Prenatal Upper & Core

Hey, everybody. I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy, and this is your prenatal upper body and core workout. This workout is great for anyone in any trimester of pregnancy as long as you have clearance from your healthcare provider for exercise during the pregnancy period. In this workout, we're going to work the entire upper body as well as some pregnancy safe core. I'll be giving you lots of different options to work to your fitness level and where you are in your journey. Are you ready? Let's do it. Let's start just by getting our bodies moving. Just do a gentle march. You can pump those arms. We're just going to get the blood flowing, get our body's temperature up. Chances are if you're in the stages of pregnancy doing this, your body's core temperature is already up. We're always already a little bit elevated during the prenatal period, but we're just going to get a little bit of movement and then we're going to get in touch with our alignment and with a little bit of core breathing just to start it off. Then let's roll those shoulders. Then we're going to be working some upper body and core using our weights. Now you'll see I have both dumbbells and kettle bells today. That's just so you know that you have options if you only have one. Just use what you got. If you have both, there may be some places to use both. Let's go ahead and take it right here. Big stretch, big chest opener. We get super tight with these muscles because everything's p forward as that belly grows. All right, so go ahead and take your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. And let's just start by checking in with our alignment and our posture. We're going to stack those ears over the shoulders, shoulders over that rib cage, rib cage over the pelvis, and then your hips, your pelvis right over the knees, over the ankles. And just really being aware doesn't have to be perfect, but I know pregnancy often pulls us out or back. We get that anterior posterior pelvic tilt. So just being aware of that as we're moving. Now let's put our hands on that belly. Belly, a few TA breasts or diaphragmatic breathing. TA transverse abdominis, your deepest core. So we're going to do a big inhale, let that belly come out. We want to expand on the inhale, out through the belly, the sides, the back. On the exhale, we're going to bring everything in and up. So you're going to lift gently with that pelvic floor, you're going to track contract that deep core. Let's do it again. Inhale to expand. Belly, sides, back, Exhale. Now, I am not pregnant, but if you are, you can actually really visualize on the exhale that you're hugging the baby, bringing that baby in and up. I actually love this breathing in pregnancy because you can actually really see the movement. We're not inhale up, exhale down. We're not pushing down or sucking in. Inhale to expand and relax. Exhale to gently connect and contract. Lift up. Pelvic floor activation. But we're not squeezing and we're just connecting with that core. All right, so let's get a little hip rolls now. Can keep them small if that feels best for you, or you can take them a little bigger again, recognizing that everybody is different in how they're feeling, where they are in their journey. First, second, or third trimester. This workout is great for any of those and just how you're feeling. Maybe this doesn't feel good for you. You want to keep it grounded. Let's take our feet nice and wide, and if you can, sit those hips to the back. Now we want to be aware of that relaxin that hormone that we start to get in pregnancy. It's literally relaxing our joints, our tendons, our ligaments. We prepare for labor. So if there are things that don't feel good, we can add a little movement to it. But if that doesn't feel good, you can keep it stationary. Let's take those arms up and back. So work to your level and be where you are today. That's something I always say that means where you are in your fitness journey, where you are in your pregnancy journey, and just where you are today. Maybe you're feeling really tired. Maybe you're feeling energized. Work in a way that feels good for you. We're going to take those arms out. Let's do flat back down. So take it nice and wide and then round it up. We're going to be working mostly with upper body and core today. A few things we'll maybe get that lower body working or get that heart rate up. Just being aware that we're keeping that heart rate up. Let's hold underneath here. Roll those shoulders. Your heart rate should be in a level that you can maintain a conversation. We call that the talk test. If you're getting out of breath and you feel like you can't talk, we want to slow it down, take down the intensity just a bit. Let's Take it right here. Let's take those arms up to an eye and then out to a Y and out to a T. Do that with me. Now, that does not mean that we can't work hard or that we can't lift heavy. We just want to do it in a way that keeps that intensity on that mid to higher level, not all the way at the top. And I'll be alternating between my weights today. If you're used to lifting heavy and that feels good for you, by all means, we want to be strong. But if you feel like it's too much or that it's putting pressure on your core or your pelvic floor or doesn't feel good for your joints, take it a little lighter. There is no shame in going a little lighter, but again, it's totally fine to keep working hard during pregnancy. Let's take a little reach out right here. A little stretch across. All right, so we're working in circuits today. We have three circuits and everything we will do three times. All right, so we'll start