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Power Crunch gets expert feedback on a different workout routine every week. This week, Jacob Hoggard, lead singer of Hedley, shares his exercise regimen.

Jacob Hoggard, 23, has to be in shape for Hedley's demanding 90-minute live shows. He rips up the roads around his home in Abbotsford, B.C. He's been in the band since 2005.

My Goal

"To eventually compete in an Ironman [triathlon] seems like the most difficult thing I could ever do."

My Workout

When he's not on tour, Mr. Hoggard does one intense triathlon-style workout a day:

Swim one kilometre.

Either a four-kilometre run or quick sprints up Eagle Mountain, where he lives. "I'll just go up 200 metres and then walk down. And then do it again. You go five times, 10 times if you're feeling lucky. By the end, your legs will just give out from underneath you."

Barrelling up and down the hills of Eagle Mountain on his bike, or doing four-hour distance rides along Zero Avenue, on the Canada-United States border, to White Rock, B.C.

In addition he does hot yoga three times a week at an Abbotsford studio: "You curse it. You hate it. I'd be so angry because it would be so difficult, but wow, it's the most amazing feeling."

My Lifestyle

"When I'm not on tour I'll clean my house, and then I'll run or bike or swim or go do yoga and then go to the studio.

"When you're on tour, you finish a show at 11:30 p.m., go do an encore, do an autograph signing. You haven't finished work until 1 a.m. Go and relax on the bus for a couple hours. You need eight hours sleep so you're in bed until 12 p.m. Wake up to have a meal and then all of a sudden, it's 4 p.m. again.

"I learned really quick in this business you can't party every day. I don't drink any more on tour. It was taking too much out of me."

My Motivation

"I like to be able to keep up with my live show, which is very physically demanding. It's a full, complete workout of my legs and my lungs. I come off stage soaking wet and completely worn out. It's not uncommon for me to be sick after pushing myself so hard. I can't eat a meal before I play because it will just come back out. About two weeks into it, I'll start to really feel the strain of playing show after show after show. I always do everything 100 per cent. Once the ball starts rolling down the hill it's pretty hard to stop it."

My Workout Anthem

"I have the hardest time running, because I want to run as fast as I can. Matthew Good keeps me calm and then it's a nice, serene experience. When I'm cycling I like to listen to metal. Really heart-pounding metal."

My Challenges

"I'm Italian, so I try not to make a lot of pasta because it's carbs I don't need, but I can't help but struggle with that. One of the hardest things about being on tour is eating healthy because you don't know what to expect. Food provided by the venue is almost always ... pizza. At a truck stop in the middle of the night, it's hard to just get a pita and water every time."

The Critique

Make room for pasta

Leanne Manlove, a personal trainer at Calgary's Talisman Centre, has competed in Olympic and Ironman triathlons, and stresses fuelling up. "Carbohydrate intake is one of the most neglected aspects of training. If you do not pay attention to consuming carbohydrates during exercise, it could make or break your performance." She recommends Mr. Hoggard eat 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates - in brief, frequent intervals - per hour of exercise.

Don't push so hard

Ms. Manlove applauds training at maximum intensities but she draws the line at throwing up. "Puking is the body's response from being pushed too hard." Exercising too hard and too frequently without sufficient rest and recovery leads to over-training, when the body is too depleted to get the benefits of exercise.

Weights are your friends

"Many endurance athletes do not perform strength training because they fear it might add bulk," Ms. Manlove says. But nothing beats weights for improving over-all performance. Weights are portable, too. Mr. Hoggard can take them on the tour bus and target specific muscle groups based on his training goals.