Vanessa Etienne is an Emerging Content Writer-Reporter for PEOPLE. Prior to joining in April 2021, she served as a reporter for Men's Health Magazine and BET Digital after freelancing for publications such as The New York Times and Everyday Health. Originally from northern Virginia, Vanessa is a proud Haitian American with a love for R&B music and mental health topics. She graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor's in Communication and Public Relations before earning her master's degree in Journalism from the City University of New York.
Zac Brown is not letting his busy schedule interfere with his fitness goals.
The 44-year-old musician recently spoke to Men’s Health and revealed that while he’s on tour, he and his band travel with a full gym, which was built inside a tractor-trailer. The “rolling Iron Paradise” is equipped with machines and free weights for a complete workout on the road. It even has a sauna for recovery.
Brown said being able to do a wide variety of workouts while touring keeps him in great shape and helps him feel good.
"One thing I noticed, just bouncing down the road on a bus for days and days in a row, you get hunched over," he told the outlet, detailing some of his intense workout regimen, featuring weightlifting, core movements, cable exercises and more. "It's hard work, man. You get what you give, whatever you put into it. As time goes on, the more and more momentum you get doing it, and you want to feel good."
That consistency in the gym is important for Brown, who plans to stay in great physical shape for his five children — Justice, Lucy, Georgia, Joni and Alexander.
"I want to be running up and down mountains when I'm 70 years old. I don't want to be alcoholic, red-faced, hunched over, can't move. You start falling apart when you don't take care of it," the country star explained. "Whatever makes me feel the best so I can be the best for my kids and my people, that's the goal for me. As I get older, the more I want to be able to get out and adventure, dive deeper, go out into the woods. That's a huge motivator for me. I want to be a ripped old dude."
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For the Zac Brown Band frontman, a love for fitness was inspired by rock legend Bruce Springsteen, with whom he credits for motivating him to move daily.
"When I met Springsteen, I said, 'Tell me something that's helped you to stay feeling good.' He was like, 'Man, you need to sweat for an hour a day. I don't care what you do, doesn't matter. You need to sweat for an hour a day,'" Brown recalled. "I was like, 'You're the Boss. Let's do it.' "
Brown's workout routine includes lifting at least five days a week in addition to an hour of cardio, paddleboarding, or hiking. He told the outlet that his goal is to "be able to push myself so when I'm out doing the activities I love to do, I can do them better."
He admitted that his dedication to fitness has even impacted his mental health, feeling "darker" when he's not able to fit in a workout.
"If I go four or five days without working out, everything just seems to be a little darker than it should be. Your perception of things is really all that you have. I can tell some days when I wake up if I'm a little off. Those are the days I need to push myself to go and do it," he said. "You don't want to, but that's what pulls you out of that funk, getting to sweat."