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Vanity Fair talked to Terry Crews, who is 49 by the way, about his intense workout and diet. He gave very specific details, which people who are really into fitness and nutrition love to do. Terry’s routine reminded me so much of Hugh Jackman in that Hugh is also 49, looks 10-15 years younger like Terry, and follows intermittent fasting along with working his ass off at the gym. I was surprised to hear that Terry doesn’t eat until 2pm though, as he is such a tall, buff guy that he must be able to eat a ton of food and not gain. Plus he wakes up at 4:45 am! I can only imagine how hungry he gets. That’s his strategy though and he also takes a bunch of vitamins. Here’s what he said and you can see the video below. I’m relying on People for the quotes:
Though he starts his day at the very early hour of 4:45 a.m., Crews doesn’t eat any food before he gets to the gym to stick to his intermittent fasting schedule.
“Since I don’t eat until 2 p.m., I have a shaker cup with amino acids and water,” Crews, 49, explained. “This gets filled probably four to five times a day, and it’s pretty much a gallon by the time [the day] gets done.”
Along with his amino acids, the former pro-football player downs his first set of vitamins.
“I have a very, very complex vitamin routine,” he said. “I also set out all my other vitamins for the rest of the day. I have vitamins three times a day.”
By 6 a.m., Crews hits the gym for his intensive workouts.
“I do a 5-minute warmup, and then I put on an audiobook that I’m going to listen to the whole time I’m working out,” he explained. “It can be about fitness, it can be about health, it can be about acting, it can be about whatever. And then I go do my first exercise, and that depends on what day it is.”
“Monday is legs, Tuesday is chest and arms, Wednesday is stretch, and abs, and run, Thursday is my back, Friday is usually about shoulders and plyometric exercises. I usually do four sets with ten descending repetitions, so it’ll go 10, 8, 6, 4, and I usually try to go as heavy as I can. But then every workout, every day, ends with a 4-mile run.”
Finally, by 2 p.m., Crews is ready for his first meal of the day during the eight-hour window that he eats.
“I usually have a go-to lunch, which is an omelet with bacon and a salad, and I always have that in my fridge. And then I wash that down with a protein shake,” he said. “By that time I’ve had my second vitamins, and I’m ready to continue the second half of my day.”
He gets in dinner with his family around 6 p.m., and makes sure to have dessert.
“There’s always a sweet somewhere,” Crews said. “I’ll usually have a pie, or a cake, or something sweet, maybe a pudding, or a little Pinkberry.”
My son and I have been watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he got interested in it after the news that it was canceled and picked up by another network, and I have to admit to creeping on Crews on screen. He looks incredible so whatever he’s doing is working.
Years ago, when it first came out that Hugh Jackman followed intermittent fasting, I read a book called The Fast Diet and tried it for a while. It was really hard and I lasted for about a week. Like Terry, I wake up around 5am and I was starving all morning. At that point I was always searching for the next diet or exercise program that would work for me, but I’ve settled into a healthy routine now. Terry’s routine sounds so intense but I guess that’s what you need to do to look like that. He also shaves his head every day! He’s not really bald.
Here’s Terry’s interview, at about 2:25 he talks about putting oil all over his body after showering. That’s well worth watching. He also says he loves to watch himself on TV because he’s “living the dream and I love to watch the dream!” He goes to bed around 9:30 and has to get up twice at night to pee since he drinks so much water. I love him! I’m not going to snatch the Terry coverage from Hecate but I understand why she’s so into him.
Let @terrycrews break down his day for you pic.twitter.com/CVCoR0hHQl
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) May 17, 2018
Photos credit: WENN and Getty
There’s a well known nutrition website that has an infographic derailing what it takes to hit various levels of low body fat %age. In order to have that incredibly low body fat to have that super defined musculature, you’re constantly on calorie restriction. I couldn’t imagine being hungry all the time, though clearly Terry feels that it’s a worthwhile trade. Different strokes for different folks.
