Staying in shape during your pregnancy is important for any momma-to-be. Fitness guru Sara Haley has created a great new workout, Expecting More that will keep you in shape for your nine months—and beyond.
What was life like prior to launching your DVD, Expecting More?
I had moved to NYC to pursue a dance career, but I didn’t like the grind of auditioning all the time. I realized that fitness made me really, really happy. It was a combination of making other people happy every day and looking forward to seeing clients, too. At that point, I was teaching everything from dance to body conditioning, even Pilates and yoga.
Reebok International approached me to be a global ambassador and I did fitness DVDS. The more I did it, I loved it. And then motherhood came into play.
There really aren’t that many workout DVDs in the maternity market.
That’s right. I had gotten certified in prenatal and postnatal fitness. And that gave me the ability to put myself in the world as a trainer. Between the people I trained and friends who were pregnant, they would tell me to do a pregnancy DVD. But I didn’t want to do it until I was pregnant, too. As soon as I got pregnant, I knew this was the time. We ended up filming when I was 8 months pregnant, but it makes the DVD more credible because it shows that you can do it at any stage.
Let’s talk about the DVD itself.
There are 6 different workouts. On two of them, I have backups, and then the other 4 are just me doing the exercises. It’s all about listening to your body; if it doesn’t feel good, then you can’t do it. Because what you can and can’t do depends on how you carry. Prenatal yoga will help you for the birth; it will help you open up your body in new ways. And while it will help you with breathing, what it won’t give you is the cardiovascular activity or the stamina.
How are you balancing it all?
As every working mother must say, it is a challenge. I feel a pull all the time. When I’m not with him, I try my best to turn it off but it’s so hard. It’s definitely my biggest challenge. Before I had my son, I could work out whenever I wanted to. Now I’m working out at home more, and the workouts need to be much more efficient. On top of that, I’m not a kid person. I mean, I knew I wanted a 10 year old eventually, but I had never been a baby person! [laughs] Now, I’m obsessed with my son, Landon John. But giving myself the time to work out makes me a better wife, mom, and friend. I love what I do, so it justifies it, because it makes me whole.