with 40 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest. Then we'll do the same circuit again for 30 seconds, and then the same, we'll finish for 20 seconds. So if you can, let's bring those hamstrings up. That doesn't feel. Feel good. Keep them down, cross those arms. So keeping it simple, first circuit, all in our feet. Second one, all on the mat. Last one. We're gonna do a little combination, but ideally we'll be getting that upper body working hard, strong. And we'll also be working the core, but working the core that is safe for all trimesters of pregnancy. So we're going to remember that engagement, we're going to remember that connection, and we're not going to do anything too crazy. All right, so we're going to start. I want you to grab one heavy weight, and we're going to put one foot forward, one foot back, and we're going to do a little hinge into a row. So I want you to watch me here. Yes. That hinge is a little version of a deadlift, but it's strengthening that low back. If it feels like too much, I just want you to really take your time with it. But if you can, one foot forward, one foot back, either kickstand or all the way down, you're going to hinge, do a row, pull the weight up, and then stand up straight all on one side. You can take this hand out if this is helpful for you, for you, all the way through the Back here we go down, pull up in a row and drive it up. So, yes, you are going to feel a little bit of your hamstrings and your glutes on that side. But the reason we love this move is because it's so functional, right? This is picking the baby up out of the crib. This is picking up the diaper bag. This is lifting the car seat, right? So getting that hinge as we strengthen those big muscles down along our spine. So, so important. Right here. Last one. And relax. We're going to switch to that other side. If you need to set your weights down in between, you can just remember, as we set them down and pick them back up, that we make sure we bend our knees to do it. So, same thing again. Little hinge, which is just a fold forward, but more importantly, driving the hips to the back. It's not this, right? It's this. Here we go. Hinge. And up, down. Sometimes again, having this hand out helps me keep a really good flat back right here. And up, down, up. And you can, if you need a little extra balance, just have your hand on the wall or on a chair, whatever feels good for you and where you are today. Down and relax. All right, so now we're going to set the heavy ones down. I want you to have two lighter ones or one heavy ones. We're going to take it to a press. We're going to press for two, and then we're going to do a march for two. Now, your march is to engage the core. So you have the option. You can either march with the arms up or you can finish the press march with the arms here. So I'm going to go with my tens. You can also do one heavy dumbbell between two, but here we go. Press for two and then either at the top, march for two, or press and bring it here. March for two. Right, so we're doing double duty here, right? We're getting our upper body working. And then this march is actually really good for our core. Up and up. I'm doing more of that Arnold press, wrapping it around. Let's get one more. Knees. Knees harder than it looks. Right, Set those down out of the way. And then we'll do it all again. So we'll go back to that. Row and hinge, Row and hinge. This time it's 30 seconds, so take your time. Core engaged. Here we go. Hinge, lunge, row. 30 seconds only. Each round we get a little quicker in terms of our work interval, but we also speed up those rest intervals. So if at any point you need more rest, you need a longer rest, just hit pause, take your time. We're not here to set any PRs, to break any records, to hit, like, major goals during pregnancy. Our goal is strong, healthy mom. Strong, healthy baby. Last one. And relax. Take it to that other side. Relax your back for a second. 30 seconds again here. Stand up straight. Now, when we get to the 20 seconds on this, we're going to take the hinge out. We're just going to finish with the row. If this feels too, too light, you can always put two weights in one hand or a weight in each hand if you'd rather be here. Here and up. Last one. And relax. All right, team. So back to that march and the press again. If you want to just do one dumbbell, you can do press, press. Maybe that feels better for you. I want you to feel engaged. I don't want you to feel like you're pushing out. So if you feel that when you're over your head, bring it back down to do the march. Let's take our palms in this time. Here we go. Up and up. March and march. And on that march, I want you to really think about engaging the core, right? So that deep core, that strong, stable foundation. Yes. Higher, low, doesn't matter. Whatever feels better for where you are. Last one. Three, two, one. All right, one more time of each, and this time we're gonna take it 20 seconds, just the row, all right? We're not coming up in between. We'll do each side, and then we're gonna press and knee together. All right, let's take it other side for 20. In 3, 2, 1. Here we go. Just your row. So you're staggered here. You're pulling strong. Nice flat back pull towards your hip. Think about those strong muscles along our spine. Yes, our posture muscles. 3, 2, 1. Go ahead and breathe. Let's take it to that other side again. 20 seconds from that hinge. Ready? Here we go. Up right here. Yes, you can. Halfway there. