Michael Jackson’s trainer reveals he was 'in fantastic shape' just weeks before death: 'He might...'
It seems like Michael Jackson was a fitness fanatic! During a 2009 interview with Good Morning America's host Robin Roberts, Lou Ferrigno, who was once a personal trainer to Jackson, candidly spoke about his time with the legendary singer and songwriter. "Well, Michael and I met about 15 years ago. He was recommended to see me, but he had a doctor friend. We hit off an instant friendship, and you know I love Michael to death; he was so sweet because when he was with me, I mean, we had the best of times, and I was like his personal friend. I want to stop crying on TV because I'm just like devastated about this," Ferrigno shared.
As per a report by Essentially Sports, Roberts asked Ferrigno, "So many people said, 'Recently his health was a little suspect; he was very thin.' Did you sense that he was not as healthy as he should have been?" In his response, Ferrigno quipped, "He might have been a little thin because he was under a lot of stress training for the tour, but when I put him through the routine, everything I mean, he was just fine. I mean, he's very energetic, and the guy was in fantastic shape."
Then, the interviewer went on to ask Ferrigno, "When was the last time you had a chance to work out with him? To which he responded, "To see him, I would say about 3 weeks ago. I have gone to his house three or four times a week." Furthermore, Ferrigno shed light on Jackson's workout routine by saying, "They had an exercise board. We did a lot of core training. A lot of exercise with a band. He didn’t want to deal with weight training, so he mostly wanted to deal with flexibility and conditioning."
When questioned if Jackson was on any particular diet, the retired bodybuilder explained, "I believe I think he was a vegetarian, and he only ate once a day, but I just told him the proper supplement to take, but the most important thing was the attitude of the mind because he really wanted to be in his best shape." Later on, Roberts inquired, "Was he in any obvious pain whenever you trained?" To which Ferrigno replied, "He didn't look like he was in pain because he was on the treadmill; he did the stretching exercises, but you have got to remember one thing: that the harder you work when you work on a tour, for example, or dance and train, of course you could be under a lot of strain and put the body under tremendous strain, so when I told Michael about all the flexibility, I told him to take a lot of calcium and magnesium, which are good for the joints, but with me, he seemed fine."
Jackson passed away on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, following an acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication. In 2011, the pop star's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. At that time, Murray was sentenced to four years in prison. However, Murray only served half of his sentence before returning to Trinidad and Tobago. During an interview with Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, Murray talked about launching his own medical institute and said, “When I came back to Trinidad, most of the colleagues whom I had trained felt that I was too much of a threat to be present, when all I was willing to do was to collaborate, further educate, and instill care for more and more. So, they decided to eventually lock the doors when they saw the cases I was performing. It was tough. I dealt with the country locking its borders for two years, but I did not give up. I felt that I had to be relentless."