Chris Moneymaker on Fitness Kick

9 years ago
Chris Moneymaker on Fitness Kick
19:18
28 Sep

Chris Moneymaker recently revealed that he's currently in the midst of a fitness kick in hopes of shedding a few pounds before the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in January.

Tipping the scales at 217 lbs., the man responsible for the boom in poker over a decade ago realized that while he had been "working very hard on my poker game lately," he tended to neglect keeping fit. That weight of 217 lbs. is near where Moneymaker was when he shocked the poker world and won $2.5 million in the 2003 WSOP Main Event after gaining entry through an online satellite at PokerStars.

Moneymaker feels that 190 lbs. is where he should be in terms of weight, and he had been there "for several years up until recently" when the demands required of excelling in poker sort of took over. But apparently, the Tennessee native now has his mind right regarding eating better and exercising, and he can thank one of his good friends for steering him in that direction.

A recent trip to the Bahamas that included playing the WCOOP at PokerStars turned out to be an eye-opening experience for Moneymaker after meeting up with his buddy Calvin “cal42688” Anderson. An online star who has won a number of PokerStars' tournaments, exercising and eating well is all part of Anderson's daily routine, Moneymaker wrote on his blog.

The 23-year-old Anderson managed to influence the 38-year-old Moneymaker with his healthy habits, and before long the WSOP champ found himself doing yoga and eating better. The former accountant admitted that the health kick "doesn’t exactly fit with the Chris Moneymaker lifestyle," but he was feeling better physically while tagging along with his friend and enjoyed the results.

The only drawback was the fatigue that was setting in while his body was likely adjusting to the intake of less meat and an increase in physical activities from exercising. Moneymaker found it difficult to keep up with his much younger buddy who was happily multi-tabling while the Main Event winner tended to doze off at times.

Moneymaker did manage to go deep in a couple of WCOOP tournaments. But he found himself losing a bit of focus due to being tired from trying to maintain the same schedule as his friend Anderson who has a decade-and-a-half advantage in terms of youth.

The whole experience, however, prompted Moneymaker to continue on the path to better health. He has an attainable goal in mind by the time the PCA rolls around. And a new alliance with a company in the health product industry called USANA has Moneymaker on a path that will likely allow fellow players to see less of him come January.

"It turned out to be a good trip to the Bahamas — not just for the poker, but also for giving me a kick-start to eat healthy and get fit," Moneymaker said.


Articles 904

Charles is a Chicago native and long time poker player who dusted off his journalism degree and began writing about poker following the events of Black Friday in 2011. He has written for a number of leading poker websites, offering his insights and expertise on subjects ranging from online poker leg...Read more

Comments

You need to be logged in to post a new comment

No Comments found.