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How The Bachelor Alum Matt James Convinced Me to Try Running

The Dancing With the Stars contestant talked to E! about training for the New York Marathon, his Bachelor workout buddies, and his partnership with Bulletproof.

By Marenah Dobin Sep 20, 2021 10:45 PMTags
Ecomm: Matt James runningABC/Craig Sjodin

We interviewed Matt James because we think you'll like his picks. Some of the products shown are from Bulletproof, a brand he is paid to endorse. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!.

If you follow Matt James on Instagram, watched him on The Bachelor, or if you've been following his journey on Dancing With the Stars, you know that health and fitness are top priorities in his life. In addition to prepping his dance routines for the current DWTS season, Matt has been training for the 2021 New York City Marathon, which is on Nov. 7.

If you're going to take advice from anyone on how to work out, what to eat, and getting in the best mindset to succeed (in general), it's Matt James. Truth be told, I went into our interview as a fan of The Bachelor, who masked being intimidated by running with faux disdain for the sport. After talking with Matt, I felt empowered to try something new. Matt persuaded me to try running. Just to emphasize how outrageous this is actually is, I am someone who only ran in high school gym class if I was able to put the TV on E! or Bravo in front of a treadmill. 

In short, I realized that we all need a friend who's as encouraging as Matt James, but, beyond that, Matt talked to E! News about training for the marathon, his partnership with Bulletproof Coffee, his morning smoothie recipe, his workout essentials, and even the fellow Bachelor Nation alums that he counts on for a good workout (by the way, Tyler Cameron isn't the only one).

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Bachelor Nation's Matt James Reveals His Fitness Must-Haves for Summer

E!: Tell me about preparing for the marathon. I'm not nearly as athletic as you and I just can't imagine doing this. I feel like that's an everyday effort.
MJ: Actually, the point you just made about being athletic, I get where you're coming from, but hear me out. I don't know if you've had a chance to go to a marathon, but the first marathon I went to was the one that I ran, and that was two years ago in Chicago. And, I realized there is no 'perfect' runner. Honestly, a runner looks like everybody else. Everyone who ran the marathon didn't look like they had been sculpted to run marathons, you know. It was the elderly, it was younger men and women, it was older men, every body type. Every type of person that you think makes up the country was out and running.

When the actual marathon day comes and it's one of the coolest environments. There's so much energy everyone's cheering everybody on and it feels like everyone's on the same team and looks like everybody. You look like someone that passed me a couple times. I'm dead serious. Yes, it seems daunting for someone who hasn't done it, but if you go out there and put the miles in, it's the training that is the hardest part. Running the actual race is fun because you've got everyone encouraging you telling you "go" and "you got it." You can do this.

E!: Have you changed anything about your diet or workouts in preparation for the race?
MJ: As long as my diet is in order, everything else kind of falls in line. My diet has changed for the better. I'm a big smoothie guy. I have smoothies every single morning. I feel like I did it out of convenience at first and I like the way they taste, obviously, but then it's just an easy way to get all my nutrients. It's kind of gimmicky at first honestly but when I found the Bulletproof Complete Daily Energy Protein that I put in my shake it become a game changer. There are a million different proteins out there, you can just find the best one for you. For me, I just know how many options there are out there. I just need something that is easy and once I find something I like I'm going to stick with it. 

E! Are you training with anybody? Or are you doing your own regimen to prepare?
I've been using Andi Dorfman's running app, Andorfins

I'm not in a city enough to join a running group or club and commit to that training with them. Through her app, I can do it at my own leisure, and wherever I'm at California, Florida, New York, like I just follow my training on her app, and it's been great, just because I know Andi and it's fun seeing her give instructions on what we should be doing. And it's cool cool because usually I do it with Tyler, but we're kind of on different schedules right now.

For me it's all about the platforms and the people who focus on community. You want to be a part of something. And even when I'm training on on the app, I feel that I am a part of that community, because it's been a very fun training regimen, and the workouts that she's curated are great, and it keeps me honest with myself.

