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Sterling K. Brown's Workout Routine and Diet: How He Stays in Shape
”It's not a vanity thing," he told People. "It's like I want to keep on doing what I'm doing for a long time."
Live to 100 with a six-pack? Sounds like a pretty good plan. And that's what actor Sterling K. Brown is aiming for with his fitness routine. The This Is Us star makes physical health a priority, and he's no stranger to hard work. He says it's because he wants to play with his grandkids someday. ”It's not a vanity thing," he told People. "It's like I want to keep on doing what I'm doing for a long time."
Brown also revealed that he's had a six-pack...since he was six. "As a kid in St. Louis, I remember playing shirts versus skins at summer camp — and not wanting to be a skin because I didn’t like my body," he told the LA Times. "When my aunt bought us a sit-up board, it was an opportunity. She would always have competitions between us kids. She’d give $10 to anyone who could do 100 sit-ups. For a 6-,7-, 8-year-old, that was a lotta money! So I once did 200 sit-ups without stopping — and got $20. From that point forward, I would watch music videos on MTV and try to do sit-ups for an entire song."
Read on for all the tips, tricks, and exercises he uses to maintain his physique and feel great.
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Sterling K. Brown's workout routine includes Peloton
“Peloton. I got the bike. I got the treadmill. I love the workout classes," Brown told People in December 2023. (Peloton is a popular at-home workout system that includes equipment and a subscription to video lessons.) He also told Men's Health that he incorporates yoga, calisthenics, and plays basketball to keep fit without bulking up.
Brown is a longtime athlete. He played varsity football and basketball and ran track in school — and ran a triathlon in his mid-thirties.
During his This Is Us days, he was a fan of the P90X workout and lots of variety. "My whole thing is about muscle confusion, trying to do different things all the time," he told Parade in 2019. "I think the P90X got me started down that line...I go to rock climbing gyms. I will run. I have an 8-year-old who plays soccer and plays flag football. So I'll just get out and play with him. I have a bike. I've done one triathlon and hopefully in the future I'll get a chance to do a few more. I have a swimming pool so I will swim in the backyard. And basketball. I do as many things as possible because that keeps it fun."
Sterling K. Brown's 25-minute on-the-go workout
Not much time? You can still get a workout in. For Men's Health, Brown demonstrated his 25-minute mini-routine, a series of moves he calls the "best bang for [his] buck." It's 50 jumping jacks followed by 40 squats, 30 push-ups, 20 butt-ups, 10 burpees, and 10 pull-ups. And then you do all that two more times. The best part? No gym required.
Sterling K. Brown does daily meditation
In 2019, Brown told Men's Health that he practices "at least 20 minutes" of meditation daily, and to celebrate his birthday every year, goes on a 10 -mile run. "It’s easier to maintain a level of fitness than it is to lose it and try to get it back,” he added. “You want to do enough that you feel like you’ve done something, but not so much that you don’t wanna do it again tomorrow. So it’s not about trying to kill yourself. It’s about trying to give yourself the inspiration to continue."
Sadly, Brown's father passed away when Sterling was just 10. The loss inspired the actor to commit to living as long as possible. "My dad had [Type 2] diabetes, smoked, drank and passed from a heart attack. So I’ve never smoked a cigarette. I enjoy a cocktail every now and then but have no need to have a drink every day. I’m very careful with salt. We sweeten everything in our house with brown rice syrup, agave, and honey, but no sugar," he told the LA Times. "I want to live a long, healthy life. The life expectancy of the African American male is the shortest of all groups in this country, and I don’t wish to be a statistic. I want to be around to see great-grandchildren — and be able to enjoy them."
Sterling K. Brown's diet
“I try to eat well — a lot of protein in the morning. You have the carbs in the morning, so you can burn them all throughout the course of the day. Hydrate, a lot of water, good for the skin, good for the tears, good for everything. And just try to be mindful," Brown told People of his approach to healthy eating.
He previously said he's fond of "grains and greens."
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"I'm a big kale guy," he told Parade. "I'm a big spinach guy...Colorful things: sweet potatoes, red peppers. She loves to make frittatas with mushrooms...I will dally with vegetarian/veganism for like a period of a month or two months or something. But I'm not a die hard. I try not to eat a ton of meat. And when it is, I try to eat the most lean meat as possible. And then I think the secret ingredient that a lot of people tend to neglect that I even neglect from time to time is good old fashioned H20. If you can knock out a half gallon a day, if the urine is crystal clear when you get finished at the end of the day and you're going like five or six times, that's about right. You’ve got to flush everything out."
