“Quarantine Kit” features interviews with our favorite actors, musicians, chefs, athletes, and artists about their personal methods for killing time, staying fit, and keeping social distance during isolation.
Matt Heafy is lead singer and guitarist for the Grammy-nominated rock act Trivium. The band recently released their highly-anticipated album What The Dead Men Say, produced by Josh Wilbur, and planned on a massive North American tour this summer, now postponed. Despite Heafy’s comfort performing in-front of thousands of fans, he also enjoys the slow pace of life quarantine demands. We caught up with him over the phone from his home in Florida this week to chat about how he’s been spending time.
“Being on the road as often as I am I have gotten used to building my own schedule,” says Heafy. “The typical rock musician workday is 90 minutes tops, so there is a lot of dead time, which is why a lot of guys get into bad habits. On the other side, if you are smart and regimented, you can make your day into anything you want.”
STAYING TONED: Standing Pull-Up Bar (check online here)
So usually when I am not confined in my house, I do jiu-jitsu four times a week, yoga two times a week, and then weights about twice a week. I remember one day I was flying back from Europe and I saw Creed during the trip. I saw the kind of shape that Michael B. Jordan got into and was inspired to hit the gym even more. I started thinking about what I was never really that good at. I was never too big on pull-ups, so I bought a standing pull-up bar and make sure that I do sets of ten all day.
The circuit that I usually do is ten pull-ups, ten push-ups, ten kettlebell deadlifts, ten squats, ten calf raises, ten superman, and ten leg lifts. I also do Ashtanga yoga, the bottom series on Tuesday and the top series on Thursday. I do a lot with my wife as well, who has been trying to get back into training after having the kids.
STAYING ENTERTAINED: Chernobyl (watch on HBO here)
In the past, my wife and I really tried to watch only happy television shows and movies, but since the world has changed the way it has, we have since shifted our tune to watching programs like Tiger King and Chernobyl. Before we had been flying through shows like 30 Rock and Parks & Rec. Those shows are great because they allow you to truly disconnect and shut off your brain fully. But we are also liking the darker shows now because they allow us to put things into perspective. I mean at least things aren’t that bad.
I think what made it even more intense while watching the first episode of Chernobyl was the fact that it kind of plays like how I feel like this current pandemic is playing out. A bunch of people in power trying to downplay what is really going on. I was watching the last episode and thinking that at least I wasn’t living through them.
STAYING CREATIVE: Twitch
It’s tough that we had to cancel our tour. That is really killing me. But at least we get to communicate with people online for free, and I am still streaming on my Twitch pretty much every day. I am usually doing a lot of Trivium play-throughs for the fans and then I will also do covers that come in as requests. I even have played through some of the albums, as a way to make up some of the dates that we canceled. I am a high anxiety person, but it is calmed by knowing that I have a lot to do. That is why I like holding myself accountable for a schedule.
STAYING PLUGGED IN: Overwatch
Overwatch is my favorite game right now. That was the first one that I started streaming, I jumped into Fortnite for a little bit, but I found that the skill gap just became too much. There are 12-year-olds who are just gaming all day that are better than the pros. So Overwatch is still my go-to, and I’m better at it than anything else too. I really enjoy the Battle Royales. And this one I can play after taking a break, and still manage to stay competitive. I play games towards the end of the day, once I am done with playing songs for the fans. I usually end up playing with people from the channel, set up some 6×6 matches, and get going.
STAYING HEALTHY: Peloton
I recently got a Peloton, and to be able to bike on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is really great. I think for those people who are able to manage their schedules, figuring out what you can do from home is really helpful, and can be applied once we all move past the quarantine life.
Check out Trivium’s new album “What The Dead Men Say” here.
Source: https://uproxx.com/life/trivium-matt-heafy-quarantine/