Tim McGraw Reveals How His Daughter Inspired Him to Get in Shape

Tim McGraw is arguably one of the fittest men in country music, but it wasn't always that way. The "Neon Church" singer reveals it was his daughter, Gracie, who inspired him to get in shape.

"Ten years ago was when I really was not taking care of myself as well as I should," McGraw revealed at the opening of his new gym, TRUMAV Fitness (via CMT). "And my lifestyle wasn't as good: up until 3:00 in the morning, having that extra beer with the band, eating cheeseburgers late, and not hitting the gym in the morning. It was just getting out of control. And I'll tell you what one of the big keys that turn my life around was.

"My kids were younger, and we were at the theater, and all the sudden the trailer for Four Christmases (which starred McGraw as Dallas McVie) popped up, and my face popped up on the screen. And my oldest daughter said, 'Geez, Dad. You really need to do something.' And the next day," he said, "I was in the gym."

The 51-year-old opened his fitness club, located in Nashville, because of his own dedication to being as healthy as possible, which he hopes to use to inspire others.

"Fitness has been very important to me, especially over the last 10 years of my life," the husband of Faith Hill acknowledged. "I've always been an athlete, I've always worked out, and I've always tried to keep myself in some sort of shape. But over the last 10 years, it's really been a life-changing experience for me. It's improved everything in my life.

"Certainly it's improved my physical condition. But it's improved, I'd say, 85 percent of my mental condition. There's the other 15 percent that shows up every now and then that I try to fight off," he added. "Without my commitment to fitness over the last 10 years, things would've turned out quite differently."

Part of McGraw's dedication to fitness included his decision to cut out alcohol, after his drinking was becoming out of control.

"People said things," McGraw told PEOPLE. "People were worried about me … It wasn't something that I didn't know as well. But ultimately, it is really about how I want to be around for my kids. I want to be around to see how they grow up. I want to see what their lives become. I want to see what their kids look like."

McGraw plans to open more TRUMAV locations in the future. Find updates at TRUMAV.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/John Sciulli