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At age 58, Gordon Ramsay has built his career as a serious restaurateur — but his biggest long-term investment is banking hours in the gym to stay healthy for years to come.
"Fitness is the foundation. Everything has to revolve around how I feel and how good it is to train," Ramsay said in an interview with Men's Health UK.
The celebrity chef said he was forced to re-evaluate his routine in his 40s, when a seven-day-a-week work schedule left him "overweight and out of control."
Looking for a change, Ramsay started doing triathlons, and said tackling the physical challenges became the most peaceful and relaxing part of his life.
Now he aims to train a minimum of four to five days a week, and gets up at 5 a.m. to make time to run.
"Without fitness, you have no longevity," he said. "I have no interest in retiring. I work smarter, not harder."
Here's what Ramsay has said about his go-to workouts and healthy eating.
Ramsay is an avid endurance athlete, and spends a lot of time running, swimming, and cycling. But the one exercise he can't live without doesn't require any equipment, and can be done anywhere.
Everyone should do push-ups daily, he told Men's Health.
"There is so much to get from a simple-press up," he said.
Push-ups are a compound exercise, working multiple muscle groups at once, strengthening the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core.
Ramsay recommends hitting a quick set of 25 push-ups every day right after you get out of bed, and doubling it on the weekends.
If you're new to the movement, work your way up to full push-ups or bigger sets by practicing scaled exercises like incline or eccentric push-ups.
Ramsay said he aims for a 30 minute run in the morning when possible, and on the weekends will hike, bike, or swim for as long as two hours. Even 15 to 20 minutes of movement can boost energy and helps him stay fit.
When he's in a rush, Ramsay said he'll hop on a rowing machine and do intervals of one minute of work followed by a minute of rest, for 10 cycles.
A rowing machine offers the best of both worlds for strength training and cardio because it works your whole body, puts your muscles under tension, and spikes your heart rate at the same time. It's also ideal for high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to save time in the gym.
Eating rich food can be an occupational hazard for a chef, and Ramsay's approach isn't to cut anything out, but to limit his portions.
"I'll eat two mouthfuls of a delicious dish and then ignore it," he said.
Ramsay lost about 50 pounds around 2018 and told Today that eating smaller, more frequent meals was key.
He said his basic routine for healthy eating involves a protein shake for breakfast, scrambled eggs for lunch, and some kind of protein like poached chicken or fish with vegetables for dinner.
