Key Takeaways
- Jamie Foxx said his doctor banned him from lifting weights after age made it harder to maintain his post-workout pump.
- After Foxx spent four hours bench pressing at 48, his doctor replaced the weights with resistance bands—a switch he found embarrassing at the gym.
- Foxx shared the story ahead of his Hulu special Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself, which draws on aging and his recovery from a 2023 stroke.
Jamie Foxx's days of trying to get a pump on the bench press are apparently over.
In an interview with BET News' Danielle Young, the 58-year-old actor and comedian revealed that his doctor stopped him from lifting weights years ago and gave him a completely different workout plan.
“Man, shit. My doctor banned me from lifting weights. A few years ago. Cause I couldn't hold smy swole,” Foxx said.
Foxx traced the decision back to when he was 48 and attempted to get himself back into shape. He recalled spending roughly four hours bench pressing and initially being impressed with the results.
“I kind of puffed up. You know what I'm saying? I said, oh yeah, I'm back,” he said.
That feeling didn't last long. By the time Foxx walked out to his car and caught a glimpse of himself, he said the pump was already gone.
“I looked at the reflection of me... I said, what was it four hours for?”
When Foxx brought his concerns to his doctor, he didn't exactly get the answer he wanted. According to Foxx, his physician pointed toward his age before replacing the weights with resistance bands.
“He leaned over and grabbed a bag of bands. I said, what's that? These are resistance bands. That's your new workout plan,” Foxx recalled.
Foxx wasn't thrilled about taking his new equipment back to the gym, especially while everyone around him was still lifting weights.
“It was so embarrassing. I go back to the gym. All the homies was hitting everything,” he said. “So now you got to listen to what they say. Listen to what they tell you.”
Foxx's approach to his health carries additional significance following the serious medical emergency he suffered in April 2023 while filming Back in Action in Atlanta. The actor later revealed that a brain bleed led to a stroke and an extended hospitalization.
Foxx recently told ABC News' Will Reeve that he “almost died” during the ordeal and said nurses described him as a “three percenter” because of how few patients arriving with his condition were able to walk out.
Now, Foxx is bringing some of those experiences and his perspective on getting older to his new stand-up special, Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself. Filmed in Oakland and featuring an appearance from his daughter Anelise, the special premieres Wednesday, Oct. 7, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
