Trainer Reveals Ilona Maher’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Workout Routine

The Olympic athlete and her dance partner Alan Bersten have been hitting the gym ahead of their weekly dance performances.

Ilona Maher / Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

We're six episodes into Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars and only seven couples remain. Among them are 2024 Paris Olympian Ilona Maher and her partner Alan Bersten.

The duo has been making an impression with their performances on the dance floor—and their fun social media content off of it. But they have been putting in the work, too.

The pair have been hitting the gym to build their strength ahead of their weekly dances. Recently, fitness instructor Lateef McMullan took to Instagram to share their current routine—and offer some words of encouragement for the duo. “Shoutout to these two incredible athletes!” he wrote in the caption. “Their chemistry on the dance floor easily translates to the gym. Focused on full body strength and mobility, these exercises not only can enhance their performances on #DWTS but are also essential in everyday life. Watch their journey and don’t forget to vote to keep them moving forward!”

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A post shared by Lateef McMullan (@lateefom)

The strength set features the following:

• Pogo jumps
• Racked squat
• Slam to rotation throw
• Single leg Romanian deadlift
• Dumbbell bench press
• Hip thrust
• Half kneeling lat pull down
• Sprints

As their trainer suggested, the work has been integral to their performances on the floor—many of which have been crowd pleasers. Last week, for example, Maher and Bersten put on a show with their rumba performance.

It was “Dedication Night,” the Dancing with the Stars tradition that gives dancers the chance to dedicate their performances to influential figures in their lives. Dressed in a deep blue gown designed to show off her muscles, Maher dedicated the dance to her Paris Olympic teammates, many of whom were cheering her on from the audience.

Ahead of the episode, the athlete penned a strong message about their bronze medal-winning performance on the rugby pitch. “Tonight, I’m dedicating this dance to my Olympic team,” she wrote on Instagram. “We truly did something so special not just for ourselves but for those who came before us and those who will come after us. It was in no way easy but I’m so happy I had this group of incredible people to do it with.”

Both Maher and Bersten were hopeful to follow up on their expert rumba performance with another big performance this week, and they delivered for “Disney Night.” Dancing jazz to the song “Surface Pressure” from Encanto, in addition to a group performance (alongside three other couples) to “I2I” from A Goofy Movie, the duo had their best episode yet on Oct. 22. Their individual dance scored Maher and Bersten a 25 out of 30, with Carrie Ann giving them an impressive 9 out of 10.

Keep watching new episodes of Dancing With the Stars every Tuesday night on ABC and Disney+.