Morris Chestnut Does These Moves to Stay Brilliantly Fit at 56
MORRIS CHESTNUT HAS been a muscular TV and film staple for over 30 years, starring in everything from Boyz N the Hood and GI Jane to Like Mike and Rosewood, but his latest role might be one of his most challenging. His title character in Watson, the new CBS medical mystery series, isn't the most physically imposing guy he's ever portrayed—the former football player has always been in shape, and tells MH he's followed, "dozens, thousands" of workout plans over the years—but might present the steepest intellectual learning curve of the 56-year-old actor's varied filmography.
"I can't work out before I go to Watson because I'm older, and by the time that sixth hour rolls around, saying all that medical jargon, I'm just too fatigued mentally," he says. "I can only really work out on the weekends."
Still, Chestnut continues to practice the healthy habits he's employed throughout his career, maintaining a training regimen that both keeps him looking fit while also providing the strength he needs to pull through the long days on set. He reveals that he has drawn inspiration from his costars to instill this type of discipline, citing two specific examples. One is a Hollywood muscle legend, while the other might surprise you. The first is The Rock himself, Chestnut's "teammate" in 2007's The Game Plan, who brought in a mobile trailer to train while filming. The second is Demi Moore, who starred in 1997's G.I. Jane. "At lunch time, every single lunch, she'd run like, three or four miles—her trainer was there every day," Chestnut recalls. "That was very inspiring."
Inspired as he might have been by Moore, don't expect to find Chestnut logging mileage himself on a track or treadmill. "Cardio is tough for me to do," he admits. "I hate all the '-ings'—I don't like the running, swimming, I don't like to do all that stuff." The one exception: balling. Chestnut says he keeps his conditioning on point by playing pickup basketball as often as he can. "I can go out there and be on the basketball court for three hours." If there are no games to be found, he will settle for a stair climber machine to burn calories.
Check out the video to learn more about Chestnut's favorite exercises, how his workouts have changed over the years, and his least favorite (but most necessary) muscles to train.
Morris Chestnut's Favourite Moves
Incline Bench Cable Fly
3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Arnold Press
3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Cable Crunch
4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Lat Pulldown
3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Cable Curl
10 sets to failure
You Might Also Like
