RZA Reveals Workout Regimen & Diet Keeping Him in Shape at 56: ‘I’m More of a Creature of Demand’

Even at 56 years old, RZA remains in supreme shape. The Wu-Tang Clan frontman gave Men’s Health a glimpse into his routine and vegan diet on Friday (July 11), which is fueling him while on the final tour for the legendary Staten Island rap crew.

“Fitness is everything,” he said. “When you’re on stage and you’re moving an hour, 90 minutes, sometimes two hours, your legs got to be in shape. Your respiratory got to be in shape. Even your arms, you gotta stay in shape.”

RZA continued: “So, I do stretching, I do weights, I do my kung fu. I do everything to make sure that my mind and body is ready so that when I go out to that audience, I could give my best performance. I think my generation of hip-hop, we know that exercise and proper diet is important to be a good performer.”

Gearing up for tour, RZA says he would work out twice a day “so I’m more of a creature of demand.” The rapper-actor has mixed in plenty of other disciplines into his regimen, such as yoga, kung fu and qigong. “But I still bench press, and that’s just to show somebody that I can still bench press 225 pounds,” he quipped.

While on the road, RZA sticks to his strict vegan diet, but keeps it relatively modest as he feels food slows him down these days.

“Avocado toast in the morning. For lunch, I may throw some lentils and some, you know, some fennel, lot of oranges and bananas and fruits and vegetables throughout the day,” he said. “And for dinner, go cauliflower with a little bit of pasta here and there.”

RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan are currently in the stretch run of their final tour, which will hit Madison Square Garden Wednesday (July 16) for what’s sure to be an epic close to the Wu chapter. The trek wraps up with a show in Philly next Friday (July 18).

Catch RZA flexing his acting chops later this summer in Nobody 2, which comes to theaters Aug. 15. For now, watch his workout regimen below.