Eminem ran 17 miles a day to beat drug addiction and lose weight

[darryl]

Theo Wargo / Getty Images

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Adam Graham | The Detroit NewsUpdated 4:55 p.m. ET Aug. 3, 2015

The rapper tells Men’s Journal’s September issue about his insane workout routine

Eminem, who once recorded a song called “Insane,” is into another kind of Insanity — the Insanity workout, he tells Men’s Journal’s September issue.


Em opens up about his workout routine to the magazine, revealing he at one point was running up to 17 miles a day on his treadmill, going from a peak weight of 230 pounds following his 2007 overdose to a svelte 149 pounds.

“When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober,” Em says. “Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect.”

Well, not quite perfect: The rapper ran so much he injured himself, he says.

“I would get up in the morning, and before I went to the studio, I would run eight and a half miles in about an hour. Then I’d come home and run another eight and a half. I started getting OCD about the calories, making sure I burned 2,000 every day,” he says. “I ran to the point where I started to get injured. All the constant pounding from the running began to tear up my hip flexors.”


So Em transitioned from running to the Insanity workout, the popular workout routine from trainer Shaun T, along with a few other workout routines, he says.

“When I first started the Insanity workout, I alternated my routine, running one day and doing the Insanity the other. Then I stopped running altogether because it was too much to do them both. The Insanity won,” he says. “After a while … I mixed it up. I did the P90X for a little while (and I still do that ab workout because it's the most challenging) … Now every morning before I go to the studio, I do the Body Beast workout with free weights, bench, and pullup bar at home. It’s just me, so it helps that the Body Beast dude is over-the-top.”

 

[puppetmaster]

Addicts/recovering addicts make for great gym beasts. Once they shift their focus from
escaping to a task like fitness they become damn near unstoppable

 

[Jesus]

Addicts/recovering addicts make for great gym beasts. Once they shift their focus from
escaping to a task like fitness they become damn near unstoppable

Former alcoholic and sex addict....

 

[pete clemenza]

A half a marathon plus a day

 

[Megadeus]

A half a marathon plus a day

17 miles on a treadmill is like 8 miles on solid ground (no pun intended). Its really not that insane.

 

[The Message]

a lot of us are all addicts in some way...cocaine, crown royal, sugar, fukkin, video games, gettin money, bbq chicken, creating music

all it is is energy. it could be healthy or something that could lead you to to the grave.

 

[madness]

running definitely is an addictive exercise. i used to absolutely hate it, until i met this chick who was an avid runner and she invited me to run with her every evening. it was pitiful at first, i couldnt even jog a block without being out of breath and my shins would feel like they were burning. i was so determined to not look like a slob in front of her that i started running everyday and built my endurance up. 2 months later i was up to multiple miles per day. had to cut back because i was losing too much weight.

 

[pete clemenza]

17 miles on a treadmill is like 8 miles on solid ground (no pun intended). Its really not that insane.

How do you figure?

 

[the cool]

17 miles on a treadmill is like 8 miles on solid ground (no pun intended). Its really not that insane.

Not if you have the incline at 1

 

[Mr. Manhattan]

A half a marathon plus a day

I used to run 12 miles in a day so it's entirely possible

 

[thekyuke]

I used to run 12 miles in a day so it's entirely possible

I used to do the same in hilly Kiambu,Kikuyuland a decade ago. Running is addictive!

 

[Kinguno]

I did five miles to today but after going up and down a dam felt like death but now I feel great.

Mayweather does 16 a day

 

[jerniebert]

17 miles is hard to do. I can do it everyday if i wanted to but one thing i wouldnt do is use bad form. That's when injuries occur. Most people are just stepping wrong and not focusing on form. That's probably why he injured himself.

For me Insanity is harder then running. Running is tedious.

 

[luckyse7enz]

I hate running with a passion, unless it's competitive sprints like football or group intervals. I can totally see Eminem being the type of person to run that much though. Dude seems like he can get zone out and get locked into his head for hours without getting bored.

 

[O.T.I.S.]

17 miles is hard to do. I can do it everyday if i wanted to but one thing i wouldnt do is use bad form. That's when injuries occur. Most people are just stepping wrong and not focusing on form. That's probably why he injured himself.

For me Insanity is harder then running. Running is tedious.

Insanity was actually dope to me.

I absolutely hate running... it's boring as fukk even though I still believe it is the quickest way to losing weight and getting in great shape. Used to run laps around my neighborhood as a kid at night dribbling a basketball and got in great shape within 2-3 months

I'm not much of a swimmer so I don't know much about that.


I loved insanity though. Used to do it with a group of friends after work or for PT