Model Brooks Nader in Two-Piece Workout Gear "Put the 'T(ea)' in DWTS"

Every dancer from Dancing With the Stars wows us with their stunning choreography, but behind those mesmerizing routines lies an incredible amount of hard work, discipline, and dedication towards maintaining a fit and healthy body. While their dance rehearsals play a significant role in shaping up their physiques, many of these dancers also incorporate diverse workouts, diets, and mental wellness strategies to achieve their fitness goals. From yoga to swimming, and from vegan diets to intermittent fasting, each dancer has their own unique approach to staying fit. Dive in to discover the fitness secrets of 20 amazing bodies of DWTS dancers.

1. Julianne Hough

Shutterstock

Julianne Hough has been a pro, a judge, and is now the new host of DWTS. She shared some of her workout secrets in an interview with Us Weekly. She says that she has to have the right mindset to stay in shape. “Mindset is first! Healthy brain equals a healthy body. Staying focused on your personal journey and creating a happy environment makes for a healthier lifestyle.”

2. Lacey Schwimmer

Shutterstock

In an Instagram post, Lacey Schwimmer talked about how she struggled with her body image on DWTS. She says that she has come a long way in those years since. “I still have a ways to go, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come in four years. Heal your gut. Eat enough calories. Take proper supplements. Love your life.”

3. Karina Smirnoff

Shutterstock

Karina Smirnoff tells People that being healthy means having a good mindset. “I love challenging myself, pushing myself, and I believe it’s important to celebrate your victories,” she says. “I remember one of my coaches saying to not only concentrate on what your ultimate goal is, but also remember to celebrate small victories as they will give you more motivation to move forward! Being complacent is the worst thing one can do for themselves.”

4. Mark Ballas

Shutterstock

In a 2014 interview with SELF, Mark Ballas talked about how he quit smoking. “Admitting that you need to stop is the first step,” he said. “And, persistence and patience are everything, it’s not going to happen over night. It’s okay to get external help because the goal is to quit, so it doesn’t matter how you get there, you just got to get there. It’s not the Olympics, it’s quitting something that will help you live a healthier life, so if that requires external help, there’s no shame in that.”

5. Peta Murgatroyd

Shutterstock

Peta Murgatroyd does a lot of tours with her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She shared how she stays in shape for them in an interview with People. “When you’re in the rehearsal period, you tend to lose a lot of weight because you’re throwing yourself into several different styles of dance that you aren’t used to and you’re rehearsing 12 hours a day,” she says. “Towards the middle of the tour, I stopped losing weight and I kind of plateaued which is a good thing because you don’t want to get too skin and bones out there. I figured out that for my body, I need to keep maintaining my strength and endurance. I have to trick my body into doing different types of cardio now so my muscles never get bored because now they’re so used to doing the show.”

6. Sharna Burgess

Shutterstock

Sharna Burgess shared her biggest workout tip in an interview with People. “The best form of exercise is one that you enjoy,” she says. “Find a local dance studio, take a friend to hot yoga – make it a social thing if you struggle to find the motivation. Once there are changes in your body and your energy levels, that will be all the motivation you need.”

7. Lindsay Arnold

Shutterstock

Lindsay Arnold broke down her diet secrets with Women Fitness. “I personally do not believe in dieting. I believe that it is very important to eat healthy food and to eat in moderation. What I have found works for me is to find healthy snacks that taste good and I eat them in between my meals. When it comes to meals, I eat what sounds tasty to me but in a reasonable portion. Another thing that has really helped me is to try to not eat any carbs after 8 pm. This doesn’t mean I starve myself if I’m hungry at night (which happens a lot) it just means I will try to find something that is a little healthier.”

8. Witney Carson

Shutterstock

Witney Carson shared her secrets to eating a balanced diet in this post on her website. “One of the downsides to summer is that I sometimes get so busy that I start to slack on my workout routine. Between that and my addiction to Salt & Straw ice cream, I am focusing the rest of my summer on maintaining healthier eating choices. However, I always have a sweet tooth and can’t completely cut out the sweet treats. Finding a balance between eating healthy and treating yourself every once in a while is so important. Finding healthy dessert alternatives is so important to me. Check out some of my favorite healthier sweet treats. These are perfect for when you’re craving something a little more satisfying, but still, want to keep the calories and sugar to a low.”

