Get Julianne Hough's Body In 4 Simple Moves

Julianne Hough.

Once the domain of sequin-clad tweens and girls’ nights out, dance has busted out into the mainstream. Barre-based and Zumba workouts, dance video games livening up your loungeroom and shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars..it’s all put a spotlight on dance bringing together the best of fun times and serious kilojoule burn. Now we turn the spotlight on Julianne Hough, the girl who puts the star in the US’s Dancing with the Stars as one of their judges. Earlier this year she also rocked out in FOX’s Grease: Live as Sandy, cementing her place as this decade’s Olivia Newton-John.

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The actress’s first lead role was in the 2011 film remake of Footloose. Since then she’s starred in Rock of Ages, and other non-dancy films like Safe Haven and Dirty Grandpa.

Watching the 27-year-old in action at the WH photo shoot is like watching someone pop a bottle of prosecco. She’s that bubbly. “When I’m with my [mum] and sisters, we dance around like crazy people,” she says. “I have a couple of moves that are not cute at all, but they’re my favourites. I’ll do a wide stance and a heel tap. Just weird stuff.”

Hough is fierce on the floor. She’s danced competitively since age nine and clocked five seasons on Dancing with the Stars US. At the time of our interview, she’s in the thick of rehearsals for another dance production, having spent the previous afternoon choreographing for four hours straight. Gruelling? Nope. Her happy place.

“I love my body the most when I’m dancing,” she says. “The way you move directly impacts the way you feel. You’re
completely present. It’s the same kind of meditation as yoga, but it’s more upbeat and sassy.”

Up and at ’em
Perhaps that’s why the art form is enjoying a revival of sorts. “When you’re doing something that’s fun, there’s no way you can feel sad or lonely,” she says, pointing to the ‘sober raves’ trend. “At seven in the morning, everyone just goes and they dance. Awesome!”

Social trend aside, dance is one of the most boss workouts around (we still marvel when B-list stars carve out A-list bodies on Channel 7’s DWTS). Hough insists the benefits run deeper.

“It’s honestly life-changing for people because it brings out a side they may have suppressed for years,” she says. “You let go of being self‑conscious. Maybe you’re reserved and you learn it’s OK to be wild, sexy, whatever. There are so many parts of us – how are we going to know they exist unless we exercise them?”

Dance has also seemed to help her craft a healthy body image. “Being in this business, we think, ‘The skinnier, the better,’ but you can be skinny fat,” Hough says, recalling a time when she wasn’t working out much and her stylist assured her she looked “smaller than ever”.

Julianne didn’t see it as a compliment. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I’m not toned, and my skin is kind of flabby. I hate that. I would so much rather be a bit thicker and know that my body is healthy.”

She pauses. “If I’m not active, I get depressed. Well, I shouldn’t say that word. I start picking myself apart.”

It’s a rare moment of vulnerability for Hough, who prides herself on her ‘seize the day’ approach to life. “When you’re not taking risks, you’re just staying the same,” she says.

Considering Hough went from blonde to unicorn pink and back in the span of a few weeks, we’ll take the woman at her word. “I’m not afraid to do anything with my hair,” she says. “People say to me, ‘Oh, I wish I could cut my hair’. Then do it! Or, ‘I wish I could dye my hair that colour.’ Then colour it!” Speaking of hair, she swears by a Unite leave-in detangler and homemade hair mask of heated raw honey and coconut oil.

Fit foodie
She’s a big fan of DIY’ing in the kitchen, too. “I’m not on a strict diet, but I eat well because I can’t dance on a stomach of, like, wine and pasta.” She spends her free time cooking clean meals with her Canadian fiance, Brooks Laich, a pro ice-hockey player. When they met, “Brooks wouldn’t even steam his vegies, he’d eat them raw. Boring!” So Hough has been tinkering around with making healthy go‑tos less spartan: pumping up quinoa (toss with chicken, asparagus, radishes, and parsley), whipping up guilt-free desserts (apple and fig crumble) and even indulging in pizza every now and then.

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“I’m not going to eat that kind of thing every day, but if I want to have pizza, I’m going to do it,” she says. “If you’re sneaking it in, you eat more. Sit down and enjoy the splurge!” Sage advice.

But we have a hunch Hough won’t be sitting for long.

The April issue of Women's Health is out now.