The Most Fit Punks
They may be called Misfits, but they’re definitely one of the most fit bands in rock n’ roll!
I’d be shocked if there’s a single punk rock fan who hasn’t had a “Misfits moment”. Mine was throughout the latter part of high school. The Misfits were one of the first bands to combine the raw rock n’ roll energy of punk music with horror film aesthetics, establishing a genre known as “horror punk“. Their lyrics reference monster movies, science fiction narratives and general macabre themes. Unlike the other punk rockers of their era, they eschewed the popular fashion of wearing bondage gear and leather jackets, in favor of sleeveless shirts or just going bare chested with starch white face paint resembling the living dead.
Their sound and look inspired me to start my own horror punk ensemble called Freak Show Rejects. At the time, I was so focused on the music and the punk/horror ethos that It didn’t dawn on me as to how jacked they were. I can’t recall a more physically fit band as a matter of fact. Henry Rollins of Black Flag and the eponymous Rollins Band comes to mind as one of the most buff musicians, but the Misfits as a collective (I should state that I mean the original Misfits lineup, as the band has gone through so many personnel changes) are all incredibly swole.
The band’s most renowned lineup consisted of Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein. They are considered to be the original Misfits. Danzig, Only and Doyle have each mentioned their fitness regimen at one point or another in various interviews. That alone is incredible considering they’ve been consistently on the road playing gigs since the late 1970s. They were even a part of World Championship Wrestling for a brief moment during the late 1990s, which was amazing because it coincided with my dual obsessions with theatrical wrestling and punk rock.
With just a few quick search engine inquiries, I was able to find descriptions of both Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle’s workout routines.
Danzig’s workout routine:
In the July 1995 issue of Details magazine (a former American monthly men's magazine that was published by Condé Nast), Danzig extensively describes his fitness interests as Nietzschean (after the concepts of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche). In other words, for Danzig, being fit means looking good and feeling good. Danzig interprets Nietzsche’s concept that our true sense of self derives from the body as opposed to our sense of spirit and ideas; so having an aesthetically pleasing body is testament to Danzig’s fitness routine. In addition to Nietzsche, Danzig mentions being inspired by two former Mr. Olympias, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lee Haney. He considers bodybuilding to be an art form.
Danzig’s workout schedule consists (or at least consisted of) of five days of mixed strength, cardio and endurance training, which is detailed below in his own words.
Monday and Thursday: I do five sets of regular bench presses, starting with ten reps and descending to eight, six, four, and two reps as I increase the weight, to a maximum of three-hundred pounds. Then I do four or five sets of low-incline close-grip presses, starting at twenty-five reps and decreasing each set by five. The high reps really cut me up. I do twenty-to-twenty-five reps each of single-handed incline curls with forty-five pound weights. Instead of letting the dumbbell go at the end of each set, I let it hang and twist my arm so that the burn keeps going. That shreds up my front deltoids, carving out lines and striations After that I do push-down or reverse curls, which Lee Haney -- former Mr. Olympia-- says are crucial to working the lats. And I love working the lats. Tuesday and Friday: I start with military presses, which I do both backward and frontward. Then I do a close-grip upward row in which I pull the bar straight up to my neck. I prefer using free-weights to machine weights because the free-weights have to be lifted *and* controlled, giving you a better negative workout. After that I do front and back lat-pulldowns, starting at a hundred pounds and moving up from there. And to finish up I grab a few ninety-pound free weights and do triceps presses. Supplementary day: I start by doing four sets of bench curls with ninety-five pounds. I raise the barbell halfway up for five reps, then raise it up all the way and lower it halfway for five more -- by now my arms are really popping -- and then I do fifteen at full swing, followed by those Lee Haney triceps presses. I said I loved working the lats. My lower-body workout doesn't involve any weights. I do a form of martial arts called jeet kune do. The kicking and boxing give me a good stretch and a killer leg workout. And I get a good workout onstage too: Danzig don't just stand around, we go out of our minds.
Jerry Only’s workout routine:
In an interview with Jerry Only on TVCasuality.com, he mentions his weightlifting schedule, explaining: “I usually get up and lift, but I'm going to have to change that because we need a couple of great songs right away, so I have to get up and write, and when I can't play no more, I've gotta go lift. So I go from an early morning lifting job to an early afternoon lift.” He adds that: “as I get older, I'm going to have to be more strict, and more aggressive with it. But as I say, it's all what you want for yourself….So for me, lifting is a major part of my life, and it's really not so much physical as it is mental. Just knowing that I'm doing everything I can to be the best that I can.”
In another interview on concertlivewire.com, Only talks about his routine to stay in shape while on tour: “We have a whole gym on our Winnebago that we set-up. Actually, the other day we were liftin' in the streets of Philadelphia. In Chinatown, the cops were passing us. It's a real positive thing and that's what I really want. Anyone can go out and do a great concert and blow things up and spotlights and all kinds of glamorous stuff but not everyone will get to workout in the streets and bench press 400 pounds. People will remember that.”
Doyle’s workout routine:
Doyle speaks a lot about his exercise and diet in interviews. In an online interview for Vegan Health and Fitness, he states: “My philosophy for working out now is one word: ‘consistency.’ I've been working out for lack of a better word, "religiously," for forty-two years-straight. I like to do a different body part every day. I like to work out both heavy and light.”
As far as his diet, he has been a vegan since 2013. He notes that the foods he likes include seitan (which he affectionately calls Satan) recipe (included in the Vegan Health and Fitness interview), as well as tofu, tempeh, beans, nuts and a lot of different vegetables. He also uses vegan protein powder (he partnered with Conscious Muscle Supplements to launch Vegan Monster Protein) and takes daily vitamins and supplements, in addition to drinking plenty of distilled water.
As the son of a former high school football player and boxer, Doyle and his brother Jerry Only grew up surrounded by weights. He has been working out since the age of ten, and has maintained his work out routine for more than forty seven years. He begins working out after breakfast. He trains a different muscle group each day using both heavy and light weight resistance. The one consistent aspect is that he works his abs and core every day. He credits working out as a means to fuel his musicianship. And he might be the first and only rock star to be sponsored by a fitness company. PowerBlock Dumbbells provides him with all the weights and gear he needs to power through the grueling life of a musician.
I often get nostalgic, especially with regards to how my past influences have either informed my present interests, or are no longer relatable to the person I am today. While the Misfits initially influenced my ethos as a young punk rocker, their fitness and wellness methodology has led me to appreciate them in a new light. They may sing about monsters and the macabre, but their philosophy for taking care of themselves is anything but scary.
I also liked the fact that Zakk Wilde lifts weights. I don't know how some people travel and do the rock lifestyle, and don't exercise.