Superbowl champ and TV host Michael Strahan takes us through the contents of his fully stocked fridge, shares what his current diet looks like and reveals how his outlook on nutrition has changed since leaving the NFL. Plus, Strahan gives us a look into his current mobility and workout routine to stay fit.
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00:00 Hey Michael Strahan, it's Men's Health.
00:02 Hey!
00:03 Welcome, welcome.
00:04 I know you guys are here to check out my gym, you want to check out my fridge.
00:11 Well I just got home from work, so come on in, I'm going to change, get more gym appropriate,
00:16 and then we're going to do just that, gym and fridge.
00:22 Let's go.
00:26 Gorgeous kitchen, but where's the fridge?
00:29 Voila!
00:30 There she is.
00:34 What staples do you keep in that magic appliance?
00:36 There are certain things I always have to have.
00:39 Just gotta have them right.
00:41 Gotta have good water, and this water is crazy, this water gets flown in and dropped off.
00:45 I'm not a boozy kind of guy, but I gotta say the first time I tasted this water I did say
00:51 "This is heaven."
00:52 Got a little bread I throw in there, you always have your bananas and your avocados.
00:57 Gotta always have some quinoa, and always some turkey.
01:02 And mix that in with some broccoli, okay, just a little snack.
01:06 What would we always see in your fridge?
01:08 I gotta have my fruits.
01:10 Strawberries, blueberries.
01:11 I do like some yogurt every once in a while with the fruit sprinkled on, with some granola.
01:15 Gorgie, and I know you're thinking "He's drinking Gorgie?"
01:18 Yes I do drink Gorgie, because it gives me energy, but it's smooth energy all the way
01:23 around throughout the whole day.
01:25 And then after you work out you need a little hydration, so I get about 100 coconuts.
01:29 Gotta have my coconut water for hydration.
01:32 What's your snack strategy?
01:33 My little snack, when I come in the house I usually always grab grapes, but I wash my
01:37 hands first.
01:38 Never straight off the street to the grapes.
01:41 Wash your hands.
01:42 Always gotta have grapes in the house.
01:43 What would we never find in your fridge?
01:45 You will never see liver in my fridge.
01:47 No.
01:48 Not happening.
01:49 Never.
01:50 What does your cheat day look like?
01:53 You know every once in a while, trust me, I like a cookie, I like an ice cream.
01:58 I like that stuff too.
01:59 So it's not all this all the time, but it's this most of the time.
02:04 Kinda like you gotta balance your life, you gotta balance your fridge.
02:07 And that's what I'm doing.
02:10 When you were in the NFL, what was your pregame meal?
02:12 I used to actually stop at fast food restaurants and eat before I got to the stadium.
02:17 That was my pregame meal.
02:19 As I got older, I understood how to eat, understood energy, so I went from eating all that stuff
02:24 to eating light.
02:25 I'd eat eggs, egg whites, some toast, a little bacon.
02:29 You know, a little bit healthy.
02:30 I felt a little bit lighter.
02:31 I felt a little bit more explosive and I felt more focused.
02:34 So my diet helped me in my performance and I realized that later in my career.
02:38 And I felt magnificent.
02:41 Which foods from Texas do you miss the most?
02:43 I love barbecue.
02:44 Oh man, I love barbecue.
02:46 I miss a good Texas barbecue, a good baked bean, a good potato salad.
02:52 Oh man, the mac and cheese with extra layers of cheese.
02:57 I can keep going.
02:58 I mean, that's the reason everything is big in Texas.
03:00 'Cause they eat a lot.
03:02 What's your morning routine?
03:04 I wake up early and before I go to Good Morning America, I always come down and make myself
03:09 a nice protein shake.
03:11 So protein, strawberries, blueberries.
03:14 I love athletic greens.
03:16 That's like my greens for the day.
03:17 So I'll mix that into my protein shake as well.
03:19 Throw a little ice in there, a little water in there, make it water-based.
03:24 That is my morning routine before I go to GMA.
03:26 Do you eat before you work out?
03:28 You know, when I work out, I need energy.
03:29 Like, we're going to the gym.
03:30 I've got to get ready.
03:31 I've got to have energy for the gym.
03:33 I always have eggs with turkey, apple, sausage.
03:38 I'll drink my Gorgie and that gets me through my workout.
03:41 You know, you've got to feed your body.
03:43 Got to feed this thing.
03:44 This doesn't just happen.
03:46 All right, enough about this eating.
03:48 It's making me hungry before I work out.
03:50 Let's close the refrigerator and let's go to the gym.
03:53 I'll wash my hands.
03:54 I'm going to have a break.
04:00 Welcome to my gym.
04:01 It's in the basement of my house.
04:04 This is a great setup.
04:05 What does your typical workout routine look like?
04:07 Mobility for 30 minutes for an hour.
04:10 I make sure I stretch.
04:12 You see I have my Pilates machine back there.
04:14 I sit on the machine for half an hour because I'm a big believer in mobility.
04:18 Mobility is the most precious gift that you can give someone, especially when they age
04:22 a little bit.
04:23 Cardio, so I'll get on one of these two workout bikes here and I'll ride the bike for half
04:28 an hour.
04:29 Then from that, I go to weight.
04:31 Was your training different in your playing days?
04:33 I used to, you know, in football, heavyweight, I have to bench press 500 pounds.
04:39 Now if I see anything that weighs 500 pounds, I run the other way.
04:43 I literally will bench press 185 pounds max because I know the strength is there.
04:49 I just want to keep the mobility there.
