Robert Herjavec loves a good challenge. That’s how he’s built billion-dollar companies, raced cars at elite levels, and became a household name as a Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank for two decades. His latest challenge, though, has nothing to do with business. Herjavec’s setting his sights on transforming his body to completely reengineer it beyond what even he thought was possible.
“I used to tell myself I was as fit as my body would allow,” Herjavec told Muscle & Fitness. “But then I asked: How much of that is the truth, and how much of that is just my own limitation?”
Turns out, it was the latter. So he made changes. Now at age 62, Herjavec’s sitting at 13% body fat, and feels better than ever.
“I feel like we’ve reversed my age,” he adds. “It’s really inspiring to me, because if I can do this in an area that I didn’t think I could get to, what else can I do in life?”
He shares that his drive is deeply personal. Herjavec is the father of 7-year-old twins. And as they continue to grow up way too fast, Herjavec is making sure he doesn’t become the elderly dad who can’t keep up with his kids.
“I’m not afraid of getting older. I’m afraid of becoming old in their eyes,” he says.
And his efforts show up in real life. Recently, he posted a video on his Instagram wakesurfing with his kids, cutting across the water like someone decades younger.
Inside Robert Herjavec’s Life-Changing Health and Fitness Transformation
Robert Herjavec made major shifts in four core areas of his health: cardio, weight training, diet, and sleep. He started intermittent fasting, often going from Sunday dinner to Tuesday lunch without food. “Fasting makes my mind clearer and sharper,” he says, though admits, “by the end of the fast, I am a little irritable.”
He also cut back significantly on alcohol. While his life involves plenty of social dinners and events, he doesn’t let that dictate his choices anymore. He makes smart adjustments, like skipping appetizers and desserts, and only eats if he’s actually hungry and not because he enjoys the social aspect of ordering food.
Additionally, he traded his old “I’ll-sleep-when-I’m-dead” mentality for deep, prioritized rest, because without adequate recovery, he wouldn’t be able to perform at a level that he wants to.
Yet his biggest shift was around exercise. For years, Herjavec leaned on cardio. He could run for days, smash SoulCycle classes, and effortlessly grind out five-mile runs. But weight training was not his thing. He avoided them.
In September last year, however, he hired a trainer and attacked the one blind spot he’d always danced around: strength training. He keeps at it, not because he loves it, but because he sees how far consistent small steps can take him.
“People want fast results. But I’ll take consistency over discipline all day long,” Herjavec noted.
His physical transformation showed results within just eight weeks, but the mental recalibration has been the bigger win. He’s set a non-negotiable to go no more than one day without training.
Even with his brutal travel schedule, he finds a way. Whether it’s bodyweight workouts, running, push-ups or pull-ups when there’s no gym in sight, consistency never fails him.
Next Challenge for Robert Herjavec: Recovery
That level of push leaves the body craving recovery, and Herjavec says it’s his “biggest challenge right now.” While the Shark Tank star gets massages weekly, his eyes are now set on exploring what the latest tech can offer. He’s exploring modalities like red light, hyperbaric chambers, and PEMF.
However, some “biohacks” don’t seem to fit. He jokes that he still can’t stand the cold plunge and doesn’t have the patience for long sauna sessions.
“I get really bored sitting in a sauna for 20-25 minutes,” he admits.
He’s endlessly curious to find what else is out there that can help him continue to perform at a high level and recover more efficiently. From just our brief conversation it was easy to tell that Herjavec doesn’t stop at one finish line. He finds another.
“I’ve done the thing I thought I couldn’t do,” he says. “Now I’m looking around and thinking what else am I leaving on the table?”
