‘Shark Tank’ Investor Robert Herjavec On The Surprising Effect ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Has On His Body

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Robert Herjavec lost 5 pounds in his first week of “Dancing With The Stars.” (Photo: Getty Images /Jason LaVeris)

Robert Herjavec, of Shark Tank and Dancing With The Stars fame, isn’t a stranger to exercise.

The 51-year-old millionaire and CEO of the information security firm Herjavec Group has always been relatively fit, but over the last couple years, he’s amped up his exercise game — starting a dedicated running regimen (even running marathons) and incorporating weight training into his routine, which ultimately led to him losing about 25 pounds.

And now, he’s dancing, thanks to DWTS — which he says is a whole other beast. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically,” Herjavec tells Yahoo Health. “People don’t realize what incredible athletes dancers are.”

In his first week alone of training, Herjavec lost five pounds. “I dance five to six hours a day, and I’m exhausted. It’s so much upper body stuff because of [maintaining] the frame and positioning,” he says. Now, “I have muscles in my shoulders and upper body that I’ve never seen before.”

Read on for more details of Herjavec’s exercise routine, his outlook on fitness, and his favorite products:

A typical week of exercise for Herjavec includes a lot of running. Herjavec says he either does an hour on the elliptical machine at a high intensity, or runs a minimum of five miles each day. And once a week, he runs 10 to 12 miles.

“For me, [running] is my chance to catch up, to reenergize,” he says. “It’s just kind of my alone time, and if I don’t do it, my energy really drops. I don’t sleep very much and I’m really busy, and I find that I’ve got to get that hour of exercise in just to maintain my level of energy.”

Related: 10 Habits Of People Who Love to Work Out

Herjavec is a night exerciser. “I always wake up early, because I’m so excited about working out in the morning. And inevitably, I open up my email and get excited about work — and never get to the gym,” he says. “So I work out at night.” 

Stair-climbing helped Herjavec prepare for his DWTS debut. “I heard that it [DWTS] was a really tough thing to do physically,” he says. “When someone tells you it’s hard, I take it seriously.” To prepare, he started doing more cardio and weight training, and also added stair-climbing to his workout regimen.

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Robert Herjavec with his Dancing With The Stars partner Kym Johnson. (Photo: Instagram/kymjohnson1)

Related: 8 Ways To Fit In A Workout

Herjavec has a healthy eating trick for when he dines out. ”About a year-and-a-half ago, I started eating about half of everything I order,” he says. The result? He’s still able to enjoy food, but it helps him keep everything in moderation.

Since he’s started making a conscious effort to eat healthfully about two years ago, Herjavec has cut out a lot of pasta from his diet and instead now gravitates toward fresh produce. “I’m lucky because everything I like to eat is pretty healthy for you,” he says. “I love fruit, I love vegetables … but of course I like French fries and potato chips, too.”

The perfect post-workout snack is some peanut butter. While Herjavec says he actually isn’t a big post-exercise snacker, when he does eat after a workout, peanut butter is his go-to. “I have an investment called Nuts ‘N More, which is protein with peanut butter that I put on a slice of whole wheat bread,” he says.

His favorite fitness-related investments range from nut butter to street surfboards. As previously mentioned, Nuts ‘N More is one of Herjavec’s investments — “it’s great for the fitness and CrossFit industry,” he says.

Another investment is called The Natural Grip, which he says is “a grip that you put on your hands for weightlifting and pull-ups, and that sort of thing.”

He’s also an investor in Hamboards, which are longboard skateboards that mimic the feel of surfing.

Read This Next: 10 Exercises That Burn More Calories Than Running

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