9. Kym Herjavec

Shutterstock

In addition to being a DWTS pro, Kym Herjavec is also a fitness maven. She even has her own book and fitness studio. Herjavec shared some of her tips with Haute Living. “If you don’t have an hour everyday to workout, try initially setting aside at least 30 minutes. The bottom line is to make exercising a priority so it becomes part of your lifestyle. I recommend to do a combination of cardio and sculpting with light weights and multiple reps. The key is to make exercise part of your lifestyle. You will be amazed at how much energy you have have and you will start to see the results quickly.”

10. Jenna Johnson

Shutterstock

Dance is an amazing workout, and Jenna Johnson wants to encourage others to try it. She opened up about the benefits of dance in an interview with People. “I think people are so nervous to try an actual dance class because maybe they don’t have the right technique or they’re at a certain level, but I think anyone should dance and should try it. You’re challenging your mind as well as your body and it’s engaging a lot of different muscles that you wouldn’t necessarily use on the treadmill or the elliptical.”

11. Emma Slater

Shutterstock

Emma Slater opened up about how she and the other DWTS pros prevent injuries on the road to Richmond Family Magazine. “It’s hard to maintain an injury-free body when you are doing that amount of dancing,” Slater says. “We travel with a physical therapist, Sandra. She warms us up, provides us with ice packs and stretches us out. She works on any injuries or stress on our bodies.”

12. Derek Hough

Shutterstock

Derek Hough shared some of his wellness secrets with Men’s Health. “I’ve actually been doing a lot of yoga — hot yoga sculpt — because I love sweating,” he said. “People will be like ‘Oh, sweat is gross.’ I actually love it. It makes you feel like you’re working hard but also it’s getting rid of all that bad water.”

13. Cheryl Burke

Shutterstock

Cheryl Burke shared some of her favorite at-home workouts with HollywoodLife. She says that tracking her workouts is important to her. “I love doing workouts on my mirror and also on my Fitbit app. [I’m] loving my Fitbit because it makes me want to reach my specific goals and it pushes you to do so along the way, all the while tracking my sleep, water intake, and number of steps per day, etc. Each workout is almost 60 minutes long.”

14. Britt Stewart

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

In an interview with Women’s Health, Britt Stewart shared her diet secrets. She says that she believes in intuitive eating and her meals are dependent on her schedule. "I do my three big meals a day; but when I'm in rehearsal and my schedule is crazy, I'm burning a lot of calories and I need to refuel, so I will eat snacks throughout the day.”

15. Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Shutterstock

Maksim Chmerkovskiy likes to intermittent fast. He shared this photo on Instagram of his first meal that day. He captioned the post, “My 1pm breakfast 🍳That 16/8 kinda life 💪🏼Eggs, pickles, sourdough bagel, kerrygold butter, black caviar, coffee (w coconut oil & honey).”

16. Daniella Karagach

Shutterstock

Daniella Karagach likes to swim to keep herself in shape. She shares a bunch of posts on Instagram of herself in the water. Karagach shared this photo of herself in the ocean in Negril, Jamaica. She also shared this set of photos from the same trip, which included several photos of herself in the water.

17. Brandon Armstrong

Robin Marchant/Getty Images

Brandon Armstrong likes to swim to stay in shape. He shared this photo on Instagram of himself wading in Lake Powell. Armstrong captioned the post, “Little throwback for #earthday from my favorite place on earth! I’m looking for some good places to go over the summer so comment your favorite summer getaway spots!”

18. Valentin Chmerkovskiy

Shutterstock

Valentin Chmerkovskiy opened up about how he approaches teaching each of his celebrity partners to Parade.com. “It does vary on the partner that I have. I’ve tried to find my own lane. My niche on the show is to really take my partner on an educational journey, not just an emotional one. I really want to teach dance, not just perform an entertaining number for the cameras. That has always been my approach, especially when I’m working with capable talent, talent that is able to absorb the information and is able to pick it up.”

19. Sasha Farber

Shutterstock

In 2021, Sasha Farber supported his friend and former partner, Simone Biles, after she withdrew from the Olympics. He told Entertainment Tonight, "For this 24-year-old to be in that position ... she is a phenomenal gymnast, everyone knows. But it just proves that you don't know what's going on inside of the other person sometimes, no matter how strong they look. So I really feel for her, but I know she's going to get through this."

