Jon Pardi retains delivering knockout performances with out ever throwing a punch.
The nation music powerhouse isn’t any fighter, however hitting each observe for 20-plus songs in entrance of sold-out audiences who’re singing proper alongside has earned the singer the precise so as to add somewhat championship type swagger to his step.
Staying stage-ready takes greater than a gifted set of pipes and the power to put in writing No. 1 hits—because the multi-platinum-selling artist is proving. Approaching his coaching with UFC-level ferocity has been key to Pardi’s onstage success as he nears 40. He not often takes a coaching time off, regardless of the place he’s performing. Whether or not pushing by way of a grueling HIIT session along with his coach at residence or discovering a gymnasium when the Honkytonk Hollywood Tour stops in locations like Prescott Valley, AZ, staying match is non-negotiable—particularly when his followers are all prepped for an additional spherical of “Pardi time.”
“When persons are at your fingertips and we’re all there collectively having a good time, it’s one thing particular,” he explains. “You possibly can’t get that within the gymnasium, brother.”
Right now, Jon Pardi’s health routine facilities on weights and conditioning, although he nonetheless hopes so as to add boxing at some point. “My objective is to a minimum of match bounce rope into the exercises,” he says. On his newest tour, he stepped into the function of athlete, teaming up with MMA star Michael Chandler for a Rocky-style motivational promo to spice up his Honkytonk Hollywood tour. “He’s the fittest man I’ve ever met on the earth,” Pardi says. “That man works out onerous.”
Whereas Pardi might not match Chandler’s vitality within the Octagon, staying in form has helped him keep a demanding schedule. Just lately, he headlined exhibits in Australia earlier than hitting America’s roads in assist of his newest 18-track album, Honkytonk Hollywood. Followers nonetheless flock to classics like 2015’s “Head Over Boots,” which is nearing half a billion streams, whereas eagerly embracing new hits like “Friday Night time Heartbreaker,” already creating buzz on Spotify and SiriusXM.
His latest album represents a major workload, although Pardi jokes that 18 songs is a lightweight load in comparison with some nation music friends. “Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan don’t assist,” he laughs. “They’re releasing like 37 songs a file, which I believe is loopy. For me, 18 is sweet.”
Wanting good is essential to Pardi as he approaches 40. At this level, it’s not about making the quilt of a health journal, as a substitute leaving just a few buttons undone on his signature Wrangler shirt is the objective now. “I’ve to look good in garments,” he says. “I don’t need to take my shirt off if I don’t need to. However while you’re touring, you’ve received to look good fitted.”
One other key to creating 2025 an distinctive 12 months has been his choice to surrender alcohol. The additional relaxation he now prioritizes previous to and after showtime has develop into a well being and longevity recreation changer.
“The bus is the most effective place,” he says. “You simply go there, relax, hold with the band. When the engine goes on, you go to mattress to the sounds of the common-or-garden freeway.”
By no means an Excuse to Skip a Exercise
Whether or not the band is rolling into Pittsburgh or Idaho Falls, each tour cease has its personal distinctive really feel. However over 20 years, Jon Pardi has noticed a few cross-country constants. “I swear each small city has a Planet Health and a Greenback Normal,” he jokes. For an artist boasting 11 million month-to-month listeners worldwide, a $25-a-month Planet Health Black Card could be his smartest funding, particularly when he must get a exercise in a brand new city. “They’re in every single place, and I a minimum of know what I’ve received wherever I am going,” he says. “There are some crappy gyms on the market, although.”
At Planet Health, there’s no skipping leg day for Pardi. However as a backup, he retains a compact residence gymnasium proper on the bus—decked out with dumbbells, kettlebells, slam balls, and his must-have ab wheel. “That’s a should,” he admits. “It’s an ideal upper-body exercise for me.”
Sustaining energy and mobility whereas touring means adapting exercises to suit highway life with out sacrificing depth. Pardi usually leans into body weight workout routines that may be finished wherever, crafting a routine as versatile and efficient as his high-energy exhibits.
“It’s very athletic to carry out,” he says. “I dance and transfer round quite a bit, and also you’re pushing, inhaling. Typically singing appears like being out of breath on a regular basis. A core exercise is so essential for performing. Even yoga is nice.”
