Adrien Nunez doesn\u2019t pretend that tour life is easy. Between long travel days, late-night performances, and constant schedule changes, structure can feel nearly impossible to maintain. But for the former basketball player turned artist, discipline isn\u2019t about perfect conditions; it\u2019s about consistency.<\/p>\n
Muscle & Fitness<\/em> caught up with Nunez at Stagecoach during a TikTok interview<\/a> to talk all things training, routine, and how he stays grounded while balancing life on the road and in the studio.<\/p>\n Rooted in his athletic background, Nunez has built a routine that adapts to wherever he is, prioritizing consistency over intensity<\/a>. Whether it\u2019s a quick workout between soundcheck and stage time or a full training split when he\u2019s home, his approach to fitness is less about aesthetics and more about performance, clarity, and longevity.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no overly structured split guiding<\/a> his workouts on the road, and there\u2019s no obsession with tracking every rep or chasing numbers for the sake of progression. Instead, his training approach is shaped entirely by what\u2019s available in the moment and what realistically fits into the demands of the day. Flexibility becomes the structure.<\/p>\n \u201cMost days it\u2019s something quick,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019ll run, hit 30 minutes on the StairMaster, or get a lift in if there\u2019s a gym.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s simple by design. Nothing about it is meant to be flashy or overly complicated. On tour, the goal shifts away from physical transformation and becomes much more functional. \u201cIt\u2019s not glamorous,\u201d he adds in reflection, \u201cbut it works.\u201d<\/p>\n When he\u2019s home, that entire rhythm changes.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when I really go in,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ll do an hour on the court, then an hour lifting. Five days a week.\u201d<\/p>\n At home, structure returns in a way that isn\u2019t possible on the road. The training becomes more deliberate, more aggressive, and more layered. Basketball sessions bring back the competitive foundation he built his identity on, while lifting sessions add the strength and conditioning element that supports everything else he does.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just learn how to adjust,\u201d he adds. \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n That contrast between the two is intentional. It prevents stagnation while also protecting him from overtraining in a high-demand lifestyle.<\/p>\n Long before music ever entered the picture, Nunez was living in a completely different world. One built on basketball, competition, and repetition. It was a space defined by structure and accountability, where effort showed up every day whether you felt like it or not. Even though his career path has shifted dramatically since then, that athlete mentality never really left him.<\/p>\n You can still see it in how he trains, and you can still hear it in how he talks about discipline and ambition. It also shows up in the way he moves through his schedule, especially when things get unpredictable. There\u2019s a certain competitiveness underneath everything he does, even outside of sports.<\/p>\n When asked about a dream stage or ultimate performance moment, he doesn\u2019t pause or overthink it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Super Bowl,\u201d he says. \u201cThat would be crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n For him, it\u2019s not just about the spectacle of performing on one of the biggest stages in the world. It\u2019s also about what that moment represents. It reflects the same mindset athletes carry when they talk about championships, high-stakes environments, peak pressure, and the opportunity to perform when it matters most.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that athlete mindset never really leaves you,\u201d he says. \u201cEven when I transitioned into music, I still approach everything like I\u2019m preparing for a game. It\u2019s about showing up, doing the work, and being ready when it\u2019s time to perform. Whether that\u2019s on stage or on the court, I\u2019ve always been wired to compete. I like being in environments where there\u2019s pressure, where you have to earn it every day. That\u2019s what keeps me locked in.\u201d<\/p>\n That competitive edge also shows up in how he engages with sports off the field. When he builds his ideal basketball lineup, his choices are rooted in respect for greatness. He names Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, and Shaquille O\u2019Neal as his dream five, combining different eras, playing styles, and levels of dominance into one lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just fun to think about,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve always been into basketball like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Even as his career has evolved, basketball hasn\u2019t become something he left behind, it\u2019s still actively part of his identity. It functions as more than just cardio or a casual hobby. It\u2019s a reference point for how he thinks about teamwork, effort, and competition.<\/p>\n And that connection becomes even more obvious when he\u2019s around other artists who share that same energy. He points to Kane Brown<\/a> as one of his go-to people when it comes to hooping and training.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing at his house,\u201d he says. \u201cHe can really play, too.\u201d<\/p>\n In those moments, the overlap between music and athletics becomes clear again. It\u2019s not just about staying active, it\u2019s about staying connected to the mindset that shaped him long before the stage ever did.<\/p>\n Training Through Unpredictability One of the clearest examples of Nunez\u2019s adaptability came during a group run, Stryde Social,<\/a> in Nashville with other artists, including Russell Dickerson. What was supposed to be a standard outdoor training session quickly turned into something far more intense and unpredictable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just out there running, everything felt normal at first,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThen out of nowhere, a storm rolled in. It went from sunny skies to completely dark in like 10 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n What followed escalated fast. The wind picked up with enough force to noticeably impact movement, visibility dropped to the point where it became difficult to see ahead, and street fixtures began to sway under the pressure. Then the rain turned into hail, shifting the entire dynamic of the workout in real time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was honestly kind of insane,\u201d he says. \u201cWe had to duck under a bridge just to stay safe for a minute because it got that serious.