Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton is no stranger to the hours of training he’ll have to put in as part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing cohort.
Appleton has trained for years to build his lean, athletic physique, opting for an approach which combines strength work with high-intensity cardio.
‘I have a trainer and that helps me get the most out of an hour,’ Appleton previously told Marie Claire, adding that having a PT keeps him accountable and off his phone.
‘We try to keep training different body parts. I do weights and high intensity just to keep it tight and right.’
He Makes Time for High-Intensity Training
High-intensity work appears to play an important role in Appleton’s routine. In a look inside his daily routine with Allure, he shared that he heads to the gym after waking at 6am and meditating.
‘A really important workout for me is to actually just do some high intensity,’ he said. ‘I’m really into high intensity right now, just because I like to get my whole body moving.’
While performance is clearly part of the equation, Appleton also said the training helps him feel ‘a little bit leaner’.
While body composition is largely determined by diet, balancing resistance training with conditioning can help build a leaner, more athletic physique.
With a career that involves plenty of travel and long days on his feet, he added that being his training makes his job easier.
‘We’re always moving around from place to place, carrying luggage, there’s always so much going on. So I think for me, feeling flexible, feeling strong, feeling healthy is really important,’ he says.
And as he prepares for Strictly, Appleton appears to be leaning into bodyweight training and high-intensity conditioning (he was recently photographed working out in a London park) – both of which can build the strength, stamina and muscular endurance that will come in handy in the coming weeks.
He Trains His Core Regularly
Appleton makes a particular effort not to neglect his ab training. He says, ‘I always try to put abs in my routine. That’s important to me because I feel like I stand taller and feel better. It’s not just about how I look, it’s about how it makes me feel.’
And judging by one of the workouts he’s shared, his ab training involves much more than monotonous crunches. His core training includes a mixture of leg raises, holds and hanging movements.
Chris Appleton’s Ab WorkoutLeg Raises
Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms fully extended. Keeping your legs straight, raise them until they are roughly parallel to the floor.Pause, then lower under control.Cross-Body Single-Leg Knee Tucks
Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms fully extended. Bring one knee up and across your body towards the opposite side of your chest. Lower under control, then repeat on the opposite side. Plate Holds
Hang from a pull-up bar and bend your knees to around 90 degrees. Place a weight plate across your thighs and hold the position, keeping your core braced throughout.
Knee Tucks 
Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms fully extended. Bend your knees and draw them up towards your chest, keeping your torso as controlled as possible. Slowly lower your legs back to the starting position and repeat. Toes-to-Bar 
Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms fully extended. Brace your core and raise your legs until your toes meet the bar. Lower your legs under control before moving into the next rep.
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Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.