Pope Leo's Personal Trainer Didn't Know Who His Client Was
Valerio Masella, 26, had no idea his client was even a priest — until he saw him step onto the balcony of St. Peter’s as the new pope.
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Tonight’s piece is a lighter one — a look at Pope Leo’s fitness regimen. After his election, I visited the pope’s favorite gym to see it for myself. It felt a lot like a Planet Fitness in the U.S. — right down to Taylor Swift playing throughout my 90-minute workout.
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Pope Leo began his pontificate in May 2025 under a storm of headlines: a Chicago‐born Augustinian appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops in 2023 who emerged from the conclave as the first American pope.
For those who followed his work in the Vatican bureaucracy, one detail seemed prosaic: Robert Prevost was a gym regular.
His personal trainer, 26‑year‑old Valerio Masella, only found out on television that the man he had coached two or three times a week at Omega Fitness Club was now the pope.
A disciplined routine
Masella met his client two years ago for sessions at Omega gym, a modest facility in Rome’s Prati district just steps from the Vatican walls.
Prevost, then a 69‑year‑old cardinal, came “twice a week, sometimes three times.”
Each one‑hour workout began with a warm‑up on the treadmill or exercise bike before moving to muscle‑strengthening and posture exercises.
Masella remembers his client as reserved but approachable — a man who smiled easily, was punctual, and never drew attention to himself.
In an interview with Il Messaggero, Masella said the future pope’s physical condition was exceptional for his age, showing the lean muscularity of someone who never stopped training.
A similar description appeared in The Independent: the trainer designed a workout plan typically meant for men aged 50–55 and found himself raising the resistance on the exercise bike because the cardinal’s stamina was so good.
The treadmill he preferred faced a mural of St. Peter’s Basilica, a rather literal representation of church and gym sharing the same vista.
The Omega staff were stunned by the election.
“When the name of the pope was announced, my phone rings and my son tells me, ‘Dad, it’s Robert! Robert, our member!’” gym owner Francesco Tamburlani recalled.
For the trainer, the revelation meant re‑evaluating those sessions — the future pontiff had never mentioned his job, and Masella assumed he was a busy teacher or academic.
Even after the announcement, the gym extended a standing invitation, promising to reorganise the facility to guarantee his privacy if he ever wanted to resume his routine.
Love of tennis
One element of Leo XIV’s fitness regimen slipped under the radar until days after his election — he plays tennis.
Chicago‑born Leo admitted he had little time for the game once he took over the Dicastery for Bishops, but he still considered himself a player.
In May 2025, he met Italian star Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open. Sinner presented him with a racquet and offered an exhibition match, and the pope quipped that he would be up for a charity game.
The idea of a pontiff in white on a clay court is both delightful and telling: Leo isn’t trying to project machismo but to show that healthy leisure is part of a life of service.
The secrecy around his gym visits makes sense: the Vatican has long balanced pastoral duties with the pontiff’s personal routines.
John Paul II skied and hiked, Benedict XVI played piano and walked in the Vatican gardens, and now Leo XIV exercises on treadmills and talks tennis with world champions.
His discipline is not a vanity project but a sign of the seriousness with which he approaches his role.
Masella described him as “always positive about everything — the weather, the city, the people.” That optimism is rooted in gratitude and endurance, traits he will need in a polarized Catholic world.
What it means for his papacy
Why write about the pope’s workout? Because our physical bodies matter. In Rome’s corridors of power, where centuries of tradition meet the politics of the moment, there is a temptation to spiritualize leadership into abstraction.
Leo’s gym routine anchors him in the concrete.
He insists on doing the hard work of staying healthy, of sweating in anonymity, of showing up twice a week even when administrative headaches would provide every excuse to skip.
That speaks volumes about a man who now must mediate ecclesial disputes, clean up abuse scandals, and navigate the unpredictable politics of Donald Trump’s America and wars around the globe.
He may never again jog on the treadmill facing a fresco of St. Peter’s, but the habits forged there will follow him into the Chair of Peter.
They teach patience, persistence, and the humility to accept guidance from a 26‑year‑old coach.
This can resonate with everyday Americans who juggle faith, family, and fitness.
If Leo’s ministry is to bring the Church closer to the people, then showing that even a pope prioritizes health is a subversive act. It is a reminder that sanctity and sweat are not opposites but companions.
In the months ahead, we may see Leo XIV on a tennis court with Jannik Sinner, or we may simply hear stories of him taking brisk walks in the Vatican gardens.
Either way, we have a Bishop of Rome who knows that to carry a global church through tumultuous times, one must first carry one’s own body with care.
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Paid subscriptions start at only $6.67 per month and will get you full access to the ongoing Fath and the Democratic Party essays and this multi-part series on the life and formation of Pope Leo.
The fourth installment — chronicling his 20-year friendship with Pope Francis — was published last night.
Do you prefer a one-time gift? Donate here instead of subscribing.
This sounds silly but I'm so happy to read this! Made me realize the Pope is more 'ordinary human' than i thought 😊 thanks for sharing!
I hope he keeps up some exercise regime. It will be good physically and mentally and keep him grounded. His so called "vacation" at Castel Gandolfo seemed full of work! I was hoping he could have played tennis or had a swim in the pool. Maybe he did. Maybe he can set up his own exercise room in the Vatican!
I want him to have time-off so he can do his extraordinarily demanding "time-in".