\u201d<\/p>\n For most people, that kind of weather shift would be the signal to stop immediately and call it a day. But in true athlete mentality fashion, the experience didn\u2019t completely shut the session down, it just changed it. The group adjusted on the fly, regrouped, and treated it as part of the training environment rather than an interruption to it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the thing about training with other artists,\u201d he adds. \u201cYou just adapt to whatever\u2019s happening in the moment, and you keep going anyway. It\u2019s never really perfect conditions, so you learn how to work with whatever you get.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the discipline he holds himself to, Nunez doesn\u2019t look at fitness as something that should be done in isolation. For him, training has always been tied to other people, structure, and shared effort rather than individual motivation alone.<\/p>\n \u201cI like training with people,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s how I grew up: basketball, teammates, always pushing each other.\u201d<\/p>\n That environment shaped how he views effort. In his experience, consistency is easier to maintain when there\u2019s someone else in the room holding the same standard. It creates a natural sense of accountability, but it also adds energy to the process. Instead of workouts feeling like something he has to get through alone, they become shared experiences that carry a different level of intensity.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing through it alone isn\u2019t as fun,\u201d he admits. \u201cIt\u2019s just better when everyone\u2019s in it together and you\u2019re all kind of in the same headspace.\u201d<\/p>\n That mindset doesn\u2019t stop at training. It extends into how he operates creatively and how he manages his overall well-being. Whether it\u2019s music, performance, or mental health, he tends to gravitate toward environments where there\u2019s connection and support rather than complete independence.<\/p>\n The reality of the music industry is that it runs on extremes. One night you\u2019re performing in front of thousands of people with everything feeling amplified, and the next moment you\u2019re back alone in a quiet room or a moving bus trying to come down from that energy. For Nunez, that transition is one of the most difficult parts of the lifestyle.<\/p>\n \u201cThat post-show feeling is intense,\u201d he says. \u201cYou go from thousands of people and all that energy to just being by yourself again. It\u2019s a really big shift.\u201d<\/p>\n Over time, he\u2019s realized there isn\u2019t a perfect way to smooth out that emotional drop. Instead, it\u2019s something he manages through small habits and intentional recovery choices rather than trying to eliminate it entirely.<\/p>\n One of those tools is magnesium, which he uses as part of his nighttime routine<\/a> to help his body relax and transition out of performance mode.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helps me wind down at night,\u201d he says. \u201cThat post-show energy doesn\u2019t just disappear right away, so I need something that helps me settle.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond recovery routines<\/a>, he also relies on a mindset he\u2019s built through training: focus on what he can control and stop over-attaching to what he can\u2019t. That approach becomes especially important in situations where outcomes are uncertain. That was the case during the rollout of his collaboration with Diplo,<\/a> which stretched across months of back-and-forth and uncertainty. At various points, he genuinely wasn\u2019t sure if the record would ever be released.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it might not even come out at one point,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n Rather than getting emotionally locked into the outcome, he intentionally stepped back from expectations. That wasn\u2019t about lowering ambition; it was about protecting his mindset.<\/p>\n \u201cI kept my expectations low,\u201d he says. \u201cThat way, I wouldn\u2019t get caught up in the waiting or overthink it if things changed.\u201d<\/p>\n That perspective ended up being grounding. It allowed him to stay steady through delays and shifting timelines, and ultimately helped him handle the moment when the project finally did move forward without emotional whiplash.<\/p>\n In an industry where opinions are constant and often unavoidable, Nunez is intentional about who he allows into his decision-making process. Over time, he\u2019s learned that not every voice deserves equal weight, especially when the noise is nonstop.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone has an opinion,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can\u2019t take all of it in, or you\u2019d lose yourself in it.\u201d Instead, he keeps a tight inner circle made up of family, close friends, and his girlfriend,<\/a> people who understand him beyond his career and aren\u2019t influenced by outside perception.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re the ones I trust,\u201d he says. \u201cEverything else is secondary compared to that.\u201d<\/p>\n That group serves as more than just emotional support. It functions as a grounding system that helps him filter decisions, stay balanced, and maintain perspective when things move quickly.<\/p>\n His relationship, in particular, has become a steadying force in his day-to-day life. It provides consistency in an environment that is otherwise constantly shifting.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s super supportive,\u201d he says. \u201cShe understands the lifestyle and what comes with it, which makes a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n What stands out most for him, though, is that the support isn\u2019t passive; it\u2019s shared.<\/p>\n Even fitness has become something they actively do together rather than separately. Over time, that shared routine has created another layer of alignment in their relationship. \u201cShe didn\u2019t really train before,\u201d he says. \u201cBut now she\u2019s in the gym consistently, and that\u2019s something I really value.\u201d<\/p>\n From basketball standout<\/a> at the University of Michigan to one of country music\u2019s fastest-rising names, Adrien Nunez<\/a> has built his career on adaptability, discipline, and a willingness to evolve. After first gaining traction online for championing emerging country artists and helping amplify breakout records across social media, Nunez has stepped fully into his own spotlight with a rapidly growing music career that now includes more than 182 million global streams, a spot on Amazon Music\u2019s 2025 Country Heat Artists to Watch<\/a> list, and performances on some of the genre\u2019s biggest stages, including Stagecoach.<\/p>\nAdapting His Training to the Road<\/h2>\n
The Athlete Mindset That Still Drives Him<\/h2>\n
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Why Community Matters More Than Motivation<\/h2>\n
![\"Blurry](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blurry-image-of-Alex-Green-on-stage-at-a-concert.jpg?quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>Managing the Emotional Highs and Lows<\/h2>\n
The Inner Circle That Keeps Him Grounded<\/h2>\n