Rob Lowe Says He Can ‘Rawdog’ His Workouts Without Music — but This 1 Iconic Song Is His Go-to (Exclusive)

Rob Lowe is a man of many talents — one of which includes doing a workout without any music to amp him up.

“I can raw dog it,” the actor, 61, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview about his fitness habits. “I don’t have my own music on.”

“If there’s music on in the gym, I listen to that. And when I’m doing long-term cardio — if I’m on the elliptical or if I’m on the Peloton or doing incline stuff — I’ll put music on, because you’re just grinding. You’re on the hamster wheel,” he continues.

“But if I’m out on a run, I don’t want music in. I want to hear the wind, I want to hear my feet,” adds Lowe, who has a years-long partnership with Atkins. “Also, I don’t want anybody sneaking up on me from behind.”

During those rare moments when he does have music on for a workout, Lowe says one song is always his go-to.

“It’s the cheesiest thing in the world, but ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ ” he admits, referring to Survivor’s 1982 hit single from the rock band’s third album of the same name.

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“You can’t go wrong,” Lowe continues of the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated tune, which was created to serve as the theme song for Rocky III.

“If I want to knock off a set of 20 … or go for a max bench press, I’ve got to have that on,” adds The Floor host. “You’re not raw dogging and doing your max bench press [without that song]. That’s not happening.”

Now in his 60s, Lowe tells PEOPLE, “In every area of my life, I’ve never been happier.”

“And I say this with all gratitude and humility. I’ve never had more opportunity. I’ve never been more engaged. I’ve never, as the kids would say today, felt more seen. And I’ve never felt better,” he continues.

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And while Lowe says he is “blessed that I love all of the activities that one has to do to stay in shape,” because “it’s not work for me,” he adds, however, “What has changed is I have to force myself to take recovery days, because as you get older, the recovery is crucial, and that kills me.”

“You also have to think about injury, because you don’t come back so quickly from injury [at my age]. Those are things you don’t think about when you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s,” says the father of two.