Yoga has taken a backseat these days resulting from restricted free time and fatherhood duties. When he’s at residence, Pardi works with a private coach specializing in basic strikes like squats, lunges, push-ups, and pull-ups. At 6’4” and coping with some lingering again ache, he’s given up heavy again squats however at all times finds methods to work his decrease physique onerous. “I don’t have to be placing up 400 kilos on the squat rack—however you’ve started working your legs out.”
Although he enjoys boxing, alternatives to observe are uncommon. In the future, he hopes to seek out the nerve so as to add bounce roping to his routine. “That’s a good way to usher in cardio when you’re resting,” he says. “Individuals overlook concerning the bounce rope and all these old-school exercises. These old-school dudes had been powerful for a motive.”
Jon Pardi Channeled His Interior Michael Chandler
Headlining a live performance is an adrenaline rush from intro to encore, and Jon Pardi clearly relishes each second on his 32-city Honkytonk Hollywood Tour. You gained’t catch him taking a break throughout his intensive setlist—that might be a disservice to the legions of followers who helped him climb to the highest of the charts with platinum hits like “California Dawn” and “Dust on My Boots.” That’s why staying energized is essential.
“You get in there, seize some Crimson Bull, go get some vitality,” he says. “You hit a excessive you’ll be able to’t get wherever else. Your adrenaline kicks in, endorphins flood you, and also you’re giving it your all.”
Pardi’s two-plus-hour exhibits transcend music, dancing, and fan interplay—there’s fireworks and pyrotechnics, too. To advertise the tour over the winter, Pardi teamed up with UFC star and fellow Nashville native Michael Chandler to mix the theatrics of pyrotechnics with the depth of an MMA exercise. The outcomes had been hilariously spectacular.
“I had an concept to do understanding with pyro,” he explains. “Like, we’d do some curls, hit the bench, squat, then growth! Some pyro. Then it became getting Michael Chandler as my coach. He’s in your face and shirtless. The distinction between me, the band, and Michael is method totally different when he’s received his shirt off.”
Decked out in an old-school grey sweatsuit, Pardi powered by way of the simulated exercise. “It actually gave it that comedy really feel. Then all of us received educated up and ended it with some pyro.”
Whereas the video supplied an entertaining glimpse into Pardi’s coaching routine, his interplay with Chandler created memorable moments. “Michael couldn’t have been a greater sport—actually getting it and simply having enjoyable. It turned out nice.”
Sleep for Most Efficiency
Right now’s tour bus could also be a fancier improve from the outdated van Jon Pardi and his bandmates relied on earlier than his first studio album, Write You A Tune, dropped in 2014. The grind of making new music and performing evening after evening, nonetheless, by no means will get simpler. It might be much more taxing on a physique that’s pushing 40, however Pardi is nowhere close to the tip of the highway. The truth is, embracing the battle is a musician’s badge of honor.
“I’m used to it now,” he admits. “It wears on you, however what are you gonna do, complain? No—you get again on the bus, get again on stage, and also you do it.”
Health wasn’t at all times a precedence for Pardi. He admits that in the course of the early years, he not often set foot in a gymnasium. However a profitable profession, together with a spouse and two younger daughters, reshaped his well being priorities. “Health and well being within the van days had been in a bottle of Jack Daniels—that was your go energy,” he laughs. “Again you then didn’t must work out. You would eat no matter you needed. However enjoying exhibits did burn energy. Wanting again, you’re a distinct animal in your 20s than you at the moment are.”
Since quitting ingesting in 2023, Pardi has loved the psychological readability it brings to his performances, songwriting, and coaching—although he admits he misses the enjoyable occasions a bit. “There’ve been so many nice hangover songwriting days, , however there’s positively clearness now.”
Now, for Pardi, relaxation and quiet time have develop into his wholesome addictions on the highway. He’s seen how a lot of a distinction a sober, well-rested model of himself makes onstage—particularly throughout grueling back-to-back exhibits like these on his Australian tour.
“By the tip of the third present, you get somewhat squeaky,” he says. “You’re giving every part you’ve received for the final music. You’re attempting to remain targeted, push by way of, sweating buckets, nevertheless it’s the gang lifting you up.”
Earlier than showtime, after finalizing setlist technique with the band, Pardi heads again to the bus to unwind. He is aware of sleep and recuperation are important to delivering the high-energy performances followers count on evening after evening. “I’d say a minimum of three hours earlier than the present, simply be quiet. That’s what each vocal physician would suggest.”
