“Strictly Come Dancing” stars dazzle not just on the dance floor but also in their approach to health and fitness. Here we explore how these professionals maintain their peak physical form. Karen Hauer champions a balanced diet, while Janette Manrara focuses on weight training post-show. Dianne Buswell combines dancing with varied exercises, and Giovanni Pernice finds joy in Zumba. Katya Jones is hooked on Padel, Vito Coppola stresses dedication in his workouts, and Nancy Xu embraces swimming. Kai Widdrington enjoys golf, Luba Mushtuk reflects on overcoming challenges, Oti Mabuse varies her intense workouts, and Gorka Marquez follows a strict fitness regimen, showcasing the diverse ways these stars stay in top shape.
Karen Hauer is the show’s longest running pro, joining in 2012. She shared her diet with Your Healthy Living. “For brekkie, I will have two pieces of rye toast with cottage cheese or avocado and a green tea or coffee. As a mid-morning snack, I’ll have a bowl of Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries. Lunch is a bowl of tuna, tomatoes, onions and coriander salad, with a spritz of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. In the afternoon, I’ll snack on fruit salad and a cup of almonds. Dinner is chicken breast with sautéed kale and a side of roasted sweet potatoes. I also try to drink one to two litres of water a day.“
Janette Manrara joined the show in 2013 and left in 2021. She tells Women’s Fitness that she still trains hard, despite no longer being a pro. “A lot has changed as, obviously, I am not dancing or training like I did for Strictly, but I still keep on top of my fitness. I am definitely not a gym bunny but I love spending time with my personal trainer, who I try to see three times a week, and she helps me focus on weight training – not the sort that will make you big and buff, but more about muscle strengthening.”
Dianne Buswell joined the show in 2017, and met her current boyfriend, Joe Sugg, on the show a year later. Buswell shared her approach to fitness with The Independent. “Dancing is definitely enough to keep you fit, but if I just keep on dancing and dancing and dancing, I’m using the same muscle groups and I have to do different things in order to engage different muscles, so I don’t get injured and I can do this for a longer time.”
Giovanni Pernice has been on the show since 2015. He revealed to Express that he has tried Zumba classes. “The way Zumba is created just makes it so easy to follow – so it’s easier to focus on just having fun in the class, without actually realising you’re exercising. That’s pretty cool, especially for those of us who find workouts hard to stick to. The class was like going to a party and dancing to the best Latin tunes. The best way to express yourself!”
Katya Jones has been a pro since 2016, and won in 2017. She revealed in this Instagram post that she likes to play Padel with friends. Jones captioned the post, “If you’ve not heard of Padel, then you’ve been living under the rock! 😳 I am totally obsessed with it! The aim is to get really good at it ( I am definitely not great, just yet!).”
Vito Coppola joined Strictly last year. He shared this gym video on Instagram. In it, Coppola does exercises with things like workout bands and resistance bands with a trainer. He captioned the post, “‘The dedication and the commitment we put in what we do is everything!’ This what my Nonno 👴🏼 always says me. It’s not about What we do but How we do it.”
Nancy Xu joined the show in 2019 and officially got a celebrity partner in 2021. In this Instagram post, she revealed that she is learning how to swim. Xu captioned the post, “The video you are watching now may look a bit funny, as I actually laughed myself, but what I want to share with you all is, that sometimes LEARNING a new skill it is scary, but as long as there is someone by your side that loves you and helps you, all you need is to trust yourself and take action🥰 to make it happen!”
Kai Widdrington joined the show for their 2021 series. In addition to dancing, he likes to play golf. Widdrington even has a golf Instagram account with his brother. He shared this video of himself taking a swing on the course. Widdrington captioned the post, “Play a par 4 with me.”
Luba Mushtuk joined the show in 2018 and received her first partner a year later. She talked about being on the show to Sustain Health. “Anything where you want to become professional, of course it’s never the easy road. But I’m here today and I’m very thankful for all those hard times. Any challenge that happens, it happens to make you learn something. I don’t want to say it’s there for a reason but just try to find the lesson out of it and try to build strength out of it – that’s how I always look at anything in life.”
After back to back wins, Oti Mabuse departed the show in 2021 after seven seasons. She shared her fitness secrets with the Daily Mail. “My arms are long, too, so I need to build them up with push-ups and weights. I train at the gym for two and a half hours, three to four times a week. I have discovered battle ropes – they work everything. It’s best to do something fun to stay fit – for me that’s squash, football, jogging or basketball.”
Gorka Marquez joined the show in 2016, even meeting his fiancee, Gemma Atkinson because of the show. He shared his fitness secrets with Attitude Magazine. “I wake up at about 6.30am and do cardio for between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on work later in the day and how intense that will be. Then I’ll go home, have my breakfast and carry on with my day before a two-hour gym session. I’ll do weights and some more cardio. The longest session would be leg day with cardio and core.”