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!).
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)
Isometric Hold
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…
Rep: short for “repetition”, doing one complete, full movement of the exercise
Set: a specific number of reps to be completed in a row without stopping
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 have created full-length workout videos for you to follow along with as you work alongside one of our talented ladies leading the workout! Just grab some water, a towel, press Play on the video above, and get ready to do 25 minutes with us!
If you’re more interested in a self-paced workout, please feel free to keep reading for the details of this workout, which includes videos and descriptions for each individual exercise. We hope you enjoy it!
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!
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.
A staple in any PE class, a pushup is a basic upper body movement that can be done almost anywhere, with no equipment needed.
Doing a pushup the correct way SHOULD be challenging, and we have developed a series of progressions to develop the same muscle groups in a safe and effective manner.
(Difficulty: Beginner)
Beginner Pushup
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. Make sure the back stays flat, so that the hips and shoulders move at the same speed.
Start lying flat on your back, with knees bent and feet planted on the floor near your hips. Push through your heels, raising your hips in the air.
Think about squeezing your glutes and hamstrings at the top, holding for 1-2 seconds
*If you get dizzy laying flat on your back, place 2-3 pillows behind your head, neck and upper back so that you are lying on an incline. You can also sit on the ground and lean against your couch or any piece of furniture that won’t move.
to increase difficulty: elevate your feet on a chair or couch, keep the core tight as your raise your hips higher into the air
The Institute of Medicine has established some general guidelines for total weight gain in twin pregnancies based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). To determine your pre-pregnancy BMI, enter your weight and height PRIOR TO PREGNANCY at this link (https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html).
Once you have a value, use the table below to determine how much total weight you should gain.
Of note, it is not entirely clear how much a woman carrying twins with a BMI <18.5 should gain during pregnancy. For all women carrying twins, it is important to engage in frequent conversations about weight gain with your health care provider to ensure your babies are growing properly, and that you are staying healthy as well!
Citation:
Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2009. Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12584.
Place the outside of your pinky fingers just above your hip creases with your hands laying flat with no inward pressure against your belly.
Use your hands to gently scoop under and lift your belly up and hold. This helps to decompress your belly and take pressure off of the structures in and around your hip crease.
Hold the upward lift for 10-15 seconds then relax. If this feels good, you can hold for a longer period of time as it is not dangerous.
