There really is no stopping Sir Rod Stewart from enjoying an active lifestyle – not even a heart procedure.

In August, the British singer underwent a ‘routine’ coronary stent procedure, in which a small wire tube is inserted into a coronary artery that has become narrow or blocked. He had to cancel 11 dates of his US tour as a result, and he’s since claimed to have retired from live performances.

But after taking four weeks off to recuperate on the advice of his doctors, Stewart is already getting back into his regular fitness routine. When asked how his health was doing by reporters, Stewart responded: ‘F****** brilliant! I swam 400 metres the other day.’

When he’s fully fit, 400m is small fry for Stewart. He’s an incredibly active individual, having worked with trainer Gary O’Connor for nearly 40 years and enjoying the gym, golf course and running track, all located on his English estate. It’s the swimming pool where he particularly finds the most benefit, though.

After Frank Sinatra once told Stewart that strong lungs are built by holding your breath underwater, the Maggie Maysinger became obsessed. O’Connor consulted with the SBS (Special Boat Service) and adapted Stewart’s underwater training accordingly.

‘We do a lot of underwater training, where the trainer throws a brick into the pool and I have to dive in, push the brick to the end of the pool, and come up,’ Stewart said. He’ll tread water holding a brick overhead, retrieve bricks from the bottom of the pool, or move them from the deep end to the shallow end.

‘He really likes doing this because he says it helps his singing,’ O’Connor added. ‘This is all about holding your breath. We have obstacles and he’s the kind of guy who says, “Time me,” and then tries to beat it. These aren’t just swim sessions – they’re almost military-type workouts.’

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Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.

During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.

Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…

You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_