Everything Bruce Springsteen Has Said About Diet and Exercise

Bruce Springsteen is still jamming out on stage over 50 years after releasing his debut album thanks to his diet and exercise routine.

In March 2023, Coldplay’s Chris Martin revealed that he took on a new diet inspired by the “Dancing in the Dark” singer. “I don’t actually do dinner anymore. I stop eating at 4 and I learned that from having lunch with Bruce Springsteen,” he explained on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast.

“I was on a really strict diet anyway, but I was like, ‘Bruce-ster looks even more in shape than me,’” Martin continued, noting that Springsteen told him the key to keeping his physique was only eating one meal a day.

Springsteen doubled down on his diet of choice in an October 2024 interview with The Times, sharing, “I’ll have a bit of fruit in the morning and then I’ll have dinner. That has kept me lean and mean.”

Scroll down to see what Springsteen has said about diet, food and exercise over the years:

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July 2012

The Grammy winner told The New Yorker that in order to keep performing for fans, he has to stay in good health. “Think of it this way: performing is like sprinting while screaming for three, four minutes,” he stated. “And then you do it again. And then you do it again. And then you walk a little, shouting the whole time. And so on. Your adrenaline quickly overwhelms your conditioning.”

Springsteen’s childhood friend and E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt went on to tell the magazine that the rock star “never did drugs” and has been running on a treadmill and lifting weights with his trainer for 30 years. Not to mention, Van Zandt said Springsteen has had “practically the same waist size as when I met him, when we [were] 15.”

September 2016

In his 2016 book, Born to Run, Springsteen revealed that his wife, Patti Scialfa, encouraged him to learn how to make pancakes for their kids as a way to bond with them amid his busy schedule.

“I queried the gentleman who was cooking for us at the time for his recipe for pancakes and I posted it on the side of the refrigerator. After some early cement-like results, I dialed it in, expanded my menu and am now proud to say that should the whole music thing go south, I will be able to hold down a job between the hours of 5 and 11 a.m. at any diner in America,” he wrote in the autobiography. “Feeding your children is a great act of intimacy and I received my rewards, the sounds of forks clattering on breakfast plates, toast popping out of the toaster, and the silent approval of morning ritual. If I hadn’t gotten up, I would’ve missed it.”

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January 2017

“I’m probably not going to do three running somersaults at this point. But the basic thing, the only thing that I notice as I’ve gotten older is that you have certain structural weaknesses in your body that arise, and you’ve got to manage your physical self so it can do the essential and important things,” Springsteen told The Guardian of performing at an older age. “So you can deliver your message and create the evening you want to create. So you curtail a few of the other things that at this point aren’t as necessary – you have the possibility of busting your back or your neck.”

He added: “Energy wise, I don’t feel anything different. Physically, I don’t feel anything different.”

January 2021

“I don’t do that much right now. I lift a little weight to stay toned. I may get on the treadmill and I’ll walk. I don’t run anymore,” Springsteen told Tim McGraw of his health habits in an Apple Music interview. “And the biggest thing is diet, diet, diet. I don’t eat too much, and I don’t eat bad food, except once in a while when I want to have some fun for myself. So, I think anybody that’s trying to get in shape, exercise is always important of course, but diet is 90 percent of the game.”

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November 2021

While answering rapid fire questions during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Springsteen shared that he thinks the “best sandwich” is a “peanut butter and jelly” served with a “big glass of milk,” specifically at 3 a.m.

When Colbert asked whether exercise is “worth it,” Springsteen simply responded, “I’m 72.”

August 2022

Much like Martin, Zac Brown was also inspired by Springsteen’s exercise choices. “When I met Springsteen, I said, ‘Tell me something that’s helped you to stay feeling good.’ He was like, ‘Man, you need to sweat for an hour a day. I don’t care what you do, doesn’t matter. You need to sweat for an hour a day,’” Brown said in an interview with Men’s Health. “I was like, ‘You’re the Boss. Let’s do it.’”