I had no idea Eminem got up to 230 pounds because of pain pills.

What Exercise Program did Eminem Use to Replace his Addictions?

August 1, 2015

After an overdose, and being admitted into a hospital, Eminem got up to 230 pounds. Eminem believes the reason he got so big so fast was because of the amount of food he was eating to curb the pains in his stomach caused by ulcers, from excessive amounts of Valium and Vicodin.

Eminem says, of his recover...

I'm not sure exactly when I finally got it. In the early days, I just went with the flow: If I could hit a gym, I'd hit up a gym. If someone suggested a workout that seemed legit, I might try it, but it wasn't a priority. Everything has to work around the music. Still, I wanted to stay fit even if I never wanted to get big. I worked out with Dre a few times, and I had to lift the kiddie weights. I've always been more into cardio, because when I'm performing I have to keep my wind up. It's never cool to be out of breath — anywhere, doing anything — but especially onstage. So I ran and did regular sit-ups and push-ups. For a while I even got into boxing.

Mixing It Up

So when I was starting to dial back on the treadmill, I tried out some of those workout DVDs you do at home. One of the first ones was Shaun T's Insanity workout. I know a lot of these DVD guys are wacky, but I'm alone in my gym; I need someone on the TV yelling to motivate me. Besides, some of this shit is entertaining.

When I first started the Insanity workout, I alternated my routine, running one day and doing the Insanity the other. Then I stopped running altogether because it was too much to do them both. The Insanity won. After a while I started plateauing on that, so I mixed it up. I did the P90X for a little while (and I still do that ab workout because it's the most challenging), but then I moved on to the Beast.

Now every morning before I go to the studio, I do the Body Beast workout with free weights, bench, and pull-up bar at home. It's just me, so it helps that the Body Beast dude is over-the-top. The routine is pretty intense, too. The first time I did the legs, I couldn't walk for two days. Now I'm doing arms one day, chest the next day, legs the next, and I'm still functioning throughout the day. And I can finally do it without pausing the DVD....