When my brother was bodybuilding competitively he was miserable. Haggard, weak, no energy at all. His body looked AMAZING but that is no way to live.
What website is it? I’m really interested in this
I Found fasting was the only way for me loose weight.
I just can’t help but eat whatever I want. If I want pasta, a chocolate cake or fresh vegetables I am gonna eat them.
I find it less difficult not to eat until let say 3-4 pm then eat whatever I want until 9 pm or later.
It works real good for me.
I struggled with my weight and diet until fasting.
Not easy, but the best I could experience.
I would find it so easy to go overboard, even within that timeframe. It’s sort of how I eat anyway, but snacking is a huge problem for me. I guess it goes to show that there really is no one-size-fits-all answer for healthy eating.
Very true. I know a few people who have said they gain weight during Ramadan because they binge during the time frame where they can eat. I find that I can’t binge eat after fasting for too many hours. Makes me sick. I have to eat a normal-sized meal.
I found that having a smaller and lighter meal in the evening, ideally before 7.30pm really helped me. I lost a lot of weight when I made lunch my main meal of the day, i try to follow below:
Breakfast: porridge or sourdough bread with eggs/avocado
Lunch: Salad or sandwich with either something sweet afterwards. Have just discovered a great take away place near the office that does delicious Vietnamese food – their salads are to die for
Dinner: Soup, small bowel of stew or a small piece of chicken/fish with some veg/salad (but depends on what I had for lunch)
Snacks: Fruit, nuts
I try not to eat fruit in the evening as it aggravates my acid reflux.
The only way for me to wake up hungry is to have a small dinner around 8 PM If I have something larger like stake with salad I wake up super full.
Same. I started intermittent fasting at the beginning of April. Usually eat between 430-830 five or take. I’m down 12 lbs. I read a decent book called Delay Don’t Delay and the author does the eating window and eats whatever she wants during that time. If she wants a coke she has a coke. I like the concept because too many suffer from disorganized eating and don’t even realize it. Like I hate the concept of “cheat” food. It’s food not your boyfriend.
My motto is now eat what makes me feel good and what nourishes my body. I’ve cut out certain foods because they make me feel like crap and that’s it. No calorie counting, no carb counting, no macro counting…..
This is how I’ve ALWAYS eaten (with the exception of pregnancy/nursing) and I’ve never had any weight issues at all. I eat whatever I want without restriction, but only after like 1 or 2 pm. I’m just not a breakfast person, and I have a steady diet of caffeine before noon, which curbs my appetite.
I’m one of those people who has a hard time eating breakfast so early in the morning. I get hungry around 11 AM but I force myself to have breakfast at 6 AM and a healthy snack at 10 AM. Maybe I should try this fasting approach.
I think it’s good to listen to your body. I always eat breakfast, because I’m always hungry early ish, I’d be miserable if I waited until 2 p.m. My boyfriend isn’t hungry in the morning. He was eating breakfast because it’s “healthier”. He gained weight because he ate the same the rest of the day if he had breakfast or not.
I just started intermittent fasting about 2 weeks ago. I’m 52 and going through menopause, my clothes stopped fitting. I have been US 4-6 for over 20 years and in the past two years, I went up to 8 and in some designers, 10. No exercise seemed to work. I started getting belly fat. I read about intermittent fasting and all the science behind it and decided to try it.
The first day was rough because I had my last meal at 4.30 and when my husband was eating later, the aroma made it difficult. By the second day, I was not hungry when I woke up, I go for a walk and drink my morning coffee black(which is hard for me) and start eating at 10:00 am. I basically try to get all my calories in before 4.30pm. After two weeks, I have lost a dress size, I have toned down around my abdomen.
You can modify it to whatever eating pattern that suits your schedule but you must eat to be full or else it won’t work if you are not getting enough calories.
i would love to know what his vitamin routine is…
No shade but he does not look 15 years younger than his 49.
he is magically delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1