Difficulty: Advanced
Holding a plank position with hands under shoulders, keep the core tight and drive one knee towards the same side elbow.
Instead of rapidly switching foot position like a traditional mountain climber, this should be a controlled movement to target the core and hip flexor muscles.
Before any of our suggested workouts or building your own from our library of exercises, do this quick whole-body 5 minute warm-up!
Note: This counts as part of your total exercise minutes for the week!
Difficulty: Advanced
The acronym RDL is a common term for any form of Romanian Deadlift. A key component to this exercise is the hinge, or bending at the hips, while the knees stay relatively straight. Keep the back flat, head looking forward.
Start with one foot slightly in front of the other, with the back foot elevated and toes in the ground.
As you hinge at the hips, keep the back leg extended behind you. Your back leg should raise in the air as your chest leans forward.
The front foot, or working leg, should feel this in the hamstrings (back of legs) and glutes (booty)!
(Difficulty: Beginner)
Description:
The tricep is located on the back of your upper arm, and plays a big roll in any “pushing” motion of every day activities, such as pushing a stroller or closing a door.
Sit on the edge of a chair, hands gripping the seat’s front edge. Slide your hips forward off the chair, knees bent at 90 degrees. Lower your body by bending your elbows, keeping the elbow tight to your sides.
Push down to straighten the elbows and return to the starting position.
to increase difficulty: straighten the legs out in front.
(Difficulty: Intermediate)
Description:
Also referred to as a “Scap” Pushup, this movement is a great exercise to activate and mobilize the upper back and trap muscles.
Start in a tall plank position, with the back flat and hands underneath shoulders. Keeping the elbows locked, try to pinch your shoulder blades together, as if you are trying to “puff out” your chest. Then, pull your shoulders back towards the ground. Think about trying to rip the back of your shirt as you round your upper back.
A staple leg exercise in the BumptUp Pregnancy Program, this page serves as a comprehensive guide to explain the Split Squat, and its many variations. The split squat can be used in many ways throughout your training, and are a great way to strengthen the glutes, hamstrings, quads and core!
Difficulty: Beginner to Advanced
To perform a split squat,
Other variations that may show up in the BumptUp Pregnancy program:
Difficulty: Beginner
Stop at the position at the bottom of the exercise! Bend both knees, and hold here with the back knee just a few inches above the ground. This simple exercise will get tough! It is a great way to work the muscles without adding more impact.
For this one, hold it for 30 seconds (if you can) vs doing a set number of reps.
Difficulty: Advanced
From the same starting position, drop the back knee down, and quickly come almost all the way up, then immediately back into the next rep. You never stand all the way up with this exercise, which adds a little “bounce”. You may want to do 30 seconds vs. a set number of reps for this one!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Find a low step or box and place the front foot on it. Drop the back knee down. This will put less stress on your knees and will focus on the quads of the front leg.
Difficulty: Advanced
This variation puts much more load on the working leg, making the exercise more difficult. Assume the same starting position, however find a small stair or box to elevate the back foot. The higher the foot, the harder the exercise.
Any of the above variations can be made more difficult by adding weights (or soup cans!).
A Bear Crawl is a super versatile, super effective exercise. Similar to a plank, it can show up in your workout as a simple activation exercise, or used to target your core muscles. The BumptUp 36-week Program features several variations of the bear crawl hold, each listed and explained below.
Start by getting down on all fours on a mat or a flat surface. Position your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your back should be flat, and your core tight.
Lift your knees a few inches off the ground, so your weight is supported by your hands and the balls of your feet
(Difficulty: Intermediate)
Week 4-8, Day 1
An isometric exercise is one that requires holding a position with minimal movement, similar to a plank.
Assume a Bear Crawl position, with a flat back and hands directly under the shoulders. Press the toes through the floor so that the knees are slightly elevated.
Hold this position for the specified time, engaging stabilizing muscles in the shoulders, hips, quads, and abs. In the Pregnancy Exercise Program, the time will increase each week!
The bear crawl, and its many variations, is a great exercise for building core strength, stability, and coordination. It engages multiple muscle groups, including the shoulders, arms, core, and legs.
As you get ready for the big event of life (childbirth), BumptUp has designed workouts to help you stay fit during your pregnancy. These workouts include strength training and exercises to improve your heart health.
We will begin with a short warm-up. It involves doing some dynamic stretches to activate and loosen up the muscles we’ll be focusing on. Just like preheating an oven, warming up before exercise helps raise your body temperature, increase blood flow, and get your body ready to perform its best!
