Jason Momoa Explains Why He Hates Working Out and Finds Lifting "Challenging"
Believe or not, one of Jason Momoa's New Year's resolutions is to exercise more. We're not kidding — the Hollywood A-lister that's jibed at on the internet for being more stacked than his bodyguards isn't currently content with his bill of health.
Despite boasting a 50-inch chest and the upper-body strength that could hike a car off the ground, Momoa credits his impressive size — all 6ft 3in and 110kg of it — to his Hawaiian genetics. It's these genetics, he explains in Men's Health's December 2020 cover interview on the set of Dune, that helped secure his role as the iconic hero Aquaman, the roaring Conan the Barbarian and the fearsome Khal Drogo in HBO's Game of Thrones. There was even a brief stint in Baywatch. These roles, despite the sheer size and physical prowess of the characters, didn't emerge as a by-product of hard reps and endless sessions in a Hollywood training facility.
Instead, it was all biological. Momoa explains, "I don’t work out that much at all. It’s just genetics. Hawaiians are big people. I rock-climb a lot but lifting weights is challenging. I’d rather just do hikes and bodyweight stuff: normal push-ups, pull-ups, squats. I broke my femur when I was young and so I think my legs have always been pretty gnarly. I had injuries to both my knees, and both knees are redone." But, he admits, there's always time to nurture healthier habits. "So, I have to find a better way to get the flexibility back."
Momoa, unsurprisingly, is always up for new challenges too. Especially when it comes to his health and wellness. "I tried yoga the other day, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he says in the cover interview. “Climbing El Capitan would be easier than doing two hours of yoga. She doesn’t get it. I can’t bend over any more! My hamstrings are so tight. My body’s so tight. It’s pathetic. I remember, one time, I was all yoked out for Conan, and I was in a yoga class with these older ladies in Topanga. Everyone was just holding their arms up, and I was like… ‘This is so hard!’”
Even less surprising, however, is knowing that 41-year-old Momoa didn't let a brief stint of online trolling disrupt his stride. In July 2019, following an Instagram post of a shirtless Momoa on Us Weekly, followers commented on Momoa's body, labelling it a "dad bod", with another user commenting "Omg, what happened to the abs?"
"Seems to me he doesn't have the same buff bod he had in Aquaman," another comment read, as part of a wider argument that soon went viral. When asked if these comments hit a nerve, Momoa replied to TMZ "not at all." In fact, Momoa went on to explain that he'd recently enjoyed some Guinness cake at a surprise early birthday party, and jokingly implied we might be seeing more of that now-famous "dad bod" soon.
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