Even at rest and in dim light of a midtown Manhattan gym, what may be the most famous abs on the planet stand out.
In a recent Men’s Health cover story, legendary rocker Lenny Kravitz opened up about the relentless discipline behind his jaw-dropping physique at 62 years old.
His core doesn’t just show a six-pack—it morphs into an eight-pack during lunges and briefly flashes a 10-pack during leg raises.
But behind those sculpted abs lies decades of unwavering commitment, strategic training, and a lifestyle most would find impossible to sustain.
Jump to:
- The Foundation: Discipline Over Everything
- The Mick Jagger Influence
- The Miami Boot Camp That Changed Everything
- The Brotherhood Behind the Body
- The Training Program: High Volume, Wide Range
- The Pants Don’t Lie: Training in Leather and Denim
- Zero Calories Until Afternoon
- 1964: Stretching ‘Hotspan’ Like a Classic Mustang
- The Takeaway: It’s All About the Foundation
The Foundation: Discipline Over Everything
Kravitz credits his maternal grandfather, Albert Roker, with instilling the mindset that fuels his fitness journey.
You must build on a strong foundation. If the foundation ain’t strong, the house is going to fall down. It all starts with the part you can’t see—the hard work, the patience, the discipline.
That philosophy became Kravitz’s north star. He extends the metaphor further, explaining that fitness is the house, but discipline is the foundation.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
It’s the work you do when no one is watching. It’s figuring out how you’re going to squeeze in a workout no matter what else you have going on that day or night.
For someone who’s sold over 50 million records, made 12 studio albums, and toured relentlessly for four decades, that’s no small feat.
The Mick Jagger Influence
Kravitz didn’t always train with such intensity. Though health-conscious throughout his career, he hadn’t fully integrated fitness into his lifestyle until the mid-90s.
A vacation with Mick Jagger in the Bahamas changed everything.
Most people I knew in the rock and roll world were not taking care of themselves in that way but Mick Jagger was a big influence on me. I watched how disciplined he was about his training and nutrition and realized that this was a major part of his formula.
Watching Jagger’s regimented approach to fitness despite his rockstar lifestyle sparked something in Kravitz. He realized longevity in music required longevity in health.
The Miami Boot Camp That Changed Everything
Just over 10 years ago, approaching 50, Kravitz felt bloated and out of sorts. His solution? Move into the Miami home and gym of his longtime trainer, Dodd Romero.
He stayed for five to six months in what he describes as “hardcore boot camp.”
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Grueling gym sessions. Windy bike rides. Daily goal-crushing. The regimen not only transformed his body but lifted him out of his funk mentally.
Romero, who has trained Kravitz for nearly 30 years, witnessed the transformation firsthand.
Lenny was in better shape at 50 than he was at 40 or even 30. Now, at 62, he’s in better shape than he was at 50.
The Brotherhood Behind the Body
Kravitz has had one trainer for almost three decades—Dodd Romero. Their relationship has outlasted many others in Kravitz’s life.
Romero has helped him navigate back and rotator cuff injuries using healing exercises and prehab movements, avoiding surgery doctors recommended.
Through the pandemic, they worked out virtually almost daily. At 2 a.m. in Tokyo, Brisbane, or Paris, Kravitz FaceTimes Romero to train.
Yeah, 100 percent. Dodd has a gift—the way I make music is the way he works on bodies. He can just look at you like a computer and see the slightest things that are off. Like, ‘You ate some chips last night, didn’t you?’ I hate to say it, but he’s always right.
During the Men’s Health interview workout at Tmpl gym, Kravitz FaceTimed Romero repeatedly—for exercise order, rep counts, form checks—despite Romero being in Los Angeles training Ryan Seacrest.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The Training Program: High Volume, Wide Range
50-25-12-5: Beyond Traditional Rep Schemes
Romero programs set and rep schemes far wider than typical three sets of 10-12 reps. They use extensive weight ranges to nourish ligament health and preserve muscle mass.
Kravitz trains five to six times weekly. Each 45- to 60-minute session focuses on two or three body parts with 8-10 main exercises.
For dumbbell curls, he might start with 10 pounds for 55 reps as a warmup. Then he increases weight so it’s challenging for the rep count. The final set? 40-pound dumbbells for five reps.
