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The Independent
22-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
Pope Leo's impressive gym routine revealed by ex-personal trainer
From the hallowed halls of the Vatican to the weight racks of a Roman gym, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, has followed an unconventional path to the papacy. For two years, Prevost, appointed in 2023 to oversee bishop nominations, frequented the Omega gym in Rome's upscale Prati district, alongside priests, nuns, and local residents. The gym's owner, Francesco Tamburlani, recalled the moment he learned of Prevost's elevation. "When the name of the pope was announced, my phone rings and my son tells me, 'Dad, it's Robert! Robert, our member!'" Tamburlani recounted, noting the eruption of cheers from his staff. "This moved us, filled us with joy." Prevost, 69, maintained a rigorous workout regimen, surprising his personal trainer, Valerio Masella, with his stamina. Their sessions, two or three times a week, lasted up to an hour and involved a workout plan typically designed for men aged 50-55. So, how much does the pope bench? Masella can't speak to his papal power, since Prevost was focused on posture and cardiovascular capacity. He ran on his favorite treadmill that faces a mural featuring famous local landmarks, among them St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. 'We would start off slow and then go pretty strong, I must say. Especially a lot of resistance on the exercise bike, a very strong climb,' Masella said. Throughout their two-year training, Masella never knew Prevost was a cardinal, nor did he hear him utter a discouraging word. 'I don't think I've ever heard him make a comment about anything that wasn't positive. He was always positive about everything -- the weather, the city, the people, also for me, he said he liked the gym.' A Vatican spokesperson didn't reply when asked for comment. A sporting pope isn't new. Pope John Paul II, who was elected at the age of 58, was an avid skier and mountain trekker. Chicago-born Prevost's game is tennis. On May 15, he met top-ranked player Jannik Sinner, who gave him a racket and offered to play during an off day at the Italian Open. Leo had said earlier in the week that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist. After Prevost took over the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops in 2023, he said in an interview with the Augustinian Order that his new job had left him little free time to practice his game. While the Mediterranean climate makes tennis possible year-round, the papacy will likely leave him even fewer chances to step onto a court. Tamburlani, the Omega owner, says the Holy Father is welcome back any time he wants to squeeze in a workout. After all, his membership's still active. 'This would make us so happy,' he said. 'We would organize our gym to guarantee his safety and his privacy. We would just need a sign.'
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
At the gym, the future Pope Leo XIV kept a high heart rate and a low profile
ROME (AP) — The Omega gym in Rome has long been frequented by residents of the up-market Prati district, as well as priests, nuns and monsignors from the nearby Vatican City. And also, to the delight of gym staff, the man who would become pope. Robert Prevost came to the Vatican from Peru in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world. Cardinal Prevost broke a sweat at Omega for two years until, earlier this month, he was elected Pope Leo XIV. 'When the name of the pope was announced, my phone rings and my son tells me, 'Dad, it's Robert! Robert, our member!'' Francesco Tamburlani, the owner of the gym, said in an interview. 'I heard the gym staff behind him cheering. ... This moved us, filled us with joy.' A typical workout for someone of Prevost's age, 69, was a mere warm-up for the little-known American cardinal, according to Valerio Masella, his personal trainer. Although it is hard to define an age group for personalized programs, Prevost's plan was more befitting of men aged 50-55. Masella would train him two or three times a week in sessions lasting up to an hour. So, how much does the pope bench? Masella can't speak to his papal power, since Prevost was focused on posture and cardiovascular capacity. He ran on his favorite treadmill that faces a mural featuring famous local landmarks, among them St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. 'We would start off slow and then go pretty strong, I must say. Especially a lot of resistance on the exercise bike, a very strong climb,' Masella said. Throughout their two-year training, Masella never knew Prevost was a cardinal, nor did he hear him utter a discouraging word. 'I don't think I've ever heard him make a comment about anything that wasn't positive. He was always positive about everything -- the weather, the city, the people, also for me, he said he liked the gym.' A Vatican spokesperson didn't reply when asked for comment. A sporting pope isn't new. Pope John Paul II, who was elected at the age of 58, was an avid skier and mountain trekker. Chicago-born Prevost's game is tennis. On May 15, he met top-ranked player Jannik Sinner, who gave him a racket and offered to play during an off day at the Italian Open. Leo had said earlier in the week that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist. After Prevost took over the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops in 2023, he said in an interview with the Augustinian Order that his new job had left him little free time to practice his game. While the Mediterranean climate makes tennis possible year-round, the papacy will likely leave him even fewer chances to step onto a court. Tamburlani, the Omega owner, says the Holy Father is welcome back any time he wants to squeeze in a workout. After all, his membership's still active. 'This would make us so happy,' he said. 'We would organize our gym to guarantee his safety and his privacy. We would just need a sign.'