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And relax. Set that to the side. Last time with our press on our knees, you can go together or you can go one at a time. Opposite press, opposite knee. Then we're gonna grab some water. We're gonna take it to the mat in three, two, one. Here we go. Slow and controlled. And again. Focus on the core, right. If we need to. Opposite arm, opposite leg. It's a core stability move. Everything is working to stabilize. 3, 2, 1. Breathe. Yes. Hopefully you felt that. Get your heart rate up just enough. Bend your Knees, catch your breath. Let's grab a sip of water. So even if you're not feeling like you need water, please hydrate. Always good during, before, and after our workouts. All right, meet me down on the mat. Here's what we got, team. I'm gonna adjust my microphone here. So we're gonna do a version of a chest fly into triceps. We're gonna take it down on the mat. Now, you may have heard you want those medium dumbbells here. You may have heard that you don't want to be flat on your back during pregnancy, so there's a little bit of debate on that. What we do know is that if you're not feeling good flat on your back, you need to come out of that position. Maybe the weight of the uterus is compressing on the arteries, on the blood flow flow. But generally speaking, short periods of time are okay. Of course, check with your doctor about what is right and appropriate for you and your specific pregnancy. However, what we're going to add so we're not flat, even though it's okay, is we're going to do this in a bridge. So we're going to lift those hips. If that is okay with you. You can keep it up or you can come down in between. I'm going to come up and then down with my triceps. So here's what we're going for. If you want to stay flat, you can do that, too. You could also prop your head and shoulders up on some pillows. All right, so we're starting with that. Then we're going to take it to some little side planks on our knees where we're going to add a little lift. So grab those weights, come down on your side to come into your back. Watch me here. Out with that fly like you're hugging a beach ball, and then down with your triceps. We're getting both. Here we go. So we're out. And then triceps. So if you want to be with me, I'm holding the bridge. A little bonus. Core and glutes and hamstrings. I'm holding the bridge on my fly, and then I'm going down on the bridge with my triceps. So, like you're hugging a tree, Shift those arms back a bit. Down and up. So soft. Bend in the elbows. But we're moving from the shoulders on the fly. And then bending from the elbows down by your ears. Last one. And breathe. Go ahead and carefully roll over to your side. So now we have a right side and A left side. We're gonna do a lift and a lift right here. So we're gonna lift the hips. And then from here, if you want to pull that elbow back. If that feels like too much, just do the side plank. Here we go. Deep core lift. And here. Connect with that core. And I'm staying on my knees. It generally helps us just to focus in that deep core a little better. Right. We want to stay zipped. If you're in that third trimester and you're feeling like that's a lot of pressure out on the abdominal wall or down, you can can just do a little leg lift. And the row, that's a great option. Pull that elbow up. So we're getting lots of core, but we're also opening up through the shoulder. Getting a little back here. Last one. And relax. Go ahead. Come up slowly. We're going to switch gears to that other side, so totally fine. If you just want to roll over. What we're want to avoid is up and down like this during our pregnancy because we don't necessarily have all that support. We don't want that intra abdominal pressure. If you can roll to your side. Let's take it. Lift and lower. Up and back. Right here. Lift. And if you're in that first trimester or even second and it feels good for you to be up on the toes, you can do that too. Again, we just want to avoid that extra pressure. If you feel like you're pushing out or down, if you can stay connected, certainly knees or toes, either. That's what we're doing next, right? 10 seconds. Bring it up. 3, 2, 1. Go ahead and come up. Stretch it out. All right, we're gonna do all of that again. Chest fly and tries. As you come in with the fly, shift those shoulders back a little into the tries. With or without the bridge. Down on your side, then bringing it up. We got 30 seconds. Here we go. Right here. Oh, you can keep those hips up or down and up in between. If you don't feel super steady, just pick one. You can just do the fly or just do the triceps. Thinking about that deep core, we're not holding our breath, but we're keeping a strong, stable foundation. Right, Last one. And relax. Back to our sides. These circuits go fast. Right this. This time, we're gonna go up, up, down, and down again. As long as you can keep that good core strength. Not pushing out, but lifting, contracting, pulling everything in. All through the core, all through the obliques. Here we go. Up and down. If that is just Feeling like too much. Just do the side plank. You can also get a little shoulder mobility instead. Right? You don't have to feel like you have to do everything I'm doing. Again, we're all in our own journeys right here. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Let's take those arms over right through here to that other side. 30 seconds. Lift and pull. Up and down right here. Down all the way through again. If that's too much, you can just get the movement and reach. Last one. And relax. Bring it up. All right, team, so last time, through this time, your pick. You can just do the fly. You can just do triceps. That's. I'm gonna go for tries because I love that little burn, but it's up to you. Onto your side, triceps. With or without the bridge or fly, with or without the bridge? This is your last time through. We got 20 seconds to go. Here we go. I'm gonna add that bridge to it just because it feels good for me to get the rhythm. And I feel a little stretch through my back, but that if that is not you, feel free to just keep it right here. Again, we're not on your back very long, so generally speaking, most of us feel okay. Last two. And one. Yes, team. All right, onto your side. This time, we're just holding for 20 seconds, and we're going to get some shoulder mobility. So we're just opening up here. If that's too much, take it here. No weight. Just a hold. 20 seconds each side. Here we go. Lift. We're up and down. What we're not doing is twisting. We don't need that full torso twist like we sometimes do. We just want the mobility, right? Mobility through our shoulders and lots of strength in our core. I know. Breathe. 3, 2, 1. Relax. Stretch it over. Swing those legs around to the other side. We're gonna lift up and hold. Here we go. Hold. And if you can mobility, think of it as a stretch for those shoulders after this, we're coming up. We're almost done right here. Three, two, one. And relax. Big stretch over. Go ahead and carefully come up on to your feet. Set those weights to the side. Let's grab a quick sip of water. Yes, team. Cheers. All right, for this last round, we actually have three moves. One of them is up top, and then the last one is on the mat. So we're going to take it with some biceps. We're going to do a curl, and then we're going to twist our entire body. So what it's not. Is this an isolated Twist. We're going to engage the core by curl move, whole body. So think of it like when we do a wood chop and we turn our entire body. So we're going to engage the core with the bicep curl by turning, not by twisting, just in our torso. Okay? So we're gonna start with that. Then we're gonna take it here. We're gonna take it to that reverse fly, and we're gonna add a little leg lift. Reverse fly, little leg lift. If the leg lift is not right for you, the single legs, we're just gonna do that reverse fly. Okay? Then we're gonna take it down. We're gonna get a little bird dog where we'll finish with some core. All right, so go ahead and join me here for your biceps in three, two, one. Here we go. Curl them up. Turn your body back to center. Up, turn. Now again, I want you to feel what's happening in your body as you turn. It's not isolating the torso. I'm turning my knees and my hips. The reason we don't want to overdo it with twisting in pregnancy again is because we've already got pressure out on our core, down on our pelvic floor. But that doesn't mean that we do that. We want to completely avoid it. We want to be turning with our full body because we have to turn in life, right? Getting out of the car, picking up the kids, all of the things that we need that rotational movement, we want that strength for right here. Yes, team. All right, so watch me here. It's your back again. If you want, you can just do one at a time or take together with that reverse fly. If you can. Tap back, fly, little lift, and then switch. So that's going to engage your balance, engage your core. Here we go. Tap back, reverse fly, little lift, tap back. If that feels like too many parts, just do the fly. That's okay, too, right? I want you to feel nice and steady. I know not everybody feels good on one leg, right? And if that's you, safety first. You do what's best for you. But when we have these staggered positions again, we're training that core in an indirect way. You probably feel it and lift and relax. All right, Meet me on the mat. If you don't want to go all the way through to the mat, you can take it here. We've got opposite arm, opposite leg, if you're able. We're gonna do bird dog, little bear lift. So we stretch all the way through our back, and then if it feels good, for you. And you have the support. You're gonna lift with the core. Here we go. Opposite arm and leg. Back to center. Little lift. Now, what I want you to think about is wrapping that core. Core hug the baby towards you as you lift. Breathe, exhale, lift. What I'm not doing is pushing up through my arms or pushing up through my toes. I'm using my core to lift, so I get that extension, that balance, and then that lift, right? Breathe here. 3, 2, 1. And relax. Slowly, carefully, back onto your feet. Remember, anytime we're getting up and down from this position to this position, this is picking the baby off the floor, right? This is changing the baby on the ground all those times that we have to do that. All right, so we're back to our biceps. This time, we'll keep our palms turned in. Hammer curl. 30 seconds. In three, two, one. Here we go. Curl, turn, and back up. Right here. Up again. Turning the knees and the hips right up here. That's turning. While you have to hold the baby on your shoulder. Right, last one. And relax. All right, team, so this time, let's take it just your reverse fly. Take the leg lift out of it, right? Let's just hinge it here. Take it here. In 3, 2, 1. Nice flat back lift. So think of it as the opposite, the reverse of that chest fly, right? Instead of pushing that weight up hugging the tree, we're pulling that weight up. If it feels too heavy, one at a time, you can always be here, right? You can also bend that elbow if that feels a little better for where you are, right? So finish strong. Strong in the back. Last one. And relax. Set those weights down. Join me back down on the mat. Or you can do it from the standing position again. We're gonna lift this time. One foot down, lift the knee lift. One foot down, lift the knee. Don't overthink it. Just join me. Bird dog, little knee lift for 30 seconds. Core engage. Three, two, one. Here. So lift. Set the foot down, then lift the knee. I know it's a little tricky. Yes, deep core. But we're not holding a long plane because we want to protect that downward motion right here. Stretch it back. All right, team, one more time. This time, just your biceps. Don't worry about the turn this time. Just your reverse fly. We're going to mix up our grip. And then just your bird dog. 20. 