Johnny Nelson former Cruiserweight World Champion on the mental and physical benefits of fasting, why he chose to compete at Hyrox, and why TWO hip replacements have left him wary of running.
Watch the full chat with Johnny ‘The Entertainer’ Nelson below:
To run or not to run
I live in Leckhampton and like to jog around our hilly roads. It clears my mind and gets my heart and lungs going. I see lot of fellow Cheltenham fitness enthusiasts out trotting on the pavement too. But is it good for us? In particular, is it good for our joints?
I put these questions to a man who knows a lot about running’s upsides and downsides. Johnny ‘The Entertainer’ Nelson holds the record for the longest held Cruiserweight world title and built his boxing exploits on a cardio base achieved by pounding the pavements of Sheffield in the early hours of the morning.
But he’s since had BOTH hips replaced. Undeterred he’s learnt to run again and has been competing in Hyrox events in his late 50s. His thoughts on running are thus a little complicated and says a lot of it depends on your weight.
“I just need to know I can do it my head for Hyrox, so I can do 8 kilometres. Even though it’s beneficial though I wouldn’t recommend too much running. You could maybe walk 10,000 steps a day, up a hill, that might be better long term. It’s just less painful. But I’m a big guy, if you’re small and have no weight on you it might mean nothing to you.”
“This is just a personal opinion. I just think too much running when you get to a certain age isn’t great for you because of the wear and tear on bones.”
The long fast
Whether he’s running a lot or not, Johnny is in fine physical shape as 60 rears into view. He hits the big 6-0 in January 2027. And he puts a lot of his physique and fitness down to his adoption of fasting. Johnny only drinks water every week from Sunday night to Tuesday morning (26-hours), and four times a year he goes without food for 86 hours! He says he feels the benefits on the scales, in front of the mirror and with the way his brain functions.
“Each week I’m probably a losing a bit more and see my body shape change. I can see my skin is clearer, my mental clarity is ridiculous. I’ve been doing it for two years now and I think, ‘bloody hell you’re not looking bad!’
“When I do the 36-hour fast, I’m just prepping myself to know I’ve still got that mental structure, that mental discipline, that mental behaviour to better me.”
Age is just a number – but train smart
I’m 14 years Johnny’s junior and find him to be an inspirational role model for those of us to continue moving as we progress into middle-age. But he does acknowledge that as we mature our workouts must be balanced by high quality rest:
“You’ve got to compensate (for age). Train smart. Work out smart. Do it in a smart way and give yourself enough time to rest. I remember going out to the nightclub and getting back about two o’clock in the morning and then running at five o’clock. I could do that then. Now I can’t even get to the club! I’m in bed by eight o’clock!”
What do you think about running? Like a lot of things in life I think it’s about balancing the pros and cons. If running brings you huge psychological and physical benefits maybe it’s worth the wear and tear. But if you could easily swap in another steady state cardio workout, perhaps your joints will thank you down the line.
