Michael B. Jordan, the star of "Black Panther" and the "Creed" movies, said it's a myth that yoga, meditation, and Pilates are feminine workouts. They're great for any gender to build muscle.
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Michael B. Jordan wants to end stereotypes about how men should work out.
To build up his physique for some of his biggest roles in movies like "Creed" and "Black Panther," Jordan relied heavily on old standbys like weightlifting, boxing, and HIIT.
But to stay fit, healthy, and maintain his muscle and endurance beyond movies, Jordan has a much broader workout routine.
Jordan spoke to Business Insider in an interview about his partnership with bottled water brand Propel, an initiative designed to promote community fitness in cities including Newark (Jordan's New Jersey hometown), Atlanta, and Houston.
Over the years, he's expanded his training from working out on the basketball courts of his youth to taking up everything from cycling to stretching.
Jordan is also a big fan of yoga and meditation — and he said he's over the cliché that yoga, Pilates, and similar workouts are for women. "Meditation and yoga are extremely important. I think the notion of men can't do yoga and Pilates, or we shouldn't, or whatever that is, I would like to think that we're all past that mindset," he said.
Jordan, now 37, said doing more mobility exercise and cooling down after workouts over the years has helped him maintain his health and fitness.
"As I got older, I think you definitely have to train harder, but you have to train smarter as well, and I think that's something I've incorporated into my routine," he said.
He's not alone.
As the fitness industry offers more options than ever before, more men are embracing exercise beyond bro staples like the bench press.
Even elite athletes in notoriously difficult sports like MMA and American football have found yoga to be a worthy challenge.
UFC star Dustin Poirier previously told BI that he regularly does yoga for core strength and flexibility and finds it to be "really hard."
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who at 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds is a force to be reckoned with on the field, has said Pilates and yoga are his go-to strategies for injury prevention.
Men are sometimes still a minority in some classes. But their numbers are rising, despite research showing a persistent misconception that yoga is somehow more feminine than other forms of exercise.
A recent CDC survey found that while women are still twice as likely to do yoga as men, men are more likely to practice yoga for pain relief or management.
That's for good reason. Yoga and other mobility exercises offer a wealth of physical benefits, such as enhancing performance, reducing injury risk, and even boosting longevity, fitness experts have previously told BI. Staying flexible is also known to help offset the health risks of sitting all day.
Just a little bit of yoga or other gentle exercise is enough to reap the benefits, research suggests.
To get started, try a doctor-recommended morning routine of deep breathing and energizing movement. Or practice "micro-meditations" to zen out in just minutes a day for better health and longevity.
