{"id":25925,"date":"2014-03-16T09:15:45","date_gmt":"2014-03-16T13:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=25925"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:01:56","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:01:56","slug":"dancing-with-the-stars-mark-ballas-fit-for-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/dancing-with-the-stars-mark-ballas-fit-for-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Dancing with the Stars’ Mark Ballas: Fit for TV"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:
Photo: ABC<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dance like nobody\u2019s watching? Not for Mark Ballas, who regularly waltzes, whirls and twirls on Dancing with the Stars<\/i>, with up to 27.5 million<\/a> viewers nationwide. Partnered with Candace Cameron Bure<\/a>, the actress best known for her role as \u201cD.J.\u201d on Full House,<\/i> Ballas is gearing up for his 14th<\/sup> consecutive season on DWTS<\/a>. But there\u2019s more to this professional ballroom dancer than his two championship trophies and impressive dance moves. For this season, which kicks off on Monday, March 18, he shed 20 pounds and finally kicked his smoking habit. We caught up with the 27-year-old dancing pro to talk weight loss, teamwork and why twerking isn\u2019t<\/i> quite for everyone. Plus, get his go-to recovery smoothie recipe below!<\/p>\n

When did you start becoming passionate about dancing and performing?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I grew up in a very musical and dancing-orienting family. My grandmother was a famous flamenco dancer way back<\/a> in her day. And I think that\u2019s where it started for my dad\u2019s side of the family. My dad is an amazing guitar player and a great dancer, and my mom, to this day, is still one of the most iconic and best female Latin dancers<\/a> who ever lived. I kind of fell into ballroom dancing because of her. At that time I was doing a lot of jazz, ballet, tap, contemporary, hip-hop, stuff like that. I was at an event with kids my age also doing Latin and ballroom dancing and I was like, \u201cWow, this is a great way to meet the ladies!\u201d<\/p>\n

“After Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, I was at the heaviest I\u2019ve been in my life. I got on the scale and was like, no, this isn\u2019t me.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The truth comes out! So, how is your training going with Candace?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Brutal! We\u2019re getting in shape in addition to training Candace. It\u2019s tough because I train Candace in the mornings and then I go straight to the gym. It\u2019s a lot but we\u2019re getting there.<\/p>\n

What does your training consist of when you\u2019re at the gym?<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mix of things. If I dance in the morning, I won\u2019t do cardio when I go to the gym because dancing for four to five hours gets you pretty<\/i> warm! Usually we do a lot of TRX<\/a> and core work and weightlifting, too.<\/p>\n

How do you fuel up for training?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s taken six weeks to prepare for the premiere. After Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, I was at the heaviest I\u2019ve been in my life. I got on the scale and was like, no, this isn\u2019t me. I dropped 20 pounds and now I\u2019m putting muscle back on. Until the premiere, I\u2019m watching what I eat with a fine-tooth comb. I\u2019m juicing in the morning with Pressed Juicery<\/a>. If I have a snack during the day, I\u2019ll cut up an apple or do a handful of organic almonds or cashews. Within 20 minutes of working out at the gym, I\u2019ll do my protein shake. It\u2019s a lot of liquid throughout the day between the protein smoothie<\/a> and the green juices, but then I\u2019ll do a solid dinner meal like grilled organic chicken with vegetables and a squeeze of lemon juice.<\/p>\n

\"Dancing<\/p>\n

Do you have a go-to pre competition snack or meal?<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like to eat too much before I dance. I usually won\u2019t eat three to five hours before I perform, but if I need something I\u2019ll do a salad \u2014 and no snacking! Since I dance on Monday nights, I\u2019m going to switch my cheat day from Sunday to Monday. I\u2019ll eat super clean on Monday during the day and then after I perform, I\u2019ll let it rip!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your cheat meal?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Pizza time! For me, pizza is my weakness. I love pastas, too, and Mexican food.<\/p>\n

