Celebrity Fitzness Report: Sam Moran of The Wiggles

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

This week's featured celebrity is Sam Moran of the Australian band The Wiggles. Yes. The yellow Wiggle. Sam's been working with The Wiggles since 1998, when he began hosting the "Dorothy the Dinosaur Show" (a live tour). Since then, he's appeared in many Wiggly DVDs and on the Playhouse Disney series as Professor Singalottasonga and Dapper Dave. In 2006, Sam became the clear choice to replace the original yellow Wiggle Greg Page who had to retire due to a health condition. Having already understudied for Greg in over 150 live shows, this classically trained singer was ready to take the stage as lead vocalist for the group.

I recently returned from a trip to interview and do some fitness training with The Wiggles regarding: their fitness habits and their mission to promote health and fitness to children. With that, I had the pleasure of enjoying one of their live shows. Sam is awesome. I was a fan of Greg, and up until this point had not seen Sam perform in the yellow skivvy. He was flawless. Beautiful voice, fun performance, and great stage presence. In person, he came off as a 'regular guy'. Someone you'd expect to meet at a ball game. Pleasant, polite and really just excited to be doing what he loves to do. Like many, Sam seems to still be trying to figure out his perfect fitness philosophy. Definitely someone the world can identify with.

Fitz: What is your fitness routine like?

Sam: With all the traveling we do, it tends to be less of a routine and more of whatever I can, whenever I can.

Fitz: What's on your MP3 player?

Sam: Every piece of music I own is on my iPod. 40GB of music, that ranges from classical music to R&B, to Hard Rock and everything in between. You never know what you are going to feel like.

Fitz: You're the new yellow Wiggle. How's it going?

Sam: It is going fantastically. The audiences have been so supportive and wonderful. It's been so much easier for me to transition into the role when the audience has been so welcoming. I have spoken to families that say "Welcome to OUR family!" simply because The Wiggles are a huge part of their everyday family life, and that feels very special.

Fitz: Do you have a fall-back healthy meal?Something you eat when trying to progress physically?

Sam: Salads really. No dressing though. I always find that if you add enough healthy/tasty ingredients to a salad, then it doesn't need dressing.

Fitz: What is your favorite sin food?

Sam: Probably pizza or white chocolate.

Fitz: Your shows are so high energy! How do you get up for it when you're not in the mood?

Sam: The shows are very high energy and we usually do two shows a day (sometimes 3), and there's always those days when your body is aching, or your knees hurt etc. But you drive out onstage in the Big Red Car, hear the roar of the crowd and see so many families that are so happy to see you. You see children jumping, bouncing, dancing, smiling, and just having a great time. But then you look at their parents, smiling at watching their children have a great time, and you tend to forget your pains. Forget your outside problems. So, it's the children and that families put me in the mood.

Fitz: Do you lose weight on tour?

Sam: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. A nutritionist once told me that I have "Smorgasbord Syndrome." Touring life is full of catering, and catering usually offers several different options. What do you do if you like all the options? You try them all! The catering is also not usually prepared in the healthy way that I would prepare it at home.

Fitz: Who inspires you to be fit?

Sam: I recently saw the movie '300.' That is certainly an inspiring movie to get in shape!

Fitz: Which one of you guys would win a wrestling match?

Sam: Probably Captain Feathersword. He's like the Hulk!

Fitz: How many push-ups can you do?

Sam: At last count, 40. But of course, you have to do three sets of those!

Fitz: What's your favorite vacation spot?

Sam: Do you workout on vacation? We're away so much that my favorite spot to vacation is home. And yes, I try to swim and workout at home.

Fitz: How does traveling so much affect your health and fitness level?

Sam: Well, there is like 25 of us that are with each other all day, every day when we travel. So if one person gets sick, it usually goes around at least ¾ of our group. Hard to keep healthy, but I have been lucky.

Fitz: Out of all your fan mail. How much is from kids, and how much is from Moms?

Sam: It's usually from the children or from Mom's on behalf of their children!

Fitz: If all the parents in your audiences were to let their children loose to get to you would you run or take that great big hug?

Sam: Of course I'd take the hug!

You can read more on Sam by visiting Fitz Trains with the The Wiggles.