Starting in a tabletop position, alternate between completing one donkey kick and one fire hydrant. Do 10 reps of each on one side before switching to the opposite side.
(Difficulty: Beginner)
Donkey Kick: Start on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders and back flat. Keeping your core tight, lift one foot off the ground and reach straight backwards. Reach as far as you can, squeezing your glutes at the top, and keep your knee bent throughout the movement. Lower it back down, bringing your knee all the way back underneath your hips
(Difficulty: Beginner)
Fire hydrant: From the same starting position, lift your knee out to the side, keeping your knee bent. Squeeze your glute at the top, and then return to the starting position. Similar to a dog peeing on a fire hydrant, this exercise is great for your hip and glute muscles!
Description: Stand with feet shoulder width apart, and hold a light wieght such as a soup can or dumbell in each hand.
Keeping your arms straight, lift your hands away from your body. Make a T shape with your arms, and then lower back to your sides in a controlled motion.
Start by sitting in a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart and your core engaged.
Hold a small weight in each hand at shoulder level, with your palms facing forward and your elbows bent. Push one arm up, while keeping your palms facing forward.
Slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position by bending your elbow and bringing the weights back to shoulder level. Alternate completing reps on your right and left sides.
Sit on the ground with legs straight out in front of you.
Lift one foot off the ground as far as you can using your quads and hip flexor muscles. Return it back to the ground, and repeat on the opposite side.
To make the exercise easier, Support your back on a wall or bottom of the couch.
Modification: Sitting in a chair, lift one thigh up while keeping the knee bent, and opposite foot on the floor. Lower it back to the ground, and then lift the opposite leg up. Complete for 10 reps on reach side.
This exercise will use a weight such as a dumbell, or milk jug.
Start on your hands and knees in a table top position. Hold a weight in one hand, with the opposite hand and both knees on the ground.
Pull the weight up with one arm to your hip, keeping your elbow tight and back flat. Lower the weight in a controlled motion, completing all 10 reps on one side before switching to the next side.
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.
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,
Stand with one foot forward and the other foot back.
Lower your body by bending both knees.
Keep your front foot flat on the ground and your back heel lifted, keeping your toes in the ground.
Lower until your front thigh is parallel to the ground, and back knee is almost touching the ground.
Push through your front heel to return to the starting position.
Complete required reps without moving your feet, and then switch legs to complete the reps on the opposite side.
Other variations that may show up in the BumptUp Pregnancy program:
Isometric Hold
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.
Oscilating (BOUNCING)
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!
FRONT FOOT ELEVATED
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.
REAR FOOT ELEVATED
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!).
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:
5 minute warmup
25 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
8 exercises, 10 reps each (each side where appropriate, or 20-30 second hold)
Brief cool down of your choice (light cardio, walking, or yoga)
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.
Exercises
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.
Use a chair, couch, bench, box or even a wall to elevate the hands. Kneeling on the ground facing the box (or other surface), place the hands about shoulder width apart.
Bend the elbows until the chest lowers to the edge of the box, controlling the tempo throughout the movement.
Elbows should stay tight to the sides of the body
to increase difficulty: change from a kneeling start position to a tall-plank start position, with the elbows and knees straight.
raising the elevation of the hands will decrease the difficulty of the movement
Focus on the form! Ensure you are maximizing the effectivness of the exercise by keeping the core tight, neutral spine, and elbows in tight!
Begin on all fours, with knees bent and back flat. Arms should be straight, with hands directly under the shoulders.
Keep the core tight, and press though the toes to lift your knees off the ground. This should feel slightly easier than a traditional plank, with some of the pressure being directed through the quads.
Isometrically hold this position. This is targeting your core and quad muscle groups!
Focus on the Form! Keep the back flat with the knees as close the the ground as possible.
Pushup through your toes to raise your heels off the ground.
Use a wall for balance if needed, or try standing on a stair step with the heels hanging off the edge. The increased range of motion will increase difficulty!
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!