I’m not looking to be big or bulky. I want a very narrow silhouette, more like Spider-Man meets Bruce Lee, you know what I mean? Bruce Lee looked good in clothes. He’s bad—a thin, cool guy who obviously had muscle tone and who moved and flowed really gracefully.
336 Core Reps Per Workout
Between main exercise sets, Kravitz doesn’t rest. He works his core—typically two or three sets of 21 reps across various movements.
- Hanging leg raises
- Planks
- All kinds of crunches
Every single workout includes around 336 core reps (sometimes more) polishing what Romero calls his “jewels.”
That’s his bread and butter. Lenny wears his shirts and his jackets open where you can see all those jewels. It’s an important body part for him.
Kravitz’s abs are so defined that social media posts attract haters. There’s even a Reddit thread asking, “Is Lenny Kravitz a natty?”
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
It bugs him, slightly.
All this is natural: no peptides, no human growth hormone, no testosterone. There’s nothing wrong if people want to do those things. But there’s an alternative. You can do it naturally with exercise and food. Is it harder? Yes. Does it take more work? Yes. But that’s how I choose to do it, and it’s 100 percent attainable.
The Pants Don’t Lie: Training in Leather and Denim
Kravitz famously works out in leather pants or jeans. While it seems like a style flex, there’s practical reasoning.
I perform onstage in leather, denim, whatever, so those are the pants I wear to train. It also means I can fit in a workout anytime, anywhere.
He doesn’t track fitness with Whoop or Apple Watch. Instead, he uses a basic but powerful metric: his 28-inch waist size.
I can gauge everything by how I’m in my pants. Like, if my pants are a little tight, I know I’m getting outta’ shape. My friend Denzel Washington gave me this phrase, ‘The pants don’t lie, the pants don’t lie.’
About his legs—the one body part rarely seen—Kravitz admits they need work. Romero is targeting them with more lunges and deadlifts, joking he might steal Arnold Schwarzenegger’s trick of cutting sweatpants at the knees to stay motivated.
Zero Calories Until Afternoon
Kravitz typically consumes zero calories before 3 or 4 p.m. each day.
It’s not because I’m trying to intermittent fast; it’s just the way I am. I can’t get up and, like, eat.
His diet is very low-carb, mostly vegan and raw, though he’s reintroduced eggs.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Typical daily intake:
- Egg white omelet loaded with vegetables
- Protein shake (Fiction powder from sprouted rice, algae, peas, plus dates, greens, avocado)
- Salad later in the day
- Lots of water
- Perfect Amino supplement with branched-chain amino acids
Romero says Kravitz has fine-tuned his diet discipline considerably. Splurges on Taco Bell, fried chicken, and pizza are now maybe once yearly.
His cheat meals? Carbs—bread, croissants, pasta.
1964: Stretching ‘Hotspan’ Like a Classic Mustang
“Hotspan” refers to years someone maintains attractiveness, vitality, and sexual desirability. Kravitz is stretching it beyond belief.
Age is a funny thing. I don’t look at it as a number. I look at age as time on earth. What you do with that time, what’s the result of how you choose to live?
He uses an analogy about the 1964 Ford Mustang—his birth year.
You can have a 1964 Mustang that looks like it came off the line yesterday. It’s gleaming, with an engine that purrs. You can also have one that’s rusted, dented, beat up, and doesn’t work. Same car, same year, but a very different outcome as a result of how you maintained it. It sounds silly the way I’m simplifying it, but that’s how it is to me.
Spoiler alert: Kravitz doesn’t plan on slowing down.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
We’re going forward in time, but at the same time, we’re going back in time, because now I’m in better shape than I was 10 years ago, 20 years ago. Ten years from now, I will be in better shape than I am now.
The Takeaway: It’s All About the Foundation
Lenny Kravitz’s physique at 62 isn’t magic, genetics, or pharmaceutical enhancement. It’s the compound effect of decades of discipline.
Training five to six days weekly. Hundreds of core reps every session. Near-zero processed carbs. No calories until afternoon. A 28-inch waist as the ultimate metric.
Most importantly? Consistency when no one’s watching.
His grandfather’s lesson echoes through everything: build on a strong foundation. Without it, the house falls down.
Kravitz proves that aging backward is possible—if you’re willing to put in work most people won’t.
