"Survivor" Host Works Out in the Wild
Categories: Celebrity Fitzness Report, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Our fitness expert Fitz sits down with the stars and digs out their great and not-so-great methods for staying healthy.
Jeff Probst is best known as host of CBS's long-running hit show "Survivor," but he should also be known for his amazing body and fitness routine. Think you have no time to look like him? Think you have no access to fitness equipment? Jeff offers great advice on how to pull off quick and effective workouts, even if you're stuck in some freaky part of the world.
Fitz: You seem to be more fit now than you were when "Survivor" began. What have you been doing?
Jeff: I think I have put on a bit more muscle, but it could also be that my shirts fit better! I have bulked up a bit in the past couple of years; I'm just trying to stay ahead of the toll that aging takes on the body. It's hard to stay fit while on location, though, because I don't have the same routine. I've also found that to stay in shape, it doesn't necessarily matter what you eat, but when you eat. Eating frequently teaches your body that food is on its way, so it doesn't have to store extra calories as fat. I eat about six small meals a day. They are more like snack-size portions than meals. I'm not necessarily in love with eating, so I truly treat food as fuel.
Fitz: Have you ever really blown it while on location and came back in worse shape?
Jeff: Oddly, my fitness level never suffers while shooting "Survivor." But I recently spent a few months traveling domestically, and my diet was really different. It was the first time I noticed a change in my body that I didn't like, so I quickly got back on the track with eating to manage my metabolism.
Jeff Probst
Jeff Probst doesn't just survive on location -- he thrives! He always brings fitness equipment with him while shooting "Survivor," and in unusually hot climates, which tend to be an energy-drain, Jeff does a 20-minute intense workout each day. An hour would be too long.
Monty Brinton/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Jeff works his back, shoulders and triceps with a One Arm Clean and Jerk using a Kettleball. Step 1: Jeff Squats with the ball close to the ground while keeping his back flat.
Monty Brinton/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Step 2: Jeff simultaneously curls the Kettleball towards his shoulder and rises up using his legs.
Monty Brinton/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Step 3: Jeff performs a squat again and explosively rises out of it while extending his arm and lifting the Kettleball high into the air.
Monty Brinton/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
While on location shooting "Survivor," the art department hangs Jeff's pull-up bar for his daily workouts. A pull-up bar would hang quite nicely from a sturdy tree branch. Have a big tree in your back yard? This might be the perfect way for you to utilize it!
Monty Brinton/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Fitz: What do you do for exercise?
Jeff: A buddy of mine makes up a routine for me, and I think having a routine is very important. I get up every morning while I'm in town. I don't always want to go, but if I don't go in the morning, it's not happening. I get bored quickly, so my workouts vary. I do free weights, a sprinting workout in the field and balance training. If I start to feel soft, I'll do more weight training. I'm constantly in a state of assessing and reassessing.
Fitz: How do you make fitness happen while you're on location in the wild?
Jeff: I typically bring a small selection of fitness equipment with me. I bring Power-Blocks, a bench and usually the art department will build a pull-up bar set up for me. The climates we're in are usually very hot, which is draining on my energy. So I plan to workout for 20 minutes each day, because I know I can do a really hard 20-minute workout. This works for me, and I've done a pretty good job maintaining my fitness level while shooting.
Fitz: Do you ever make use of the natural surroundings for fitness?
Jeff: There's a group of guys on the set who will get up early in the morning to exercise, but the truth is, I can't get up at 5:30 a.m. -- in fact, if there's a five in the number, then I just can't do it. I can manage 6:00 a.m., but nothing earlier. So I end up working out alone, just using the gear that I have. I don't go running through the jungles, I just stay outside of my tent. I actually just bought a free-motion machine and invested in the shipping to have it with me on location. There will be enough of us using it to make it worth it.
Fitz: It's always smart to invest in your health.
Jeff: I truly believe that healthy living is going to be way more popular in the future. I do it not only because my on-camera job relies heavily on me looking a certain way. I do it because I want to live to be 100 years-old, and when I'm 100, I want to be able to walk up the steps to my house. The only way to get there is by bringing fitness into my day.
Fitz: What fit celebrity do you admire?
Jeff: I think when Brad Pitt goes for it, like in "Fight Club," his body is pretty phenomenal. He's built with a long torso and when that dude is ripped, he's pretty incredible. The guys I typically admire most, though, are just fit. They're not crunching every day. I'm over Matthew McConaughey! If I never see another picture of him with his shirt off, I'll be fine. Not because I have anything against him, but that kind of fitness routine and that need to have my shirt off all the time is not the direction I would go. My goal is to just be truly fit. The other person I admire is President Barack Obama. Here's a guy who's been campaigning for two years and now he's president, yet he still works out on a daily basis. He's in pretty good shape!
Fitz: It's pretty impressive.
Jeff: That's what I want out of fitness. I want a lifestyle that includes a career, a family, friends and enough time to exercise, stay healthy and have fun. It doesn't look like Obama is in the gym all day, we'd all think that's weird. But when we see a guy who's the leader of our country and he's in great shape, he makes a great role model.
Fitz: Since we know which men you find impressive, what do you love in a woman?
Jeff: The number one thing I find sexy about a woman is confidence. It's not so much about the body, it's the air about her that says "you want to know me, you know I'm sexy and I know I'm sexy, I know you want to know me!"
Fitz: What is your advice for the average Joe and Jane who are just striving to become more fit?
Jeff: Just start! Everything seems daunting before you begin, but just start. Don't start tomorrow, cause tomorrow's just another day. Start today! If you're reading this right now and you want to change things, start today. Pick up a book on metabolism or pick up a fitness magazine and just start. Because starting gets you going and once you get some momentum, you'll start to have fun. And once you see your body change, momentum will take over. But the only way you can get there is to begin.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
cindy 5-15-2009 @ 4:24PM
great interview Fitz! How cool for you! Interesting and inspiring! C
Reply