Keep on scrolling to see some of Matt's marathon must-haves along with his Bulletproof smoothie recipe.

Lululemon Surge Lined Short 6'

"I mean my whole wardrobe is athleisure. I just think if it doesn't stretch, then I don't want to wear it," Matt told E!, "If you came into my closet right now, you'd see that my wardrobe is 90% Lululemon, whether it's the pants the shirt, the hat. It's the highest quality."

Canned Black Cold Brew Coffee, Unsweetened- 12 Pack

Matt explained, "The strict part of my training, what I'm putting into my body. A lot of people don't realize what they're eating and what they're putting into their body sets them back, and they're not going to hit their goals, if their body doesn't have the energy. So you just got to find clean healthy ways to do it like, there's a, there's a Bulletproof Coffee that has their cold brew, the black has 200 milligrams of caffeine. I get my workouts done, and there's no crash, for me at least, and I think a lot of that plays into like I'm eating and what I'm putting in my body."

Bulletproof Complete Daily Energy Collagen Protein- Dark Chocolate

Matt revealed, "Literally every single day I have the same thing for breakfast, blueberries, bananas, chocolate  almond milk, the Bulletproof Complete Energy, and peanut butter. Every single morning, the same thing, and I don't get tired because I love the way it tastes."

Bigox Face Mask Disposable Earloop Blue 50Pcs

Matt shared, "To be honest with you, I like the surgical masks to work out. I'll just throw one of those on. I know a lot of people spend money on expensive workout masks, but for me the most basic thing just works. And, I'm honestly the most comfortable in it."

Powerbeats Pro Wireless Earbuds

"You're gonna make me sound goofy but I won't work out unless I have wireless headphones," Matt said. He explained, "I won't work out without music and not the gym music. I need my music. I have my Beats wireless headphones. The audio is really crisp on these. So I'll take phone calls, sometimes when I'm on my runs to catch up with my mom or family, whatever. And then, yeah, just, I gotta have my own music, but if I'm walking on the treadmill or on the exercise bike, not a Peloton and I'll just, I'll have my headphones in watching a movie."

Hoka One Men's Bondi 7

"I have to find shoes that are slim because my foot is slim and the way that I strike the ground is kind of aggressive because I'm a bigger human. I need a shoe that has cushion on it. I run Hokas. I run in the Bondis and the Cliftons. It's like walking through the clouds after running in these it's kind of hard to go back to other shoes," the DWTS contestant said. 

Fellow Bachelor alum Tayshia Adams recently included Hoka One sneakers as her "favorite running showers" in her summer essentials roundup.

Crocs Unisex-Adult Men's and Women's Classic Clog

Matt admitted, "I'm such a comfort guy now. I used to be such a sneaker head. Now, you can often find me in a comfortable pair of Crocs. You can do everything in Crocs. There's a race back home in Raleigh, where you have to wear crocs to run the race and people run sub-five-minute miles in these Crocs. You can literally do anything in a pair of Crocs."

The interview went from Matt sharing his health and fitness insights to Matt becoming my biggest hype man, encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. He advised, "If you stick with it for three weeks, and not just the exercising part but the eating. Really, I'm guaranteeing that you and anyone else will see results."

Matt said, "I'm gonna check in on you. I challenge you to go to New York Marathon this year as a spectator because I want you to see that runners look like everybody. You're going to see runners that look like yourself, you'll see your mom, you'll see your uncle. I promise everyone there looks like someone you now. It's not one type of person running these marathons. And when you're there and feel that energy, I'm telling you that you're gonna love it. It's gonna inspire you, maybe not to sign up for a marathon, but maybe a half, maybe 5K And like, there's a bunch of fun groups that you can join in the city or there could be something in your neighborhood. I'm sure of it. And it's a welcoming community. People just want to promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy living and one way to do it is to run."

He concluded the impromptu pep talk with, "I don't want you to be intimidated. You got this." Well, I guess I have plans on November 7 (as a spectator, obviously). See you there, Matt.

Courtesy of Matt James

If you're looking for more self-care insights, just turn to Jennifer Aniston for inspiration.

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