Personal Trainer Says She is Bullied for Working Out While Pregnant

A woman in Southern California says she is subjected to verbal abuse for working out while she is pregnant.

Sara Haley, who is 35 weeks pregnant, says she gets rude comments from gym goers where she works out in Santa Monica, according to the New York Daily News.

Some gym rats just stare and whisper to one another. Others make rude noises, according to Haley, who has a 3-year-old son, Landon. But the 35-year-old fitness fanatic — who last week was voted one of America’s leading fitness trainers by Shape magazine — brushes off the criticism from armchair obstetricians.

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The snide remarks run the gamut, from “Those stretch marks are the worst I have ever seen!” to “Wow, your butt is so big!”

“It is an element of bullying. Some people have no filter all of a sudden when they see a pregnant woman training,” she says. “There is a lot of rude comments made and sometimes it’s like going back to high school, where people gang up and make nasty comments.”

It’s not just comments from rude people who don’t think she should be working out—it’s people who want to make sure she knows that they are A-OK super cool with her getting her sweat on while she’s pregnant.

“My favorite reaction in general, throughout my pregnancy, has been the classic eye contact with a big thumbs up,” Haley tells the NYDN. “I do appreciate the encouragement, but honestly, I’m just pregnant, not trying to save the world.” (Ha!)

Why is that people insist on shoving their opinions about women’s bodies and what they should or shouldn’t be doing with them down women’s throats? Is it that hard to maybe take a moment and consider that a woman might just know what’s best for her body? (Never mind that women have been doing backbreaking labor while pregnant for FRICKING EONS.) Shut up, concern trolls. Women know what’s best for them and their bodies—not you.