04:51 I don't want to hurt my shoulders.
04:52 So my workouts are more tailored to preservation.
04:55 How do I have to train to be a hall of fame D-end?
04:58 Well, it's not like I'm draft eligible.
05:02 Playing the defensive line position is like running, wrestling, grappling, falling, and
05:10 getting up all in one play, every play.
05:13 You had to be in an incredible shape for that.
05:15 So my NFL workout was a lot of work on the treadmill.
05:18 I hated running outside.
05:20 I would stand on the side and I'd hop on and run for 20 seconds.
05:24 Then I'd hop off for 40 seconds, hop on for 20, hop off for 40.
05:27 I'd do like 10 of those.
05:29 Then once that became pretty easy, then I would amp it up.
05:31 I would do like eight 10-10s.
05:34 Then I would put 11 mile per hour, 11 degree incline.
05:36 Then I'd do eight of those.
05:37 I'd do two or three at 11-11.
05:40 And once that became a little easier, then I'd go to 12-12.
05:44 You want to be in shape and have a good recovery and have those lungs firing?
05:48 That will get it done.
05:49 That was my cardio.
05:50 And for weight, bench press, a lot of pulls.
05:54 You know, always get curls for the girls, you know what I mean?
05:57 Make your arms look good.
05:59 Low triceps, you know.
06:01 Residuals are still there.
06:03 How do you find time to stay fit with such a demanding schedule?
06:05 You got to make time.
06:07 You make time for everything that's important, which should be your family, which should
06:11 be your mental health, and your physical health.
06:13 So I always find an hour during the day, even if it's 30 minutes, sometimes it's 20 minutes,
06:19 but you make time for what's important.
06:21 And for me, my health is important.
06:24 What keeps you motivated?
06:25 I want to enjoy my kids.
06:26 I want to like be around.
06:27 I want to be able to travel and hang out with them.
06:31 And also, I'm kind of motivated by my friends and my ex-teammates who I'm on group chats
06:38 with.
06:39 We all see each other occasionally, and I don't want to be the guy that walks in and
06:42 they go, "Hmm, looks like you gave up."
06:44 What's your favorite exercise of all time?
06:46 I love a good pushup.
06:47 Nothing like a pushup.
06:50 Every day, I made a pack with myself for a year.
06:53 I was doing at least 200 pushups a day.
06:57 But then after the 200 became pretty easy, I went up to 300.
07:00 And I ended up at one point at 500 pushups a day.
07:04 What exercise do you hate the most?
07:05 The exercise I hate the most reminds me so much of football that I have PTSD over it.
07:15 Burpees.
07:17 Full uniform.
07:19 Hot, humid, sweaty, and the coach is blowing a whistle, and you got to get on the ground,
07:24 and you got to get up.
07:25 And he makes you run this way and run that way, and then he blows it again.
07:29 You got to get down.
07:30 You got to get up and chop your knees.
07:32 No.
07:33 The second I was done with the NFL, I was done with burpees for life.
07:37 Do you use any special equipment?
07:39 This is called the quad mill.
07:41 The REACT functional eccentric trainer.
07:44 The quad mill, right?
07:46 So it looks very simple.
07:47 You stand on this platform.
07:48 I am not a big skier, but this is basically simulating skiing.
07:53 It helps build your thighs.
07:55 I mean, you want that bubble butt?
07:57 This will do it to you.
07:58 It starts out slow, and slow is actually tougher than when it starts going faster.
08:04 But you just kind of take it.
08:05 You don't ride the wave like that.
08:07 That's wrong.
08:08 I mean, that's just like being at an amusement park.
08:10 Here, your thighs have to take all of the pressure.
08:14 Then we amp it up a little bit.
08:16 If you do this, you switch your feet.
08:18 One in front, one in back.
08:20 Burn one leg.
08:21 You can go sideways.
08:24 You can go backwards.
08:27 And when I tell you this machine saved my career.
08:32 Michael, this really looks like a great machine to do rapid fire questions.
08:37 Gotta admit, I did that on the easy setting.
08:41 Because I do not want to breathe hard in front of you all, because this thing will wear you
08:45 out.
08:46 Does cardio too.
08:47 All right, you pick the exercise.
08:51 Workout time, 7am or 7pm?
08:53 7pm.
08:54 Squat or deadlift?
08:55 Deadlift.
08:56 Favorite song on your workout playlist?
08:57 It's hard.
08:58 Didn't NSYNC just come out with a new song?
09:00 Crossfit, yay or nay?
09:02 Nay.
09:03 Pull-ups or chin-ups?
09:04 Pull-ups.
09:05 Dumbbells or kettlebells?
09:06 Dumbbells.
09:07 Run on the treadmill or the great outdoors?
09:09 Treadmill.
09:10 Cardio or weights?
09:11 Weights.
09:12 Big legs or big arms?
09:13 Big arms.
09:14 Biggest compliment, jacked, ripped, cut or swole?
09:18 Swole.
09:19 If you could work out with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?
09:22 My dad.
09:23 That's who I started working out with.
09:25 He's the only person I really cared to work out with, so.
09:27 Miss you, dad.
09:29 Man, I gotta call my dad.
09:31 You know, I'm so happy you came.
09:32 You got a chance to check out my gym, my fridge, Super Bowl jerseys, Pro Bowl jerseys.
09:39 You've seen enough.
09:40 That's it.
09:41 That's all I got for you.
09:42 No, no, no.
09:43 When I say that, that means you gotta go.
09:45 [MUSIC PLAYING]