How Linkin Park Is Keeping Healthy and Fit On Their First Tour In Nearly a Decade

LINKIN PARK HAS long made generations of rock fans feel understood globally. The group, which combines catchy melodic choruses, nu-metal, and rap, has resonated strongly for decades now, with their beloved albums Hybrid Theory and Meteora among the many that remain popular as ever with music fans (and people getting a pump on at the gym) to this day.

While Linkin Park has remained relevant since their debut album was released back in 2000, 2025 marks an important time for the group: Last year, they released a brand new hit album called From Zero that landed with both fans and critics alike, and helped to establish the band’s new lead singer, Emily Armstrong. Now, they’re in the midst of their first world tour since original lead vocalist Chester Bennington died in July 2017.

With Armstong, who also fronts the band Dead Sara, at the helm, the Agoura Hills, California band is entering a new era—and both establishing some new classics, and putting some new spins on old favorite songs.

“I’ve been preparing for this so long that I should be comfortable by now, but there’s definitely growing pains,” Armstrong tells Men’s Health. “I have to fill something, and not much is asked of me but to be myself.”

But on top of the music itself, touring is no easy task; performing every night takes all sorts of feats of physical endurance, and keeping yourself mentally clear throughout a prolonged period of time takes lots of practice and work as well. With Linkin Park’s 2025 tour now fully underway, Men’s Health got the inside scoop on how they’re keeping fit, healthy, and sane in their grand return to the road.

Emily Armstrong

“I try to balance that cardio with weight work so I’m not completely exhausting myself,” Linkin Park’s new lead vocalist, Emily Armstrong, says, adding that she typically will work out at the band’s hotel, and nap during the day so she’s ready to go by night. “It depends on how my body feels—if I’m dehydrated, I try to stay away from it and hydrate as much as possible—and what the shows are looking like, especially with accounting jet lag.”

Performing nightly puts a strain on Armstrong’s powerful vocals, leading her to follow the GERD diet; this means she mainly sticks to lean meats, healthy fats, and vegetables, which helps to prevent acid reflux. Keeping with this, she’s recently cut out spicy foods, coffee, and pizza, and has been happy with the results.

“It’s going to help keep you feeling balanced, and help your body recover from all the stress,” she says. The singer credits keeping up with her own health for helping cope with the stress of touring; this also involves taking supplements like Magnesium, and not drinking or going out while on tour.

Armstrong recommends looking at one’s body “like an athlete.” She says that she tries to stay away from long workouts if she’s dehydrated or jet-lagged, and keeps it in the back of her mind that performing a show in and of itself can serve as a cardio workout.

She also likes to keep her mind clear with a custom-made “random” playlist that she listens to before every performance. This includes The 1975, Dominic Fike, and Radiohead, but lately she’s had “Always Take The Weather With You” by Crowded House stuck in her head—a song she’s often singing along to. But the music that picks her up sometimes even comes from places you wouldn’t expect, either.

“Sometimes I’m emotional and I want to listen to more sad dad rock,” she says. “It’s so good, and you’re still getting in the mood.”

Mike Shinoda

At 48, Mike Shinoda—the band’s co-founder, co-lead vocalist (and rapper), songwriter, producer, and assorted instrumentalist—wanted to focus on maintaining his energy and stamina for the band’s first tour in nearly a decade.

“I don’t love cardio, because I grew up with asthma, and had a lot of bad experiences with it,” he says. “So I had to put cardio in my schedule as a non-negotiable and find ways to enjoy it.” To make this work, Shinoda switches between low-impact cardio, a circuit training class (which he laughs as he mentions are “full of younger people who are way fitter than me”) and the “occasional” walk or run. Like the rest of us, Shinoda indulges in watching Netflix while on a Peloton when he does not feel like leaving the house.

When it comes time for his gym routine, anything goes musically, but the artists at the top of his workout playlist include Refused, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Sleep Token, Lil Yachty, and Tyler the Creator—but he also likes mixing in a good podcast, too. “The name is misleading in this context, but Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out is a favorite right now,” he says.

The band is on tour, after all, though. So Shinoda likes to find a way to keep his diet clean on show days, but take in all the special grub that each city has to offer otherwise. “I don’t have a big meal before a show,” he says. “On off days, I’m more likely to enjoy the local food in the amazing cities we get to visit.”

Dave Farrell

The band’s bassist, Dave Farrell, likes to engage in different activities to stay fit during the tour, such as playing soccer or golf, and taking on the occasional surf session. Long tours can take a physical toll on any body, so Farrell says that he likes to “be able to consistently and competently move my body to do the things I love” and views fitness as a “lifelong marathon, as opposed to a sprint.”

In addition to his love for sports and athletics, Farrell lifts weights in the gym and does HIIT training a few days a week, mixing in hikes with his dogs as recovery. The guitar player also uses fitness and recovery trackers, like an Apple Watch, to monitor his progress.

A good playlist also helps Farrell get through his toughest workouts.

“My gym playlists could be absolutely anything!… and sometimes nothing,” he says. “Some of the most grueling workouts I’ve ever done were in a group setting, and were intentionally quiet. I never realized how much motivation, and sometimes needed distraction, can come from music during a workout until I went through some grueling training without it.”

Below, you can watch the video for Linkin Park’s “Up From The Bottom.”