Jake Pavelka is dancing through the pain.
"Right now, I have three pulled muscles in my back," the Bachelor, 32, tells Entertainment Tonight after hours of DWTS rehearsals.
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He's trying to stay strong for the competition, which kicks off next Monday on ABC.
"You just ignore it. I also have two blisters on my feet," he says. "I am not a woe-is-me guy, who plays the sympathy card. It is just what is."
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The airline pilot has been disciplined while prepping for the show. He says he wakes up at 5:30 every morning to pray and meditate. Then he downs an 800-calorie shake made from oatmeal, eggs, a banana and blueberries, and studies dance videos for 45 minutes before heading into the studio to meet up with partner Chelsie Hightower.
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Hightower says she plays to make Pavelka go shirtless while performing.
"He doesn't know it yet, but my plan is to make this [she gestures to Pavelka's abs] our secret weapon," Hightower tells ET.
His fiancee Vienna Girardi will be rooting for him from the front row Monday night.
"Vienna is my No. 1 fan," Pavelka says. "She has been incredible through all of this. She will be cheering me on. It might surprise everybody that she might have a couple friends in the audience that people don't know are friends."