As Peta Murgatroyd knows, dancing is even more physically difficult than it looks. So to get her body ready for her return to Dancing With the Stars, the pro took her workout routine up a few notches.
“It is very demanding,” she tells Us Weekly exclusively of competing on the ABC hit. “I have been getting my body as prepared as I possibly could for this. I am in shape. I hope to be in better shape by the time we return to air on September 16.”
The New Zealand native, 33, took a two-season break from the show after welcoming her son, Shai, with fellow dancer and husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy, in January 2017.
Now that she’s set to return for season 28, she’s designed her fitness regimen to increase her cardio endurance and get her muscles in tip-top shape. “I’ve been doing boxing, I’ve been going to the gym, I’ve had my personal trainer,” she says. “I’ve been doing my part in keeping healthy … any time I’ve gone back, whether I go to the gym or not, it’s a shock to the system because it’s so intense.”
When preparing with their partners for the show, she adds, “we do 4 to 6 hours a day and you just don’t get that type of cardio anywhere else, so it’s always a bit of a shock. But I think I’m going to be fine.”
Though the ballroom dancer doesn’t yet know who she’ll be paired with for the season, she of course hopes to win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. “I have to meet my partner and usually by the end of the day on day one, I can figure out if we’re gonna be in finals or not,” the two-time winner reveals. “That’s a very big telltale sign. We go through all the basics and you know, you can tell if it’s somebody that is charming and funny and maybe not the best dancer, but you could definitely get to the finals. Or it could be a great dancer and I might need to work on the personality and bringing their personable side out. I definitely know in 24 hours.”
With reporting by Carly Sloane
