Kirk and Fitz talk fitness and football!
On a beautiful sunny day, I got to sit down in The Swamp with the very sweet, smart and athletic ESPN College GameDayAnalyst Mr. Kirk Herbstreit. No, we weren’t knee deep in mucky water. We were in the heart of Gator Country enjoying the breeze after Kirk completed his workout, running zillions of steps at the University of Florida football stadium, The Swamp. Kirk retired from playing football more than 15 years ago, after four years at quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes and he’s still one of the major faces of college football. Pandemonium strikes college campuses across the country when he — along with host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso and Desmond Howard– set up shop outside the biggest games of each week.
Kirk brings something unique to the team. When the GameDay crew heads to the University of Florida, I find more than just the expected crowd of rowdy football fans swarming the ESPN booth. An unusual amount of frenzied females always crowd in for the chance to gaze into Kirk’s turquoise eyes (I enjoyed doing so immensely and certainly found him worth the fuss.) Kirk seems to be an expert juggler of life and shares some great tricks for staying fit on the go. He’s also really funny and shares some surprising gossip about … himself!
Fitz: What types of things do you do to stay in shape?
Kirk: It’s kind of a lifestyle really. As an athlete I worked out so hard, I could eat anything without paying the price for it. As I got older, I still had that appetite and I was not able to work out as hard as I did when I was playing football. What I really try to do is control my portions, and mix in cardio and strength training workouts four to five days a week. If I can do that, I feel like I’m in a pretty good place. It’s just about doing it though!
Fitz: What do you do while you’re on the road?
Kirk: I like to run the stadiums, like I did today. Sometimes the different universities will allow us to use their training facilities if the athletes are not in them. That’s always really nice for us. And then, I use the hotel gyms when I can. They’re not always terrific, but I can always find something to do.
Fitz: Do you have a trainer?
Kirk: I do! My wife and I actually share a terrific trainer, Mike Francois, and we work out with him a few times each week.
Fitz: Do you take turns?
Kirk: No! We train together. It’s fun and our time is short, because of our children. We work out together and then get back to parenting quickly. We do lots of circuit training with Mike.
Fitz: Do you do push-ups?
Kirk: Yes. Mike has us do them in between sets of other things.
Fitz: How many can you do?
Kirk: I don’t know. I’d say 50?
Fitz: What’s your favorite healthy food?
Kirk: I like to use ground turkey breast to replace beef sirloin in meals. Meatloaf, turkey burgers, and more. My wife makes a ton of great things. I like to grill.
Fitz: What’s your favorite not-so-healthy food?
Kirk: Dairy Queen Blizzard with Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups!
Fitz: Where’s your favorite place to vacation?
Kirk: We like to go to the mountains a lot, and the beach. I love to body surf with my kids.
Fitz: Do you plan regular workouts on vacation, or just plan active vacations?
Kirk: It depends where we are. I might run on the beach or hit a gym. But I never want it to cut into fun activities. When I’m with my family, it’s all about doing whatever they want to do.
Fitz: If you were to compete on Dancing with Stars versus Chris Fowler who would win?
Kirk: Ummm. I definitely have more rhythm, but he is a technician. As long as you paired me with Julianne though, I think I would win.
Fitz: Are you a big fan of the show?
Kirk: I’m a big reality TV junkie in general!
Fitz: Are you?
Kirk: American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, The Hills. The whole L.C., Heidi and Spencer thing is cool. You know the problem is, I grew up in the whole Beverly Hills 90210 generation, and then it went away for a while.
Fitz: You needed to fill the dramatic void?
Kirk: I’m just going to admit it. I love that stuff. Fowler kills me for it, but I don’t care!
Fitz: What does he watch?
Kirk: Probably Wine Tasting (Kirk says that with a jokingly annoyed tone).
Fitz: You mean anything stupid and boring?
Kirk: Ha! You said that – not me! But yeah, things that are “high class” I guess. I can’t believe I watch the other stuff though.
Fitz: Would you compete on Dancing with the Stars if you they asked you? The football guys do pretty well.
Kirk: I don’t know. I’d have to think about it. But I enjoy American Idol cause I think Simon is cool. He tells it like it is.
Fitz: Do you fancy yourself a straight shooter like Cowell? Do you tell it like it is?
Kirk: I try. Yeah. I try, but I think Corso probably creates the same reaction that Simon gets. Simon can say anything and they boo him. Lee is kind of that guy on our show. I try to be positive, but unfortunately we can’t always please everybody. We just have to say what we think. And when we say what we think, we’re going to upset people. Gators have been upset with me, the LSU fans, Ohio State fans, lots of people have.
Fitz: Are they mean to you?
Kirk: Oh yeah! Absolutely, but that just comes with the territory.
Fitz: Out of all the universities in the country, which do you think is the most fun place to be?
Kirk: We don’t really go do fun things when we travel. But the premier SEC teams like Florida, LSU, Tennessee, and Georgia really come alive on game days.
Fitz: Is it very different in the Southeast than it is in the Midwest?
Kirk: Yes. It’s very different. Football really means so much to people in the south. Ohio State and Wisconsin would fit that criteria as well. Crazy about football. The SEC is just different though. It’s hot, sweaty, the people drink like crazy and get nuts. They love their teams, and it’s just so vibrant around the stadiums on game day. Plus the dress code is unique. The guys look sharp in khaki pants and oxfords, women in pretty dresses. It’s fun.
Fitz: So what’s your fitness advice for the average Joe just trying to get in to better shape?
Kirk: Don’t wait until the end of the winter months to suddenly try to shock your body into shape to prepare for bikini season or whatever. You just have to buy into changing the way you eat, not dieting. I think that your eating habits are 80% responsible for your physique. If people can learn to control their portions, eat healthy, stay away from the starchy carbs and add in some great exercise, it’s just a matter of time before they’ll start seeing results. I just don’t believe in diets. I believe we just have to make change!
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