Exercise In Pregnancy

IT was late April and I was often working ten, sometimes twelve, hours a day.

I'd sit down for no more than ten minutes. If I didn't work late, I'd take the opportunity to spend my evenings doing squats or running. I was happy, busy and really fit. That's kind of the whole point, in my profession as a wrestler.

I was in anguish, tears, and with a nagging feeling that I should perform so much better when in fact I had completely lost control of my body.

Then one evening, while on my way to train a client, I suddenly started throwing up. My immediate thought was it was stress related, although I didn't feel particulary stressed. Weird, I thought.

What I didn't know was it was only the beginning of puking, bleeding, cramps, infections, diarrhoea and lots of sleepless nights. As it turned out, I was four weeks pregnant. It was as if my body was doing everything it could to tell me that I had to stop what I was doing. Not tomorrow, but right now.

Jenny at 6 months pregnantIn the early stages, having read so much about the benefits of staying active while pregnant, I tried to defy it. However, pretty soon I had to start cancelling appointments. I didn't think it was a good idea to be in the gym teaching people about health and fitness while I was looking like a zombie who had to disappear every 15 minutes to throw up. And I wasn't ready to tell everyone about the miracle taking place in my womb.

Instead of spending my evenings in the gym, I would sleep or cry from pain and exhaustion. And let me tell you, that's not like me at all. I'm used to being thrown from the top ropes in wrestling rings and having my joints bent backwards by aggressive grapplers without even a tiny bit of moaning. But there I was, in anguish, tears and with a nagging feeling that I should perform so much better, when in fact, I had completely lost control of my body.

The following months were not so much a physical fight as a mental one. In my naive mind, I had always imagined that anyone could keep exercising throughout their pregnancy, with only a bit of stubbornness, but time after time I would be let down.

I tried to do some slow jogging but it instantly felt like my ovaries were about to explode. Even walking a little bit too fast would set me off vomiting. Often I was even too exhausted to do pregnancy yoga.

So I simply had to give up and admit that being pregnant was nothing like what I had expected. Of course it's different for everyone and that's a lot easier to understand in theory than in real life.

Being pregnant has taught me many things, but one invaluable lesson stands out the most. That is to be more humble towards people's physical abilities and limitations. If you had asked me before, I would have told you that a pregnant woman could easily continue with weight programs, perhaps adjusted a little. If you asked me now though, I'd say they shouldn't take anything for granted.

Jenny pro wrestling before she became pregnant

There are some things in life you just can't control. How your body will react to the invasion of entirely new hormones is one of those. It can be an extremely difficult process or it can be a bed of roses, so I've read. Either way, not admitting to yourself what's going on won't help.

As I'm gradually coming to terms with what's happening - that something, or rather someone, else is controlling my physical abilities - the more amazing I'm finding it.

So what am I trying to say? That pregnant women shouldn't exercise? Hell, no.

If they're capable of it I see no reason for pregnant women to stop, but consulting a midwife or fitness professional with a pre-natal qualification is a wise idea. Stay on the safe side and don't aim for maximum weights or personal bests on the running track.

A more important point however, is that you can't push your physical limits all the time - especially not during pregnancy, and nor should you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. What's astonishing is that you wouldn't have heard any of this coming from me five months ago. Life's about progression and I've struggled, revised and learnt a lot lately.

Jenny looks forward to her baby, and getting back in the ring

Running is still a big no-no for me, and even walking is impossible some days, but I'm sort of back on track now. I'm able to eat properly again and trying to do some body weight exercises, yoga and aqua classes regularly. But even if I wasn't that would be totally fine too.

With this in mind I'm not just thoroughly excited about what the rest of this pregnancy and the time ahead will bring, I’m also looking forward to getting back to wrestling and lifting some heavy weights.

I imagine it'll be like falling in love all over again.