Fitness in pregnancy: Annemerel de Jongh

A common concern for many women is whether it’s okay to continue exercising during pregnancy. While most healthcare professionals agree that keeping active is generally safe, the physicality of being pregnant can present some challenges. 

We asked fitness/lifestyle blogger and author of Live, Love, Run, Annemerel de Jongh how she maintained her fitness throughout her pregnancy, the issues she encountered and whether she had any tips for expectant mums on how to stay fit during pregnancy.

Hi Annemerel, thanks for speaking to us about your fitness journey.  Before we get into it, what did your daily routine look like before pregnancy? 

Before I got pregnant I was an avid marathon runner. I ran five or six times a week and averaged 80km a week.  I did some strength training as well, but it was always to support my running, not because I liked doing it!

What did you do to stay fit throughout your pregnancy?

I was expecting to just continue my running during pregnancy, but after six weeks nausea hit, and I was too sick to run for six weeks. When I hit the 12-week mark the nausea symptoms disappeared and I tried to run again, unfortunately, my pelvis and back started to hurt immediately. From 13 weeks I started doing pregnancy Pilates at home, I did that until two days before labour (40+6 weeks). I also tried to walk daily, when the weather was good I went outside, otherwise, I hit the treadmill.

I was pregnant during Covid, so our pools were all closed. In the last few weeks of pregnancy, the pools opened again and I started swimming laps. I loved that. I swam until 40+4 weeks.

So you had to modify all the things you would do normally?

Yes,  running was out of the question from 16 weeks, and even before that, I couldn’t do what I usually did. Fun fact, I found out I was pregnant at 4+3 weeks. I had a race in the morning and it was so strange, I just couldn’t push during the race, I felt super flat. I did a pregnancy test in the afternoon and found out I was pregnant. So really, running was different for me right from the start. Some people can run until the day they go into labour, others – like myself – have to quit almost immediately.

That must have been frustrating. Was the treadmill a good replacement for outdoor running? 

I ran indoors on the treadmill until 16 weeks, but it was a combination of running and walking. The best thing about it was that I was able to stop when I wanted to. When I felt like I’d had enough, I could just get off the treadmill and go sit or lie down. When I was running/walking outdoors, I sometimes had to limp back home. Not great. I was working from home at the time, so I tried walking multiple times a day, not for long – sometimes only for five minutes, but that was enough to get my blood flowing.

Sounds like the ideal remedy! Thinking about diet now, were there any changes you had to make? 

I love sushi, red meat, and runny eggs, but I didn’t have that during pregnancy. In the first trimester food was a challenge, everything that smelled made me feel ill. My husband wasn’t even able to cook for himself, so we ordered a lot of take-out. After the first trimester, I ate like I usually ate, except for the things I wasn’t allowed to. And obviously the further I got into my pregnancy the more I ate. For the last few weeks, I had magnums twice daily, it was hot and I was hungry all the time. I had put on 20kg during pregnancy even though I’d stayed active until the end.

What was the hardest part of exercising while pregnant?

Not being able to run was hard for me mentally. Walking also became hard after 24 weeks, my pelvis was not having it. I was also out of breath very easily, something I wasn’t used to since I was running marathons before getting pregnant.

How did you manage to stay motivated throughout it all?

Pilates really motivated me because I hadn’t been doing a lot of strength work before and I saw my body change in a good way during pregnancy. The walking helped too, as it was the closest thing to running, the sport I had been doing for 15 years before getting pregnant.

Finally, what would be your top 3 fitness tips for anyone who is currently expecting?

• Be nice to yourself, this is a very special time. Nine months may seem very long now, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s actually nothing. Enjoy it. Soon it will be over and you’ll be able to build back. If you listen to your body now, you’ll have fewer problems after birth.

• Try doing pregnancy Pilates, it’s not only good for your butt, it also teaches you how to breathe and that’s something that comes in handy during labour!

• After labour, take your time. The more you rest in the beginning, the easier it is to build back. You don’t have to be out and about seven days after giving birth, so try to relax.

 

A huge thanks to Annemerel for contributing to this blog post. Read more about her fitness training at annemerel.com.
Editor’s Note: Always speak to a healthcare professional before taking up any new form of exercise in pregnancy.