Each workout will consist of a total of ~8 exercises.
Some key terms…
For each exercise, we have provided a brief explanation along with a video demonstration to help you understand how to do it correctly. If you click on the link for each exercise, you’ll find a more detailed description that will hopefully answer any questions you may have. We understand that when you’re training on your own, there are going to be things that sound confusing, and we hope this link will provide clarity.
On this page, you will also find variations of each exercise. We have suggested modifications to make the movement easier, while progressions increase the difficulty. These alternative exercises target the same muscle groups but can be adjusted based on your current fitness level, available space, equipment, and other factors.
In accordance with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), ALL healthy individuals should aim to complete 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week. This could equate to 30 minutes of moderate exercise, 5 days per week.
Bumptup has programmed 3 days of moderate resistance training workouts to maintain and build strength throughout your pregnancy. These workouts are designed to be low impact so that, if necessary, they could be completed on consecutive days.
The first week of the exercise program begins with Week 4 of pregnancy. Each Day has been linked below:
On Days without a structured workout, we suggest getting some kind of movement or exercise for at least 25 minutes. This could be a simple walk or jog, or create your own 25-minute workout in the BumptUp App!
As you get ready for the big event of life (childbirth), BumptUp has designed workouts to help you stay fit during your pregnancy. These workouts include strength training and exercises to improve your heart health.
We will begin with a short warm-up. It involves doing some dynamic stretches to activate and loosen up the muscles we’ll be focusing on. Just like preheating an oven, warming up before exercise helps raise your body temperature, increase blood flow, and get your body ready to perform its best!
Today’s workout consists of 8 exercises.
For each exercise listed, complete 10 reps before moving to the next exercise. If the exercise is a type of hold, such as a plank, hold for 20-30 seconds. If the exercise involves only one limb at a time, such as a lunge, complete 10 on each side. Try to limit rest time between exercises, with a longer break at the end of each round if needed.
Complete as many rounds as possible of these 8 exercises in the 25 minute time limit.
For each exercise, we have provided a brief explanation along with a video demonstration to help you understand how to do it correctly. If you click on the link for each exercise, you’ll find a more detailed description that will hopefully answer any questions you may have. We understand that when you’re training on your own, there are going to be things sound confusing, and we hope this link will provide clarity.
The workout for Week 4, Day 1 is structured as followed:
Here is a link to a 5 minute dynamic stretching warmup! The warm up is critical to make the most of your workout. Prepare your body to move at its best with a series of activation exercises before we move into our working sets.
Set a timer for 25 minutes.
Work through the required reps for each exercise before moving to the next one. Complete as many rounds as possible within the 25 minute time limit.
| 1 | Wall Sit | 20-30 seconds |
| 2 | Glute Bridge | 10 reps |
| 3 | Scissor Hops | 10 each |
| 4 | Beginner Pushup | 5-10 reps |
| 5 | Primal Pushup Hold | 20-30 seconds |
| 6 | Calf Raises | 10 reps |
| 7 | Supine Toe Touches | 10 reps |
| 8 | Hip Flexor Standing March | 10 each side |
20-30 seconds
Muscle Groups: quads, hamstrings, hip stabilizers
https://vimeo.com/forerunnerbg/review/845995705/3376318fab
10 reps
Muscle Groups: glutes, hamstrings, hip stabilizers
10 reps each
5-10 reps
to increase difficulty: change from a kneeling start position to a tall-plank start position, with the elbows and knees straight.
20-30 seconds
Focus on the Form! Keep the back flat with the knees as close the the ground as possible.
6. Calf Raises
10 reps
Focus on the form! Isolate the top of the movement, holding for at least 1 second to ensure your are reaching the maximum range of motion!
10 reps
Focus on the form! Keep the legs straight and perpendicular to the floor.
10 reps each side
Focus on the form! Avoid rotating the shoulders or hips to compensate. The exercise will help build important stabilizing muscles.
Looking for more? Here are some quick add ons to wrap up the workout. Great work!
Congrats on finishing day 1!! We are proud of you for prioritizing your fitness for the betterment of your health throughout this pregnancy journey.
(Difficulty: Beginner)
Lie flat on your back with feet in the air and legs straight up towards the sky/ceiling. Curl up to touch your toes by lifting the shoulders and upper back off the ground.
Focus on the form! Keep the legs straight and perpendicular to the floor.