The Reach Out: Elie Honig
The CNN legal analyst admits, "If I can't work out for a couple days, I start to get a little crazy."
Elie Honig is a former federal and state prosecutor and CNN Senior Legal Analyst. He hosts the Up Against The Mob podcast, writes the weekly Cafe Brief column, and is the author of Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code.
I spoke with Elie Honig about why exercise and fitness is so important to him.
Are you an active person?
I actually need exercise psychologically and emotionally. If I can't work out for a couple days, I start to get a little crazy.
I work out a lot. Even if I'm not needed on air in the morning, I still get up at 5:30am and do my workout. I'm sort of compulsive about getting it done right away. And, not to sound corny, but it really is the best way for me to start my day.
It sounds like you have a workout routine. Did anything change due to COVID?
I've always varied up my routine, but it really changed a lot when COVID hit. I used to run maybe two days a week and go to the gym the other days. With the gyms being shut down, I basically went a year without touching a weight. I ended up in the best shape I've ever been in because I had more time, so I ran longer and more often.
I also developed a kind of bizarre looking playground kind of workout. There are playgrounds all around my town, and some have workout equipment. So I would run a mile to the playground, do 100 pull-ups on the pull up bar — not all at once — and then 200 push-ups off the bleachers, bear crawls, and sprints. I guess it's a bit like CrossFit, or HIIT (high intensity interval training). I'm sure that anyone walking their dog past me was wondering what I was doing. But now I rotate running with the playground workout and the gym.
When the weather was bad, did you change up your workouts?
When it was freezing outside, I came up with a workout based on something I remember hearing that Herschel Walker (at the time, a very fit NFL player) would do: Take a deck of playing cards, flip them one at a time (Ace = 11, face card = 10, on downward), and whatever the number on the card is, you do that many pushups. It got to the point where I could get through a whole deck of cards.
Do you wear an Apple watch or FitBit to keep aware of your steps?
I don't do anything formal like that. If I have a phone call that isn’t being recorded for air or my podcast, I'll walk around my neighborhood while talking. Whether it’s a 12 minute or 20 minute phone call, I'll walk up and down my block. Having that little bit of exercise wakes me up in the middle of the day.
Do you watch the news, or listen to podcasts or music, while you exercise?
If there is a story that I need to be following, I will listen to CNN while I run or work out, which is great because I can keep up to speed.
But since I am a major consumer of podcasts, here's my approach: When I'm running on the treadmill, that’s boring, and I need more intellectual stimulation. So I will listen to a podcast — for example, my friend Preet Bharara’s —and it works out perfectly.
When I’m doing weights or push-ups, I just want to listen to music because I’m in a different mindset. So podcast for longer, boring cardio, and music for weights.
Is there something that motivates you to be so motivated to work out?
If I was the only person left on earth, I would still work out! I just need to. I actually think it’s a bit like an addiction. There are times when I’ve worked out 8 or 10 days in a row that I feel like I have to force myself to not work out. It's for my own peace of mind, and my own recreation and relaxation (even though it’s active).
You love to exercise, but too many kids and teens do not. Any thoughts?
I have two kids, aged 16 and 14, and they're both athletic and active and into high school sports. But sadly, I kind of think the ship has sailed because of kids’ phones.
Around my neighborhood in the 80’s, kids were always outside, playing pickup basketball or whiffle ball or chasing each other. We just went from one school yard to the next, always moving. You don’t see that now, and part of that is because the sports kids are doing are much more organized, with leagues and training and clinics. But the phone has really changed things, and not for the better.
Elie Honig is nothing if not creative! Anyone looking for exercise that is “fun” should try his playground workout (although “fun” does not imply “easy”). Elie may be the definition of a “dedicated fitness enthusiast.”
Thank you, @eliehonig
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