For country superstar Ashley Cook, fitness isn’t about chasing a number on a scale or building the thinnest body. It’s about feeling strong enough to command the stage, healthy enough to save lives on the road, and balanced enough to enjoy the ride.
As Cook prepares for another headlining tour, he enters the busiest period of his career feeling stronger than ever. Between sold-out shows, endless days of touring, media appearances and overnight bus rides, the singer has developed a fitness routine that combines strength training, pilates-inspired exercises, restorative habits and faith-based mindfulness.
The result is not only a body he’s proud of, but a sustainable lifestyle that allows him to perform at a high level while navigating the chaos of modern travel.
He was an athlete before he was an artist
Long before she stepped on stage, Cook was already building the foundation that would ultimately support her career.
“I’ve always been a really active person,” she says. “Before music was a thing, I was very into sports.”
Growing up in South Florida, she played volleyball, ran and spent much of her free time outdoors. With a father who loved sports and encouraged competition in the backyard, Cook embraced the athletic lifestyle early on.
“My dad was a big football player,” he says, “so he would come home from work and want to throw the ball around the yard. I was always an athletic kid.”
This active training eventually turned into weight training in high school. As she learned how to lift and build strength, she noticed changes not only in her performance, but in her body.
These lessons would prove invaluable when traveling became his full-time job.
Why Solidcore changed everything
While traditional weightlifting Cook says it remains a major part of her routine, saying she found her fitness sweet spot when she discovered Pilates and its modification-based approach. Solidcore training. The appeal was not only the exercise itself, but the feeling afterwards.
“I’ve always had this sore feeling after wakeboarding,” says Cook. “You know that first day back in the water after winter when your whole back and body hurts the next day? There’s nothing like it.”
Then he tried Solidcore.
“I got the same pain in a completely different way than I did with weightlifting,” he says.
Today, her approach combines both disciplines.
“I kind of mixed weightlifting and Solidcore and it gave me my favorite workout ever.”
Most importantly, she feels 100% better.
“There was a time when I was trying to lift heavy and drink all the protein and do everything,” Cook said. “It just didn’t necessarily fit my body.”
Instead, Cook found success combining resistance training with Pilates, movement work, yoga, and mindfulness practices.
“I think there’s a perfect combo where weightlifting meets yoga, Pilates, and mindfulness. For me personally, that’s what creates the lean, muscular structure that I love.”
Keeping fit while traveling is not easy
Ask any traveling artist about maintaining healthy habits on the road, and you’ll likely hear the same answer: consistency is hard.
Cook knows this problem firsthand.
“When you get off the bus, you don’t know where you are,” she says. “So you have to find out where the nearest gym is, buy a day pass and hope it has the equipment you need.”
But one experience showed him what life can be like with the right support system. While opening for Luke Bryan, Cook had access to the superstar’s mobile trainer.
“Every day we would wake up and train together. We would do team lifts in the parking lot of the venue. It was a game changer.”
It’s a model he hopes to recreate one day as his tours continue to grow.
“My dream is to eventually get a trainer and let my killers use them like Luke.”
Until then, preparation remains her secret weapon. Before coming to town, she researches local studios and fitness options, often booking classes ahead of time.
“If there’s a Solidcore, Pilates, or CycleBar class nearby, I try to schedule it before I get there.”
Fuel performance with simplicity
When your office changes cities every night, feeding becomes another challenge. For Cook, food preparation was the answer.
“I’m very into cooking,” she says.
Back home in Nashville, she relies on prepared meals that make it easier to track her food intake and eliminate the guesswork that often comes with traveling.
Recently, she also resumed tracking her consumption MyFitnessPal.
Instead of focusing on each ingredient, she focuses on compatibility and having reliable options.
“When you’re on the road, it’s good to know what you’re getting.” This strategy also applies to restaurant chains. “I have my standard orders. I know exactly what I’m going to get at Chipotle. I know exactly what I’m going to get at Chick-fil-A.”
Having these familiar options allows him to match his goals no matter where the tour bus stops.
He has swapped coffee for Matcha. And he is surprisingly serious about it
Like many touring musicians, Cook once relied on coffee to get through early flights and long days on the road. However, recently he changed.
“I’m off the coffee bandwagon now,” he says. “I’ve been more into matcha lately.”
And don’t expect a sugary coffee shop.
Cook’s recipe is surprisingly simple: Matcha Matcha, extra ice, almond milk, and no sweetener.
“I don’t like sweets of any kind,” she says with a laugh. “I really like grass and milk.”
The minimalist approach extends to her refrigerator at home, which she admits surprises fans. While she describes herself as disorganized by nature, one thing is carefully maintained: her drinks rack.
“The whole top line is just drinks,” he says. “It’s all color coordinated.”
The ingredients include water, seltzers, stationery and many products from his favorite fresh coffee company, Seek. For someone whose schedule is anything but predictable, those little rituals have become established habits amid the constant hustle and bustle of the travel life.
Strong, not small
Perhaps the most refreshing part of Cook’s health philosophy is his perspective on body image. Instead of chasing unrealistic standards, she focuses on strength, performance and longevity.
She points to actresses and fitness advocates who take inspiration rather than thinness.
“I think there’s something really powerful about being strong,” she says.
For an artist who spends countless nights under bright lights and in front of thousands of people, this mindset isn’t always easy to maintain. But Cook learned that confidence comes from ability.
Whether he’s crushing a Solidcore session, navigating another tour stop, or commanding the stage in front of thousands of fans, his goal remains the same: feel strong enough to tackle whatever comes next.
And judging by the pace he’s taking into this next chapter, he’s doing just that.