You recently succeeded in quitting smoking. What did it take to finally achieve this goal?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a dramatic coughing thing, but I could definitely feel it in my stamina. I didn\u2019t want to get to the point where I couldn\u2019t dance or move comfortably. When you\u2019re over 25, you really start to notice a change in your athletic body. I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, so I used the Nicoderm CQ patch to quit and now I\u2019ve been smoke-free for eight months.<\/p>\n

In your experience, what\u2019s the hardest thing for a new performer to learn?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Mark-Ballas-moody\"
Photo: Buck Ballas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hardest thing to teach someone is natural rhythm, like being able to count music and being able to hear \u201cone-two-three.\u201d I have had a couple partners on the show who haven\u2019t been able to hear the beat at all, so we\u2019d have to come up with creative ways to get from A to B. If we\u2019re ever doing side-by-side choreography, I have them slightly in front of me so I can see them out of my peripheral and, if their timing is whack, I can follow that.<\/p>\n

The other thing is learning how to show your emotional side via the dance. The actors and actresses are good at that because they are used to acting. It\u2019s very much the same thing with dancing \u2014 it\u2019s not just the steps and being physical. The storyline of the dance, you have to put it through<\/i> your body rather than on your body. It has to come from the soul. You may have a dancer who can spin 30 times on one leg, do backflips, jump into the splits, grab their ankle and pull it past 90 degrees, but if they can\u2019t make you feel something with their facial expressions, with the way they move or the way they touch their partner, then it\u2019s great but not excellent. You want to fully connect with the music and make your audience feel something.<\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite \u2014 or most dreaded \u2014\u00a0dance on DWTS? <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/b>I appreciate all the dances on the show for different reasons. The one that\u2019s most suited to my personality would probably be the Jive or the Lindy Hop because I\u2019m a fun, outgoing and loud person. I also love rhythmic dances like the Cha-Cha. I really love the Samba if I\u2019m doing it professionally but teaching an amateur the Samba is so hard. <\/i>When you get the Samba it\u2019s like \u201cAw man, here we go \u2014 this one\u2019s tough\u201d because it\u2019s got a really specific bounce action to it. If you don\u2019t nail the bounce and coordinate your hips with your knees, it looks crazy.<\/p>\n

So we have to ask: How do you feel about twerking?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny that this whole twerking thing has become a big deal now because it\u2019s been around forever. When it\u2019s done well, it\u2019s incredibly sexy and cool and it\u2019s kind of like, \u201cWow, how are you doing that rhythm with just your lower back and your backside?\u201d But I\u2019ve got to turn the other way when you\u2019ve got these people who are like \u201cLook, I\u2019m twerking! Werk! Yaas! Werk!\u201d and they just can\u2019t do it. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Any tips for us non-dancers who are scared of embarrassing ourselves?<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Mark
Swiffer dusters can make good dancing partners.
Video: Mark Ballas<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The number one tip is not to be embarrassed! When you go and take a class or if you\u2019re practicing at home or going online to pick up moves<\/a>, you have to, at times, look silly. It\u2019s trial and error. You have to be willing to try things. And have fun with it! If you\u2019re having a great time and learning something new and being active, whether it\u2019s to lose weight or be social with your friends, there are going to be times when you look ridiculous and you\u2019ve got to be prepared for that. Only then can you refine it and make it look great. You\u2019ve got to make mistakes to create something beautiful.<\/p>\n

What are you looking forward to most about this season?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking forward to the challenge of taking someone with zero dance background as far as she can go. Candace has never danced, but she\u2019s really fun, very sweet, very up for the challenge, and she\u2019s a natural mover and very athletic. We have great chemistry in the studio and I think we\u2019re going to have a great journey together. You better vote for us!<\/p>\n

To watch Mark Ballas and Candace Cameron Bure shimmy, shake, and try to win it all, tune in to <\/i>Dancing With The Stars<\/i><\/a> on ABC on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST. \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve seen him bust a move on national TV. Here\u2019s how pro dancer Mark Ballas gets in shape gearing up for another season of Dancing with the Stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[38,62,345,365,285],"class_list":["post-25925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-dance","tag-interview","tag-tax1conditions","tag-tax2ibd-crohns-colitis","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}