The Reach Out: Andrea Kremer
The Thursday Night Football analyst and HBO Real Sports correspondent says, "Working out is like my coffee. It's how I start my day."
Andrea Kremer is an analyst for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video and a correspondent for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
She is also chief correspondent for the NFL Network and the co-host of We Need To Talk on CBS, the first all-female nationally televised weekly sports show.
After 17 years at ESPN, Kremer was the sideline reporter for NBC’s Sunday Night Football as well as three Olympics, including Michael Phelps’ historic pursuit of eight gold medals in 2008.
She has received multiple Emmys, a Peabody, and the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2018, Kremer and Hannah Storm made sports history by becoming the first all-women booth to call NFL games.
Kremer has covered more than 25 Super Bowls, the NBA Finals, the MLB League Championship Series, college football bowl games, the NHL playoffs, NCAA Men's Basketball, and the PGA Championship.
Kremer’s impressive fitness background includes dancing for 15 years with several ballet companies and playing tennis, swimming, and field hockey as a student athlete.
When I spoke with Andrea Kremer, she had just returned from South Africa where she was shooting an episode of Real Sports, and she was very excited to talk about exercising.
How do you make exercise and fitness a part of your life?
Working out is the first thing I do in the morning. I actually do a stretching and breathing routine even before I get out of bed — and I have no aches or pains when I get up!
I don't drink coffee, but working out is like my coffee! It’s how I jump start my day. If I don't exercise, I can feel the difference in my mind, body, and attitude toward the day.
So I love to do a hard workout first thing in the morning before the craziness of phone calls and emails start up.
There was one morning when a former boss called me before I’d worked out, and I must have sounded a bit frazzled because he asked, “Andrea, have you exercised yet?” When I said no, he replied, “Ok, call me back after your workout.” You know how some people can’t talk to anyone until they’ve had their coffee? Well, you don’t want to talk to me until I’ve had my morning workout!
Do you have a set routine and has the pandemic forced you to change anything?
I have a treadmill, a spin bike, and all the little exercise toys — the BOSU, the resistance bands, weights, rollers. I bike outside, I bike inside. I run outside, I run inside. I also do a lot of small group training and strength training. Where I live, there's a tremendous emphasis on fitness — several Olympic bikers have come from the town where I live.
When the pandemic hit, it was the Peloton app — and Jess Sims’ Peloton BootCamp — which saved me! I love you, Jess! You kicked my butt!
But the pandemic showed me that what I need is not just a workout — I also need structure. I feel like I am informed enough that I could do a workout on my own, but I really prefer a class and instructor, whether it's a Zoom Peloton or small group training.
I haven’t gone back to in-person classes yet, so I feel lucky that I can work out from home. And every now and then, my dog will do a little downward dog with me while I’m stretching.
I’m lucky to have a pool, so even though I live on the east coast, I heat it to 87 degrees, and nine months out of the year, I will also swim.
Are you ever able to squeeze a workout in the middle of a game day?
When I did Sunday Night Football game days, after our morning meeting, we always had some down time before we needed to start getting ready, so I could fit an hour workout in.
One Sunday, I was at the hotel gym and needed someone (anyone!) to help me do partner push-ups. I will literally walk up to total strangers and recruit them to do partner push-ups with me.
When I saw Cris Collinsworth in the hotel gym, I asked him to do partner push-ups with me. I explained what they were, and after doing maybe five, he said, “Are you trying to kill me?” It was a funny moment!
I imagine that you find a way to exercise even when you’re traveling.
I don't want to jinx myself, but I've always travelled a lot, whether it was covering games for Sunday Night Football, or now for Amazon, or this coming weekend when I’m going to London for Real Sports. Even before the pandemic, it was important to keep my body strong and healthy so that I’m not getting sick, and that includes maintaining an exercise routine.
I always bring a full set of resistance bands with me so that I can do a workout even in my hotel room. I was just shooting in South Africa, and there was a day when I couldn’t do a morning workout. But when we finished around eight o'clock, I actually did a body weight class right there in my hotel room (I used two big water bottles as weights). I'm not used to working out at night, but I did it because I know how great I always feel afterward.
Is there something in particular that motivates you to work out?
The best motivation is feeling good in every way, both physically and mentally. I can honestly say that I can’t remember a single day when I thought, “Oh, crap, I gotta work out.” I just never feel that way!
Exercising is the one thing I do all day that's just for me. I really try to ignore my phone and not check email or texts. I just feel so good when I’m done, and that is the biggest motivator for me.
Being such a fitness fanatic, you must enjoy covering how athletes train.
Yes, I'm like a sponge when it comes to this! I love learning about different workout techniques, and that goes back to my ballet background where proper form is everything. You want to make sure that you're training properly so you don't get hurt.
Over the course of my career, I've done a number of stories about the off-season workout routines of different athletes.
I did one story with Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who was known for running hills in the Bay Area. He’d literally run up them, and then, after all that, he’d go to the gym. While we were shooting our story, he started busting my chops a little bit. “Andrea,” he said, “if you really want this story, then you have to run these hills with me.” So when we finished the shoot, I ran those hills with him!
Another time, super early in my career, Dallas Cowboys running back Herschel Walker wanted to do something different in his offseason, so he trained with the Fort Worth Ballet Company. I enjoyed covering that story because of my experience as a ballet dancer. So it has definitely been interesting to watch how athletes work out.
While you work out, do you listen to music or podcasts, or watch sports?
Just music! I don't want to think about anything when I'm working out. I don't want to worry about work or any stressors. It's my time. I just want to focus on my run or bike or class — and the music!
Listening to a podcast is something I’ll do when I walk my dog. We go on a three-mile loop, so I will definitely enjoy a podcast then.
Other than running and biking, what other kinds of exercise do you enjoy?
I'm always up for trying something new, but it has to be based in good form and science. I don’t want to do anything that could cause injury — and I don't need to become a Cirque du Soleil star!
I do really enjoy GyroTonic, which is like a cousin of Pilates and was developed by dancers. It incorporates principles from yoga, dance, swimming, and gymnastics. It’s incredible for stretching, strengthening, and flexibility, all of which are essential to me as I get older.
When I lived in Los Angeles, I took an amazing class with an instructor who had danced with the Alvin Ailey company. It was a mix of dance and athleticism and I miss that class so much. Don’t tell anyone, but now I’ll occasionally dance alone in my living room!
Do you wear a fitness monitor to track your step count?
I don't. My husband and son both use one, but I don't feel the need to know how many steps I’ve taken. I don’t even get on the scale because I actually lose weight quite easily. I just came back from South Africa and I’d lost three pounds, just from running around and traveling. I go by how I feel and how my clothes fit.
I do wear a heart rate monitor when I’m on the treadmill. That's so much more appealing to me than wearing a fitness monitor.
Is there any piece of fitness advice that has really stuck with you?
Yes! One of my fitness instructors told me to take care of my feet. Think about all of the abuse that our feet take! So I stretch my feet — toes, ankles, heels — every day. I say this not just because I spent years doing pointe work, but because I know that a lot of issues can arise from foot problems. So be nice to your feet!
Have you ever met anyone who loves working out as much as Andrea Kremer does? Her enthusiasm and passion for exercising was clear from the moment we began our conversation (and if you’re wondering, yes, she had already worked out when we spoke).😀
Thank you, @Andrea_Kremer
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