20. Allison Holker

Shutterstock

Allison Holker shared her diet secrets in an interview with HollywoodLife. “I really do believe that for your body, you can’t just work out without also eating healthy, so I myself eat more of a veggie diet. For the most part, I eat only vegetables and fruits and I drink a lot of water. I think for my body that is really the best fuel for me – I sleep better at night and I feel like my skin looks better because of eating vegetables and not eating meat.”

1. Walking and Early Dinner

Slater swears by walking to stay fit when she’s not dancing. “In terms of keeping fit during on off season, I love to walk everywhere,” she told Sarah In Style. “It doesn’t even have to feel like a workout at all. Just leaving your car and walking or even cycling connects you better to nature, puts you in an elevated mood and does wonders for your body. I eat quite healthy too, not eating too much past 8pm will make a huge difference on your weight line as our bodies can’t digest massive amounts of food too well whilst sleep as we don’t expend much energy.”

2. Safe Tanning

Slater loves a safe tan when she’s performing. “Having a tan makes the WORLD of difference in dance!” she told Sarah In Style. “As a dancer who has performed for so many years now wearing tan, I never quite feel the same without it. You’re never dressed without a smile… Or a tan! And I don’t like to sunbathe to get color because I believe it’s just way too dangerous. We shouldn’t have to cook our bodies and risk skin cancer just to get a glow. That’s crazy to me.”

3. Beauty Hacks

One of Slater’s beauty hacks is to set her makeup with hairspray. "When I'm on stage, I like to do my makeup a lot stronger than I would if it were an everyday look," she told E! News. "Because of that, I like to use really pigmented and shimmery eyeshadows and dark liners that show up from further away and in stage lighting. I start my makeup with my eyes first and foundation second, so that any shadow that drops down onto my cheeks I can wipe away using a cotton pad and micellar water."

4. Encouraging Amateurs

Slater loves watching non-dancers gain confidence on the show. “I think it’s important to welcome the natural dance ability of all types of celebrities on the show,” she told Reality Tea. “It’s a very welcoming and encouraging dance environment we have, and the variety makes the show so entertaining. Some celebs just naturally have more prior dance experience than others. I personally think the competition is fun!”

5. Broadway Baby

Slater has a solid pro dancing background she’s proud of. “My favorite venture outside of DWTS was definitely coming to New York for the first time to be on Broadway back in 2009... I performed for 3 months at the Long Acre Theatre with a high intensity dance show called ‘Burn the Floor,’ choreographed by Jason Gilkison,” she told Sarah In Style. “I loved that show, so raw and intense. We would train for hours and hours a day too, before every show.”

1. Dance Training

Murgatroyd always intensifies her workouts before Dancing With the Stars goes into production. “I’ve been doing boxing, I’ve been going to the gym, I’ve had my personal trainer,” she told Us Weekly. “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. 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.”

2. Daily Workouts

Murgatroyd loves running and hiking every day. “I have to work out every day,” she told Dance Magazine. “I need to break a sweat. Running is my main go-to, whether on the road or on the treadmill. I also love to go hiking at Runyon Canyon. During the off-season I really need to keep my body in shape, as I’m not dancing as much as I do when I’m on Dancing With The Stars.

3. Dancer’s Diet

Murgatroyd is careful about her diet when she’s in work mode—she fuels with healthy proteins, and enjoys pasta as a treat. “I usually eat chicken salads, granola bars, vegetables and a little bit of chocolate,” she told Dance Magazine. “I love granola bars, dried fruit, and Gatorade.”

4. Tricking Her Body

Murgatroyd loves hot yoga and Pilates. “When you’re in the rehearsal period, you tend to lose a lot of weight because you’re throwing yourself into several different styles of dance that you aren’t used to and you’re rehearsing 12 hours a day,” she told PEOPLE. “Towards the middle of the tour, I stopped losing weight and I kind of plateaued which is a good thing because you don’t want to get too skin and bones out there. I figured out that for my body, I need to keep maintaining my strength and endurance. I have to trick my body into doing different types of cardio now so my muscles never get bored because now they’re so used to doing the show.”

5. Champion Instinct

Murgatroyd can tell almost immediately if she and her dance partner will be a success as a team. “Usually by the end of the day on day one, I can figure out if we’re gonna be in finals or not,” she told Us Weekly. “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.”