Jon Pardi retains delivering knockout performances with out ever throwing a punch.
The nation music powerhouse isn’t any fighter, however hitting each be aware for 20-plus songs in entrance of sold-out audiences who’re singing proper alongside has earned the singer the appropriate so as to add slightly championship fashion swagger to his step.
Staying stage-ready takes greater than a gifted set of pipes and the flexibility to write down 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 break day, irrespective of the place he’s performing. Whether or not pushing by way of a grueling HIIT session along with his coach at dwelling or discovering a health club 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 individuals are at your fingertips and we’re all there collectively having a good time, it’s one thing particular,” he explains. “You’ll be able to’t get that within the health club, brother.”
As we speak, 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 not less than match soar rope into the exercises,” he says. On his newest tour, he stepped into the position 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 this planet,” Pardi says. “That man works out exhausting.”
Whereas Pardi might not match Chandler’s vitality within the Octagon, staying in form has helped him preserve a demanding schedule. Just lately, he headlined reveals in Australia earlier than hitting America’s roads in help 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 big workload, although Pardi jokes that 18 songs is a light-weight 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 report, which I believe is loopy. For me, 18 is nice.”
Trying good is necessary to Pardi as he approaches 40. At this level, it’s not about making the duvet of a health journal, as an alternative leaving a number of buttons undone on his signature Wrangler shirt is the objective now. “I’ve to look good in garments,” he says. “I don’t must take my shirt off if I don’t need to. However whenever you’re touring, you’ve received to look good fitted.”
One other key to creating 2025 an distinctive 12 months has been his determination 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 perfect 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 standard 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 is likely to be his smartest funding, particularly when he must get a exercise in a brand new city. “They’re in all places, and I not less than 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 dwelling health club 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 excellent upper-body exercise for me.”
Sustaining energy and mobility whereas touring means adapting exercises to suit street life with out sacrificing depth. Pardi typically leans into body weight workout routines that may be performed wherever, crafting a routine as versatile and efficient as his high-energy reveals.
“It’s very athletic to carry out,” he says. “I dance and transfer round rather a lot, and also you’re pushing, inhaling. Typically singing appears like being out of breath on a regular basis. A core exercise is so necessary for performing. Even yoga is nice.”
Yoga has taken a backseat currently as a consequence of restricted free time and fatherhood duties. When he’s at dwelling, Pardi works with a private coach specializing in elementary 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 all the time finds methods to work his decrease physique exhausting. “I don’t have to be placing up 400 kilos on the squat rack—however you’ve set to work your legs out.”
Although he enjoys boxing, alternatives to observe are uncommon. Someday, he hopes to seek out the nerve so as to add soar roping to his routine. “That’s an effective way to usher in cardio whilst you’re resting,” he says. “Folks neglect concerning the soar rope and all these old-school exercises. These old-school dudes had been powerful for a purpose.”
Jon Pardi Channeled His Inside 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 in depth setlist—that will 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 possibly can’t get wherever else. Your adrenaline kicks in, endorphins flood you, and also you’re giving it your all.”
Pardi’s two-plus-hour reveals 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 thought to do understanding with pyro,” he explains. “Like, we’d do some curls, hit the bench, squat, then growth! Some pyro. Then it changed into getting Michael Chandler as my coach. He’s in your face and shirtless. The distinction between me, the band, and Michael is manner 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 skilled up and ended it with some pyro.”
Whereas the video provided 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
As we speak’s tour bus could also be a fancier improve from the previous 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 top of the street. In truth, embracing the wrestle 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 all the time a precedence for Pardi. He admits that through the early years, he not often set foot in a health club. 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 have to work out. You could possibly eat no matter you wished. However enjoying reveals did burn energy. Trying again, you’re a special animal in your 20s than you at the moment are.”
Since quitting consuming 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, you understand, however there’s positively clearness now.”
Now, for Pardi, relaxation and quiet time have develop into his wholesome addictions on the street. He’s seen how a lot of a distinction a sober, well-rested model of himself makes onstage—particularly throughout grueling back-to-back reveals like these on his Australian tour.
“By the top of the third present, you get slightly squeaky,” he says. “You’re giving every thing you’ve received for the final music. You’re attempting to remain targeted, push by way of, sweating buckets, nevertheless it’s the group 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 not less than three hours earlier than the present, simply be quiet. That’s what each vocal physician would advocate.”
