MÖTLEY CRÜE's NIKKI SIXX Is 'Training Like Crazy' For Upcoming Tour

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx says that he is "training like crazy" in preparation for the opening night of the band's upcoming "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS.

"The Stadium Tour" will kick off on June 18 in Jacksonville, Florida and will mark CRÜE's first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. The band toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.

Asked in a new interview with Westlake Magazine & West Luxury Magazine how he is getting ready for the upcoming trek, Sixx said: "I train like crazy for tours. You don't want to step onstage and not have double the stamina as the length of the show. I do fasted cardio, weight training and HIIT (high intensity interval training). I eat 2,250 calories a day. And then, of course, there is building stamina around my bass playing. I've got to be ready to go fast and hard for 90 to 120 minutes while jumping around like a madman and singing background vocals. You don't just wing rock 'n' roll. It's a sport."

Sixx's latest comments echo those made by MÖTLEY CRÜE manager Allen Kovac, who revealed in a recent interview with Fox Business that "some of" the members of the band were working with trainers and nutritionists to get in shape for the upcoming reunion tour. Kovac was referring to criticism of singer Vince Neil for his supposed diminished singing ability and weight gain, as well as the health status of guitarist Mick Mars, who has been dealing with a chronic form of arthritis that led him to undergo a hip replacement.

Kovac explained: "Some of them are working with a trainer, some of them are working with a nutritionist to make themselves the best they can be. The greatest insecurity for an artist is: Is anyone going to care about my music? Is anyone going to buy a ticket? We were in November when the discussions were happening, and these guys were already into regimens of how they get ready for a tour."

Speaking specifically about Neil, Kovac added: "Let's see what Vince sings like and looks like when the tour goes out."

This past December, Vince told "Extra" that "there's a lot of sacrifice" involved in getting ready for a tour of this magnitude. 'You have to do everything that you have to do — because from running around clubs to running around theaters to running around arenas to running around stadiums, there's a whole big difference," he said. "You've gotta be ready for it."

During a 2014 interview with SouthFlorida.com, Neil was asked if he has a daily regimen to stay in shape while on the road. "You're running for two hours on stage every night. That pretty much keeps you in shape," he replied. "It is a regimen. Usually on the day of the concert, I'll get to the [venue] around 4 p.m. We always have a meet-and-greet at 5:30 p.m. Then I go relax on my bus until 8 p.m. I get dressed and I'm onstage at 9. That's the way it is every day."

In a 2011 interview with the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner, Vince talked about the differences between singing for two hours on stage every night and athletes and ordinary people running 26.2 miles for two hours. "Yeah, it's two different kind of marathons," he said. "I use a pedometer, and I run just about 10-12 miles a night. It's different, though. One thing that's different is you're singing. And you do stop and talk to the crowd. But what these athletes do, it's amazing."