Sterling K. Brown Covers ‘Men’s Health’, Reveals The Secret To His Fitness Success

Sterling K. Brown takes the cover of November’s issue of Men’s Health. Inside, the magazine covers the actor’s professional and fitness journey.

Men’s Health also filmed a five-minute video of the 43-year-old’s killer workout called “The Pyramid”. Before we get into the interview, let’s appreciate the commitment this actor has to “keeping it tight”. This workout is supposed to take 20-25 minutes:

“The Pyramid”
1. 50 jumping jacks
2. 40 squats
3. 30 Pushups
4. 20 “butt-ups” (ab workout)
5. 10 burpees
5. 10 pullups

…times 3 (saying to take rest in between to “maintain form.”)

Though that workout seems like it would take 45 minutes to never to complete, the results are clear as a shirtless day.

Courtesy Beau Grealy for ‘Men’s Health’ — Lauren Doyle/Hearst Corporation

Back to the interview, because Brown’s journey is just as impressive as his abs. The actor received his first major role at 40 years old, in “American Crime Story”, and that success has continued to snowball. Brown stars in “This Is Us”, “Black Panther”, and is starring in upcoming films “Waves” and “Frozen 2”.

Brown says his goal is to live to 100, especially because black men have statistically the worst health than any other demographic in the US.

“I think when Pops passed, I had sort of a recognition of the fact that 45 was young…I just don’t want to give in to the statistical analysis that says that is my fate. So I try to do things as proactively as possible to ensure that I’m around to see my children’s children and be of value to them when they come into the world. There’s so much to live for, and I don’t want to sell myself short by thinking I don’t have a right to longevity and vitality any more or less than anyone else.”

Brown doesn’t believe his age should dictate anything: “Listen, I have friends that I will enlist to work out with me, and they’ll be like, ‘Yo, Brown, you need to calm down. You know you’re 43 now.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, age ain’t nothin’ but a number.'”

The “tight” actor is able to maintain his fitness level by not killing himself daily: “It’s easier to maintain a level of fitness than it is to lose it and try to get it back. You want to do enough that you feel like you’ve done something, but not so much that you don’t wanna do it again tomorrow. So it’s not about trying to kill yourself. It’s about trying to give yourself the inspiration to continue.”

Brown considers himself extremely lucky that he was able to pay his bills in his 20s: “At any point 90 per cent of all the acting-union members are unemployed, and you’re just fighting to be part of the rotating 2 per cent. There’s so much rejection that you have to be willing to deal with and let it sort of roll off your back. There are people I know who are absolutely brilliant who had to segue into something else in life.”

But everything is definitely working out for the talented actor. Brown remarks, “For such a long time, you’re waiting and hoping for these crumbs from the table of joy. Then all of a sudden people are like, ‘What do you wanna do? What are you interested in? We wanna work with you!’”

Check out the full Men’s Health interview.