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Tim McGraw’s Diet: Follow the ‘1883’ Star’s Regimen

Between his time on 1883, his seemingly constant tours and family life, it’s a wonder how Tim McGraw has time to keep an intense workout and diet regimen. But when something’s that important to you, you find the time.

Since he was young, Tim McGraw has always been involved in sports and fitness to some capacity, but it wasn’t until his next forty years that he really buckled down and recommitted to his physical health. Sure, he now eats a few more salads and doesn’t stay up so late, drinks a little lemonade and not so many beers. But this is just the tip of the fitness iceberg for the country star-turned 1883 actor.

What Does Tim McGraw Do to Stay Fit at 54?

  • Keeps up with workout regimen no matter where he is
  • Comes up with routines that work his full body
  • Believes “practice has to be harder than the game”
  • Follows a modified, caveman-like diet

Tim McGraw Explains Why Fitness Is Important to Him

As we know, implementing cardio, weight lifting and flexibility training not only helps you keep your muscles in tune but also helps the rest of your body, too. There are countless studies that speak to how physical fitness helps with mental health as well. That’s why McGraw doesn’t “really get tired of training.”

“There’s such a feeling of accomplishment that comes from the feeling of being my age and still being at the top of my game,” the country icon explained to Men’s Health.

The country also noticed how he improved other aspects of his life, including his performance on stage. McGraw recognized that he used his “whole body to sing” from his diaphragm to his derriere.

“That’s the first thing I started doing, and I found that made a big difference for me,” he said. “It just started my day out better. I just realized how much it raised the bar on everything that I did. It raised the bar on my career. It raised the bar on my relationships with my friends.”

McGraw also shared that keeping a strict diet and fitness regimen helps him gain back a little bit of control in his life. While he can’t foresee what roles he’ll get or gigs he’ll land, he can control what he puts in his body and how much time he spends at the gym.

“Most things in this business are out of your control,” he said. “What the radio is going to play, how many records you’re going to sell. Control the things you can, and maybe that helps.”

He continued, “It just made me feel better, gave me a better mental outlook on everything that I was doing.”

McGraw’s Fitness Regimens

Depending on where McGraw is and how much time he has to commit to his daily workout, his routine changes. If he’s at home in between tours, he might opt for one of his more in-depth exercises that works every muscle until his whole body feels like jelly. But when he has only a couple of hours before he needs to be on stage or set, he’ll likely choose a more fast-paced regimen.

Here’s a quick workout routine that he shared with Men’s Health

McGraw does three sets of each of the following exercises:

  • 25 hindu pushups (downward dog to cobra yoga positions)
  • 25 hindu squats (deep squat jump)
  • 10-15 sprinter split squat per leg (runner starting position to folded back-leg extend)
  • 25 bicycle crunches

Meanwhile, if he’s traveling across the country gracing us with an epic live version of “I Like It, I Love It,” that doesn’t mean he takes the easy way out. In fact, some might say his tour workout is the hardest of the bunch.

Tim McGraw’s workout while he’s on tour

“We start in the morning, and I always start all of my workouts with a 30-minute walk on the treadmill just to get everything loosened up and flowing,” Tim McGraw shared with Men’s Journal. “Then we’ll do some stretching and stuff. Typically in the mornings it’s more of active yoga and bodyweights. Then we go in and run stairs in the arena.”

And that’s not even close to the end. Then, McGraw does a “big CrossFit training session in the afternoon” that lasts from an hour to an hour and a half, depending on everyone’s energy levels.

He explained, “It starts with 10 or 15 people; it ends with four or five sometimes. That’s our afternoon workout. Then we go get showered up and have dinner, and get ready to do a show.”

This all might seem like overkill for an already cut guy, but McGraw’s trainer has enforced that a difficult workout makes a live show much easier.

“You know, practice has to be harder than the game,” the country star said. “So, I live by that philosophy when it’s touring. Like you work really hard all day long, and by the time you hit the show, then you’ve got two hours of doing a show, then it’s fun and easy.”

Tim McGraw’s Diet

Of course, the fitness routine is only half of the equation. Tim McGraw also keeps up with an equally intense diet regimen that fuels him for the next head-to-toe workout.

Outside of his time on 1883, when his character James Dutton indulged on some biscuits and grits, Tim McGraw follows the Paleo diet, according to Pop Workouts. Modeled after the nutritional habits of cavemen in the paleolithic era, the paleo diet cuts out any foods that wouldn’t be available during this time period. That means no grains, no processed dairy products, refined sugars… Basically, you can really only have meats, veggies and fruits.

While McGraw does focus much of his meals on natural carbs and proteins, he does modify the paleo diet to his lifestyle. The 1883 actor does, in fact, eat grains, but he makes sure to use ingredients that are gluten free. For example, in the mornings, he’ll make himself a bowl of organic oatmeal with sliced banana, raisins and maple syrup.

Additionally, Tim McGraw opts for a grass-fed diet. So even though he still eats grain, the animal products he consumes don’t. He also stays away from any saturated fats. Instead, he’ll incorporate healthier options like coconut oil, olive oil and avocados.

For the fit country star, this may mean that he doesn’t indulge in a burger to often, unless its bun-less and grass-fed. But for him, the energy he feels on stage and on set is worth the sacrifice. Lucky for us, that means he’ll be touring and acting for years to come.