Paternal obesity negatively influences metabolic outcomes in adult rat offspring. r Maternal voluntary physical activity has previously been reported to improve glucose metabolism in adult rat offspring sired by healthy fathers. r Here, we investigated whether a structured programme of maternal exercise training before and during gestation can attenuate the negative impacts that paternal obesity has on insulin sensitivity and secretion in female adult offspring. r Exercise before and during pregnancy normalised the lower insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and the lower insulin secretion observed in female offspring sired by obese fathers. r This paper presents a feasible, low-cost and translatable intervention strategy that can be applied perinatally to support multifactor interventions to break the cycle of metabolic dysfunction caused by paternal obesity.