 65-75% of her maximum zone. “I quickly found in the first trimester if I started out really nice and easy then I could keep my HR lower and maintain it lower for a lot longer,” she notes. This approach allowed her to continue training for up to an hour on the run and three hours on the bike, as long as she stayed cool and well-hydrated.
The first trimester also brought its share of challenges. Morning sickness meant adapting not just when she trained, but how she fueled. “I had to take a lot of my carbs in liquid form because I was quite nauseous and couldn’t really stomach much solids,” she shares.
Second Trimester: The Hunger Games
As Pallant-Browne moved into her second trimester, the nausea gave way to an entirely different challenge: intense hunger. “In the second trimester I have been super duper hungry and would have to make sure I ate something with good carbs before any exercise otherwise I would feel light headed,” she explains.
This phase brought equipment changes too. She switched to a mountain bike for road riding, appreciating the suspension and more upright position for comfort. Eventually, she replicated this setup on her Wahoo indoor trainer, where she now logs sessions up to two hours.
The focus on strength training, which began in the first trimester, continued to pay dividends. “I did a strength session each day because I knew this would keep me weight bearing with the impact of running for longer as I got heavier and my ligaments got looser,” she says.
Third Trimester: Adapting to a New Normal
Now in her third trimester, Pallant-Browne has made further adjustments. “I am feeling quite bloated and heavy and I have to eat little and often rather than the bigger meals,” she notes. Despite the physical changes, she’s maintained impressive training volumes, still running up to 75 minutes while keeping her heart rate in check.
She’s moved more of her running indoors to the treadmill. “The heavier I am getting now in the third trimester the harder it becomes to keep my HR down on the uphills!” she explains. But there’s a sweet bonus to her runs: “My little baby boy kicks and flutters when I run so I think he quite enjoys it.”
Cycling has become more challenging as pregnancy progresses. “The biking compresses me a little bit more and I find it harder also to breathe and can feel a bit nauseous after 2 hours so I keep that as my max,” she shares.
Heat, Hydration, and Smart Adjustments
Temperature regulation has become a critical focus throughout pregnancy. “Your body at times can feel like a furnace!” Pallant-Browne observes. She now takes extra precautions: cool clothes for indoor training, fans always running, and careful timing of outdoor sessions to avoid temperature extremes.
Hydration has taken on new importance. “I have got into the good habit of having at least 2 x 1L bottles a day and making sure they are with me throughout the day so I can see how much I have drunk,” she says. Despite the increased bathroom breaks (“I feel like I am forever having to stop and pee”), she emphasizes never limiting fluids: “Even though your body goes to the loo a lot more it still needs more fluid in this time.”
Fueling for Two
Nutrition has evolved through each trimester, with Pallant-Browne learning to read her body’s signals more carefully than ever. “Any time I haven’t had enough to eat I have straight away felt a bit light headed in training,” she notes. Her advice? Always have more nutrition available than you think you’ll need.
Her supplement routine now includes folic acid, magnesium, calcium, iron, and omega-3s. Post-workout recovery includes protein-rich smoothies packed with colorful nutrients to boost immunity and support healthy growth.
The Power of Perspective
What shines through Pallant-Browne’s pregnancy journey is her remarkable ability to adapt without losing sight of her athletic identity. By switching from power and speed targets to time and heart rate goals, she’s found a sustainable way to maintain fitness through each phase of pregnancy.
“It’s been great taking power and speed away and focusing on time and HR because that is a lot more controllable,” she reflects. “The heavier I get the more it affects the output goals but the target to maintain duration and the intensity that I am training at is totally doable and allows the body to adapt to each phase fluidly.”
Looking Ahead
As Pallant-Browne prepares for her September due date, she’s already thinking about her return to racing. “I have so much I still want to do in sport,” she says, acknowledging the many women who have shown that athletic careers don’t end with motherhood.
Her openness about training through pregnancy continues a pattern of breaking down barriers in women’s sports. Pallant-Browne is illuminating the reality of maintaining elite fitness while pregnant, providing valuable insights for athletes at all levels navigating similar journeys.
For the athlete who transitioned from track running to become one of triathlon’s top competitors, pregnancy represents not a limitation but another frontier to explore. With her baby due in September, the triathlon world eagerly awaits the next chapter in Emma Pallant-Browne’s journey, one that promises to redefine what’s possible for athlete mothers.