Working Out with Comedians

When people think of comedians, the next word they associate isn’t usually “fitness”. Comedians are on the road a lot, and sometimes it can be hard to find time to go to the gym. It can be especially hard when the only gym available to them often is a hotel gym Some comics like Kevin Hart and Tom Segura take working out seriously and do it almost every day Comedian Kumail Nanjiani recently got in shape for his role as “Kingo” in 2021’s Marvel: The Eternals Other comics like Dan Cummins, and Jim Gaffigan have less serious thoughts on working out. Then there are the outliers that can run a marathon without training like Bert Kreischer.

Not very many people enjoy working out, but the ones that do never seem to want to stop working out Every year people try to start working out again, like it’s going to suddenly catch on this time This is always the busiest time of the year at the gym Someone should open a gym from January to March, they could do it wherever there s a Halloween store. That way I don’t have to remember to cancel my membership. It could be like a trial run for gyms.

Instead of Gold s Gym, it s Bronze s Gym, because we gave it our best effort. It always feels so awkward going and trying to figure out how the gym works I ll just end up monkey-see-monkeydoing my way through the workout and walk out of the gym not really knowing what will be sore the next day

Jim Gaffigan has a joke about his New Year s resolution This seems much more doable to me than working out every day He also has a lot more material about working out Jim Gaffigan has a take on working out that, while he would like to be in shape, the process isn t worth it. Going to the gym every day is hard and requires a lot of free time It’s so much more fun to eat pasta and watch Netflix Gaffigan also brings up the different types of people that workout, and the people that are already in-shape

One reason Gaffigan might find that disheartening is because it feels out of reach to him This can be a feeling that a lot of people get One comic, Dan Cummins, found a way around this by working out at the local YMCA that is only frequented by elderly people. That way he is the most in-shape person out of everyone in his gym, anytime of day I think this is a smart approach because as he said it’s “a favorable matchup situation ”

If you are only comparing yourself to people that are behind you, it s much easier to keep going to the gym Instead of climbing to peak physical form, lower the standard a couple notches, and you’re already there

Some people do make it to the best possible shape though, and stand-up comedian and actor Kumail

Nanjiani is one of them In 2019 Kumail began working with personal trainers and dieticians so he could get in-shape for Marvel: The Eternals

Nanjiani s transformation was everywhere online and discussed on a lot of podcasts. This is one of the workouts he said led to this transformation. Kumail has also cited that the ways he got so jacked aren t really accessible to the everyday person It s hard to hire a trainer, nutritionist and afford a home gym if you are working on minimum wage. Kumail also wasn’t terribly out-of-shape before, he just wasn’t as muscular as most people would envision a superhero

Another comedian that is associated with a specific kind of fitness, or maybe lack-their-of, is Bert Kreischer. He has talked about walking on the treadmill every day, only to reveal those treadmill walks usually include a box of wine Kreischer does have something he refers to as the “Mickey Mantle Gene” Mickey Mantle was a baseball player in the 50 s and 60 s that was known for being able to consume large amounts of alcohol and still play well the next day. Kreischer mainly brought this up around the time he was challenged to run the LA marathon, because he insisted he was capable Kreischer did end up running the marathon in around 5 5 hours This begs the question of if this “Mickey Mantle Gene” may have something to it. It’s like the kid who doesn’t study for the test at all, but somehow gets an A At one-point, Kreischer had been recruited to play Division 1 baseball, which may be where some of the athleticism comes from

"He has talked about walking on the treadmill every day, only to reveal those treadmill walks usually include a box of wine "