Trading Cover 2 defends creating a music playlist that now attracts nearly three million people every month Spotify listeners is quite an achievement for an artist who first picked up a guitar after football-related injuries kept him from playing the sport any longer.
Last year was a milestone year for Ross: after releasing his debut album, Later tonight, he reached number 1 on american country radio with ‘Single again’ and took home multiple CCMA awards – Canada’s version of the CMAs – including Entertainer of the Year. Now a veteran of major tours, he opens for Jelly Roll and before headlining his own tour Later tonight During his February tour, Ross will take the stage at Luke Bryan’s annual “Crash My Playa” in Mexico.
And the accolades keep coming: Ross was also recently named one of Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces of Country Music 2026. Not bad for a former college athlete who originally didn’t see music becoming his full-time gig. “I used to sing at parties or karaoke or whatever, but I didn’t take it seriously at first,” Ross admits. “It wasn’t the cool thing. Sports was the cool thing.”
Nowadays Josh Ross still has the drive of an athlete, but he’s adapted that intensity for a new purpose. Success in the studio and on stage has forced him to make some sporting sacrifices for the sake of his long-term career. An avid BMX fan, Ross admits he is more risk averse for the safety of his career and his body. “I have two bikes, but I don’t ride them. That wouldn’t be good,” he says.
That trade-off doesn’t mean Ross has let go of his football mentality. The gym remains something of a second home, but his training goals have now shifted from performance on the field to the podium. Singing hits for ninety minutes takes priority over slamming receivers into the ground, and this reality means fewer power cleans and more cardio to stay strong during a demanding year-long tour.
“With music, just like with football, you throw down what is in front of you and keep running forward.”
Instead of hitting wide receivers, Josh Ross is now training to keep hitting the high notes
As a defensive back at Western University in Ontario from 2012 to 2016, Josh Ross relied on his speed to make an immediate and intimidating impact on opposing offenses.
“My thing was to go out there at the beginning of the game and hit someone as hard as I could,” Ross says. “Then they don’t want to come over and catch the ball again. That was always my tactic, whether it was smart or not.”
At 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, Ross says his athleticism came from an equal mix of speed and strength. He remembers being clocked in 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash. His weight room numbers were equally impressive: he weighed 225 pounds for 12 reps and had a power clean PR of 285 pounds.
He’s still proud of those numbers — and says he might try to match them one day — but a recent workout came with a sobering reminder of how much music has pulled him away from his former athletic peak.
“I went to London one morning and wanted to burn off some energy, and I started doing power cleansing and stuff like that,” he says. “The next morning I woke up and thought: I haven’t had this pain in my shoulders, lats and traps for so long. Every now and then I still feel like I can do it, but I definitely can’t.”
Instead of prioritizing explosive, dynamic, max-effort training like he did in football, Ross now follows a more traditional split-body routine. The simplicity helps these days, especially with the grueling travel schedule that comes with being a best-selling country artist. He takes a set of dumbbells with him on the road, but will tailor his workouts to whatever the property offers, whether it’s a fully equipped fitness center or a limited hotel gym.
“Now I just do back and biceps, shoulders and chest, and a leg day — those kinds of splits,” he explains. “Plus, I’ll mix in some core work and maybe a little cardio at the end.”
Although his job no longer requires him to travel 360 feet from sideline to sideline, Ross admits that touring more than 100 days a year requires a new kind of conditioning to keep hitting high notes without gasping for breath during the encore.
“The best way to train for singing is to sprint and then stop and sing a verse, and then sprint again and sing a verse,” he says. “Interval style training would translate well to this.”
Balancing fitness and band life on the road requires teamwork
No longer training for football, Ross sometimes finds balance away from the weight room and the stage. Sometimes that’s as simple as a little catch and release at a local pond. “If I have an hour to kill, I’ll try it out and see what’s there,” he says. Like other artists, Ross enjoys an occasional round of golf, although he admits mastering his swing is more difficult than music. “I wish I could say I was good at golf,” he says. “I’ll play. I’m not great, but I enjoy it.”
If there is one sport he would like to pursue after football, Ross says motocross – a passion passed down from his father – would still be at the top of the list. “If I could choose one sport in the world that I could have gone pro in, that would have been it.” Although the risk of injury now keeps him from cycling, he enjoys sharing his passion with like-minded band members. “I still watch Supercross on TV when we’re on the road or on the bus,” he says. “Some of the guys are super invested in it too, which is cool.”
Ross’ bond with the band goes beyond watching BMX videos. Becoming stronger together, he says, plays a role in stronger performances on the show. Ross makes a point of scheduling workouts, whether it’s a quick morning session before interviews or a late afternoon workout routine. “It’s been good to find routine along the way. I think that’s the hardest part about living in strange time zones and schedules.”
On most show days, Josh and his band try to get to a local gym together for a late morning or afternoon workout, focusing on body part-specific training. While it’s difficult to build huge muscles along the way, keeping everyone accountable creates camaraderie no matter where the tour takes them. “We try to find a local gym, get back around one or two o’clock and have sound check around three o’clock,” he says. ‘We’ll even run if we can.
Due to the unpredictability of tour life, Ross says, self-discipline becomes one of the keys to staying in top shape all year round, making nutrition a crucial component as well. When traveling, he focuses on protein-rich meals and keeps ready-made options on the bus to avoid late-night fast food stops. Protein shakes and bars help keep him fueled and healthy on the go.
“I try to be aware of my protein intake and use ready-made meals, for example Factor meals, on the bus. When the boys stop for McDonald’s at 2 a.m., I pull out one of those meals instead.
Football injuries turn into country music fame
Football played an important role in Josh Ross’ life, but back-to-back ligament tears in his right ankle required reconstructive surgery and two separate rehabilitation periods. The time away forced Ross to come to the necessary realization that the sport was only a temporary part of his personal evolution.
“It’s a long process – four to eight months – and it was very frustrating to come back, but on the second day I was back on the field the same thing happened again. Then it’s like: okay, reset and another six months of rehabilitation. I’ve lost my love for it.”
Those injuries eventually shifted his passion from zone coverage to covering tunes on stage. As he gradually moved away from football, Ross turned to music as a new outlet, teaching himself guitar and even a bit of piano through YouTube tutorials.
Growing up in Ontario, Ross first experimented with lyrics by keeping a diary of everyday life – a habit that eventually led to his first attempts at songwriting, including his college song “Cheap Red Wine.” “They were terrible,” he admits, laughing. “At the time I thought it was probably the best song ever. Then you are humiliated very quickly.”
Although he retired from football, Ross found that success in music required the same ruthless mentality: “Football taught me that if you want something, you have to grind.” Some words of wisdom from his head coach, Greg Marshall, also assured him he was on the right track. “He told me if you’re not fully involved [football]“Just don’t do it,” Ross recalls. ‘There’s so much more you can do.’
In 2019, Ross was living in Nashville full-time and all the hard work was starting to pay off. He again relied on teamwork – this time with groups of writers – and soon the hits started coming. In 2022, his single “First Taste of Gone” gave him his first taste of national recognition. That year he was nominated for a Rising Star at the Canadian Country Music Awards and performed at the Gray Cup halftime show.
Two years later, Ross officially achieved breakout status. He followed up the success of ‘Single Again’ with the popular ‘Hate How You Look’, which set the stage for the first leg of his Later tonight tour, which kicks off on February 6 in New Brunswick, Canada.
“The last two years have been especially good for me; I definitely feel like I’m on the right track. Between the special venues, awards and my first number one on US country radio, there have been a lot of wins, and I’m very grateful for them all.”
#Josh #Ross #continues #training #type #game #day #Muscle #fitness