A weighted vest may seem like an unlikely tool for music hacking, but for indie rock artist Carter Vail, adding a bit of extra weight to a slow, steady sweat session often becomes the creative catalyst for some of his most memorable songs.
“I have a 60‑pound weight vest, and I’ll just walk and read on my Kindle on my treadmill for like 45 minutes,” he says. “I’m exhausted afterward, but I get my reading done, and it’s just awesome.”
When he’s not training jiu-jitsu at L.A.’s 10th Planet, Vail utilizes his fully equipped home gym as an impromptu writer’s room. While listening to instrumental tracks in his headphones, the steady pace of weighted walking often helps fuel his creative process.
“If I have a first verse done, I’ll play the instrumental of that verse in my headphones over and over, and slowly new words will come to it,” he says.
So far, his music career has been as diverse as his workouts—from quick, comedic social media hits like his latest, “Ants in My Room,” to the now-viral “Dirt Man,” to deeper, more intense tracks such as his 2025 EP Coydog. And he’s found a way to combine music and muscle to refine both his craft and his chiseled physique.
You can check out all of the Carter Vail interview—as well as every other episode of the Country Muscle Podcast—on the Country Muscle YouTube Channel.
5 Takeaways from the Carter Vail ‘CMP’ Appearance
- Jiujitsu Also Serves as a Daily Music and Mental Reset: A daily roll on the 10th Planet mats has become Carter Vail’s temporary off switch. When he’s practicing scissor sweep technique, it’s hard to focus on TikTok strategy. “When I’m doing Jiu Jitsu, I can’t think about my music career,” he says. “When I’m doing Jiu Jitsu, there is no music happening in my head.”
- Vail Got His Strength from his High School Football Days: He rarely works on personal PRs in the weight room, but at 6’4’’, 210 pounds, Vail still has the physique of an athlete, something that began as a tight end in high school. His weightroom numbers resemble that as well. “I always remember that the part of football I kind of love the most was the team being in the in the weight room,” he says. “I loved actually playing, but the most interesting part was, was lifting for me.
- Carter Vail Relies on Training Technology: When it comes to training progress and programming, the singer says he’s become a fan of the RP Strength Hypertrophy app handles his programming. “I’ve been using that for the last probably year, or a little over a year now, and I love it,” he says.
- He’s Gone from Extreme Diet Phases to Simple, Sustainable Fuel: During COVID, Vail tried going all-in on carnivore and GOMAD (Gallon Of Milk A Day—getting shredded or huge fast, but at a cost. Those experiments pushed him back toward simpler, more sustainable eating. “I kept experimenting with the different fad diets,” he says. “I probably only did it for a month, but it felt like a long time. I’m normally around 215 and I got to like, 235. I was too. Heavy. It was from mostly milk.”
- Training and Community Over Streaming Metrics
Win or lose, jiujutsu has become as much a mindset benefit that benefits him as much musically as it does physically. “My entire value doesn’t come from performing well on Spotify or Instagram or Tik Tok,” he says. “I take a lot of value in being part of these other communities that bring a lot of joy to my life, like being there for my teammates in Jiu Jitsu, and, you know, getting closer with them, and like training with them.”