MY LIFE IN HEA LTH
CELEBRITY INTERVIEW
Former Strictly pro-dancer, TV presenter and new mum Janette Manrara opens up about the joy and struggles of new motherhood, her passion for weight training and why she has therapy even during the good times.
Growing up, health was about happiness.
My family is Cuban and I was born and raised in Miami. I grew up in a house where we danced all the time and for any reason – a birthday, Valentine’s, if the sun was out – we had a party and ate great food cooked by my grandma. Our health stemmed from the joy of life. As I got older, dancing became the forefront of my career and, naturally, that led me to take care of my body.
Now I’m dancing for pure enjoyment again.
On Strictly Come Dancing, the pressure to deliver a routine and turn a celebrity into a dancer is really high. Now that Aljaž [Janette’s husband Aljaž Škorjanec, also a professional dancer] and I are not competing on Strictly, dancing is still a constant in our lives but we’ve gone back to that mentality of dancing just for us, to tell a story, just to entertain audiences at our Christmas show and when we host dance weekends. That’s so lovely now.
I love weight training.
When I danced, I never thought about weight training. Dancers are athletes, by nature. We’re moving constantly and our muscles tend to be more flexible, lean and long – strong with more fluidity. When I stopped dancing in the summer of 2021 and started hosting It Takes Two, I started going to the gym to keep my body physically healthy and my body has changed since. Normally I go to the gym two or three times a week for 45 minutes. Gemma Atkinson [actress and fiancée of Strictly professional Gorka Márquez] changed my mentality towards physical health. She and I are good friends and she got me into weight training. I have much more muscle now than when I was dancing. I’ve noticed it in my glutes and arms and I enjoy feeling stronger because I can do things more easily.
Weight training is the easiest way to lose weight and get into shape.
I’ve been working with an amazing woman called Kat Suchet from Hatch Athletic who has helped me. She specialises in women’s bodies postpartum and has been a lifesaver in getting me physically back into shape to do my Christmas tour and then the Strictly Live tour. Weight training is so beneficial for women. It’s good for everything including bone density and building strength to protect against injury. If you fall later in life and have been weight training, you have the muscle mass to protect your bones.
I’m quite spiritual and