20, and 20. Let's finish it. Strong shoulders, back, core engaged. Strong, stable foundation. Whatever bicep curl is good for you. Here we go. We do want to train for this because let's be honest, this is us holding the baby all day long. Holding the toddler. Maybe the toddler and the baby, but we don't have to over train these muscles. Muscles because they're gonna get a lot of work. They're not already right here. Three, two, one. And relax. Yep. No, let's keep those. This time. We're going to turn those palms forward. And we're here. So your motion is still the same. If you want to do one at a time, you can, but we're pulling with the back and the shoulders strong, stable. Here we go. Pull. And again. You can always do one at a time. Or if that angle is not right, just do a wide row. Bend those elbows. I know we already have that pressure on that low back. The reason we've done a few things in this hinge position and a few things where we involve the back is because it's already taking the load. We want to make sure it stronger. 3, 2, 1. Meet me on the mat right here. Just your bird dog. Opposite arm, opposite leg. Don't overthink it. Let's do it for three, two, one. Right here. And lift. And lift right here. All the way up. Yes. You can stay lifted in that core. Really lengthen. Think about that big stretch through the back of your body and relax. Stretch it out. Nice work, everybody. We're gonna return to to our feet for one last thing. If you want to just hang out in that stretch, I give you full permission to do that. If you want to do one last thing, I call it a bonus move, then you can do it with me. Here is what we have, team. We're combining a row with that hinge to a bicep curl to a rotational press. All right, so we did our press and our knees. We did our rotational curl. Now we're putting them all together. So. So something in that medium range. Not too heavy, but watch me here. We have 60 seconds. You can take your time. Hinge, row, curl, and then you're gonna press one at a time. If you're feeling spicy and you want to add to that the curl, and then do a squat into it. I know it's an extra upper body workout, but we all know those squats are so good for training pregnancy and preparing for labor. So it's totally up to you with or without the squat. If you don't, if you just want to pick one of those, that's okay too. But 60 seconds on the clock. You don't have to rush it. It's going to get the Heart pumping. But you got this. You were strong. Here we go. So hinge, row, stand up straight. Curl, optional squat. Rotate and press to the right. Rotate and press to the left. Then back down, hinge, bring it up. You may even want to add an extra squat. It's up to you. Here we go. Bring it up. Squat, rotational press. Feel that core engaged. Back to the start. And up. Yes. 15 seconds to go. Can you finish strong with me? I know you can, whatever it looks like for you. We got three. Can you get one more all the way through? That's your time, but finish it out if you want. Yes. And relax. Set those weights down, catch your breath. Grab some water if you need it. Little taps in front. I love a good bonus move. If you've done any of my workouts before, especially my regular workouts, I often will put them in at the end. Just, just says one last hurrah, right? One last. Get your heart rate up, get your muscles working so you can leave feeling good. But again, during this pregnancy period, you got nothing to prove. Your body is already working so hard. So feel free, show up for those workouts. Move your body in the ways that feel good and doable, but don't stress if you don't get it all in or it looks a little different. That is what's designed to happen, right? Your body is changing. You're going to stay strong. You're going to do as much as you can when you can. But we don't want to overdo it and we want to take the cues from our body. So reach those arms to the back. Open it up. If you're able to grab them, grab them. And if you want to add a little hinge, you can do that as well. So I have a lower body and core workout as well. Let's take those hands right here, roll through your back and then tons of full body prenatal. In addition to just pregnancy safe workouts that give you modifications, you can also of course, check out my modifications for pregnancy video. Go ahead and slowly bring it up right through here. Roll those shoulders. Listen to your body, of course, first and foremost, talk to your healthcare provider. A little hamstring stretch here just to get through that back again, we did a lot of work to get that back working and supporting because it's already working hard through here. We want to be creating that strength so making sure you're getting the stretches as well. Also check out my full pregnancy guide and prenatal and postnatal programs. And if you want that extra support, that extra guidance from me. Join us in the Body Fit Athletic Club. You can check out all of those links. Excuse me. In the description below. I'm so happy that you decided to show up with me today. You are strong. You are capable. You are doing it. Let's get one big, deep breath in. And out. You did it. That was your prenatal, upper and core workout. Great job, everybody.