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Inside the Roman gym where the future pope kept a high heart rate and a low profile
The Omega gym in Rome has long been frequented by residents of the up-market Prati district, as well as priests, nuns and monsignors from the nearby Vatican City. And also, to the delight of gym staff, the man who would become pope. Robert Prevost came to the Vatican from Peru in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world. Cardinal Prevost broke a sweat at Omega for two years until, earlier this month, he was elected Pope Leo XIV. 'When the name of the pope was announced, my phone rings and my son tells me, ' Dad, it's Robert! Robert, our member!'' Francesco Tamburlani, the owner of the gym, said in an interview. 'I heard the gym staff behind him cheering. ... This moved us, filled us with joy.' A typical workout for someone of Prevost's age, 69, was a mere warm-up for the little-known American cardinal, according to Valerio Masella, his personal trainer. Although it is hard to define an age group for personalized programs, Prevost's plan was more befitting of men aged 50-55. Masella would train him two or three times a week in sessions lasting up to an hour. So, how much does the pope bench? Masella can't speak to his papal power, since Prevost was focused on posture and cardiovascular capacity. He ran on his favorite treadmill that faces a mural featuring famous local landmarks, among them St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. 'We would start off slow and then go pretty strong, I must say. Especially a lot of resistance on the exercise bike, a very strong climb,' Masella said. Throughout their two-year training, Masella never knew Prevost was a cardinal, nor did he hear him utter a discouraging word. 'I don't think I've ever heard him make a comment about anything that wasn't positive. He was always positive about everything -- the weather, the city, the people, also for me, he said he liked the gym.' A Vatican spokesperson didn't reply when asked for comment. A sporting pope isn't new. Pope John Paul II, who was elected at the age of 58, was an avid skier and mountain trekker. Chicago-born Prevost's game is tennis. On May 15, he met top-ranked player Jannik Sinner, who gave him a racket and offered to play during an off day at the Italian Open. Leo had said earlier in the week that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist. After Prevost took over the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops in 2023, he said in an interview with the Augustinian Order that his new job had left him little free time to practice his game. While the Mediterranean climate makes tennis possible year-round, the papacy will likely leave him even fewer chances to step onto a court. Tamburlani, the Omega owner, says the Holy Father is welcome back any time he wants to squeeze in a workout. After all, his membership's still active. 'This would make us so happy,' he said. 'We would organize our gym to guarantee his safety and his privacy. We would just need a sign.'
Times
18-05-2025
- Health
- Times
‘I tried Pope Leo XIV's fitness routine — he's Mass-fit'
The weights machine that builds your pectorals at the Omega gym next to the Vatican is a tough work-out when you are pulling 25kg with each arm. Do it 40 times (with pauses) as Pope Leo did two or three times a week before his election, and you are in good shape. 'For a man of 69, he was surprisingly fit — you could see he exercised,' said Valerio Masella, an instructor at the gym who put Leo through his paces and offered this week to give me the papal workout — or to put it another way, to show me how to pump iron like a Pope. Since he was named the world's first American pontiff and took the name Leo XIV, thousands of
CNN
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Pope Leo's personal trainer reveals shock at learning client became next pontiff
An Italian personal trainer has spoken of his shock after learning his client for two years had been elected to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics as Pope. 'Here in the gym, no one knew that Robert, now Leo XIV, was a cardinal, least of all me who trained him,' Valerio Masella, 26, told the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. The Pope, then Cardinal Robert Prevost, trained regularly in the gym near the Vatican, Il Messaggero reported, often working out multiple times a week. Masella had suspected the reserved 'Robert' from the gym was a professor or an academic. The clergyman certainly wasn't turning up for a session dressed in his cardinal cassock, the trainer explained. 'He came in informal clothes. However, he was always kind, never nervous or irritated. A truly serene and balanced person,' Masella said. It wasn't until Prevost stepped out on the balcony of Basilica as Pope Leo XIV that the penny dropped. 'Seeing him on TV, I recognized him immediately. I couldn't believe it,' Masella said. 'Basically, I trained the future pontiff: it's incredible, but for me, he was a client like any other, and he behaved like all the clients of this gym,' he added. As for his physical condition? 'For a man of his age…exceptional,' Masella told the Italian paper. 'Typical of someone who has never stopped playing sports, with an excellent ratio of muscle mass, bone mass, and fat mass.' The gym's president and founder, Alessandro Tamburlani, described his excitement upon discovering he already knew the new pontiff, in a separate interview with the Catholic News Agency. 'My joy was doubled or tripled. Joy to finally have a new Holy Father after the obligatory period of mourning we went through. And joy also to know that he's a good person and, moreover, someone we all already knew here at the gym,' Tamburlani, founder of the Omega Fitness Club in central Rome said. The gym founder added that Pope Leo's healthy lifestyle sets a good example for all, and praised his ability to combine 'spirituality and sports training.' A known lover of tennis, Pope Leo XIV met with the world No. 1 Jannik Sinner earlier this week. The Italian tennis star gifted the pontiff a racket, which he might put to use on the Vatican's own tennis court. The Chicago native is also a proud supporter of the White Sox baseball team, the Pope's brother John Prevost revealed in an interview with CNN.
