Feel fit, strong and empowered!

Over the last 10 years that I’ve worked in the fitness industry, I have seen a dramatic and wonderful change. More and more women are choosing to exercise and whilst some choose to do so for aesthetic reasons, my joy comes from women choosing to exercise for health or performance reasons.

Previously, women would primarily exercise to burn calories or fit into “that dress”, but now I see a vast number of women using exercise as a way of boosting their mental and physical health. This truly is progress.

But, something I had noticed, was that women would reach pregnancy and be hit with a wave of confusion over what is safe, what is recommended and what is dangerous when it comes to exercise. On a daily basis I hear from women who are scared to do the wrong thing when it comes to exercise and have heard unfounded rumours linking exercise and miscarriage. These women then decide to cease exercising at a time when exercise is an absolute necessity and joy.

If we think of pregnancy as being the longest marathon you’ll ever run, and labour/ motherhood being the hardest marathon you’ll ever run, we can see why staying active during pregnancy is so important. Buggies, babies and car seats are all pretty heavy and there is no avoiding them with a newborn. We must think of exercise as practice for life with a baby, so there really is no reason we can’t participate in it.

Over the last 10 years I have worked with thousands of pregnant women and I know how strong, capable and powerful they can be! The Department of Health recommends pregnant women should take part in around 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. This can be in small bursts of 10 minutes, or in longer chunks – it’s totally up to the participant. They recommend the exercise should be a combination of strength training and cardiovascular training. This is exactly where The Bump Plan comes in….

Whilst pregnant with my daughter Freya – now two-years-old – I decided I needed to share my prenatal knowledge with the world. Throughout my pregnancy I recorded one-of-a-kind workouts that combine both cardiovascular and strength training: these would form the basis of The Bump Plan. In creating these workouts, I wanted to show pregnant women exactly how to stay powerful during their pregnancy and what was actually achievable!

So, when the UK went into its first lockdown I began teaching prenatal classes online and the feedback from pregnant women was invaluable. They spoke of feeling lost, of feeling scared to move and worried about exercising incorrectly. I knew that pregnant women needed support, especially during the pandemic.

So, after months and months of research and work, The Bump Plan was “born” and became an overnight success when it launched. The Bump Plan is a first-of-its-kind prenatal fitness plan that combines trimester-specific workouts with a vast Education Hub of specifically curated content for the expectant mother.

No matter what stage of your pregnancy you are when you sign up, you will always be assigned workouts in which I am at the same stage of my pregnancy as you are in yours: we both “grow” through our pregnancy together.

The workouts automatically update at weeks 12, 18, 24, and 30 and clients receive six workouts to do per week (with one rest day). We do this so the workouts will always be specific to the client’s needs at whatever stage of pregnancy they are. Furthermore, all the workouts are 30 and 20 minutes in length, meaning they will easily fit into anyone’s day.

They combine moderate-intensity cardiovascular work with prenatal Pilates strength work and, each week, add up to around 150 minutes of exercise, which is in line with The Department of Health’s guidelines for pregnant women. We send you everything you need to complete your workouts in your luxury starter pack (alongside other pregnancy related products to help you enjoy your pregnancy).

When creating The Bump Plan, it was important to me that women were told why they were training the way that they were and what to expect at each stage of pregnancy. That’s why at each different stage of The Bump Plan you can view my “Pregnancy Check-In” where I describe some of the considerations for the following week’s training.

Members can also ask questions at the end of their weekly live Bump Plan class, where they come together with other members of the plan to exercise with me over Zoom.

I also believe it’s really important women feel not only physically ready for motherhood, but mentally prepared too. Therefore, alongside the workouts, there is an extensive Education Hub that includes specifically curated articles, video interviews and instructional guides with leading female experts on topics such as perineal massage, the post-birth poo, sex and intimacy during pregnancy and many others.

The Education Hub is such a powerful part of The Bump Plan and has helped so many women prepare for the demand’s motherhood brings.

Personally, alongside my training and educating myself on the postnatal period, when pregnant I found hypnobirthing gave me a really positive outlook of labour and I went into it feeling excited and motivated. 

Whilst my labour did not go to plan, hypnobirthing gave me the tools to deal with this. For this reason, we include the world’s number one digital hypnobirthing pack, by The Positive Birth Company, with every single plan.

The Bump Plan gives pregnant women all the tools they need to feel strong, powerful and capable during pregnancy, and ready for whatever labour and motherhood can throw at them! It’s already helped thousands of women around the world train for the marathon of motherhood and find the community they need. What more could a mother-to-be ask for?