On SBS’s “My Little Old Boy” in 2018, Kim Jong-kook has already revealed with his acquaintance the reason why he fell for going into the gym. “I had a broken leg when I was young, and I heard that might cause a difference in bone length,” he said. “I then exercised without any proper information. As a result, my back was bent and my back disc was injured. There was even a time that I sat on the bus chair until the last stop because of my disc,” he confessed. “The hospital I visited to treat my disc injury recommended going to the gym.”

Kim Jong-kook old pictures

Since then, Kim Jong-kook started feeling less pain in his back as he worked out. Kim Jong-kook said, “I need to cut back on going to the gym, but I’m habitually anxious,” adding, “Experts can say that I’m wrong. But what can I do when I feel like this?” he explained why he couldn’t let go of the gym habit.

Kim Jong-kook old pictures

In fact, Kim Jong-kook had proved that he had severe back pain due to scoliosis by posting his X-ray photo on Instagram. Kim Jong-kook said, “Some might wonder how can I build such a body with this waist? I made it. No, I’m making it. I just have to do something to my bent spine. Let’s at least have some fun doing what others believe I can’t do. That’s why,” he said in a head-on response to people who doubted him.

Kim Jong-kook old pictures

Kim Jong-kook was 178 centimeters tall and 60 kilograms in the early days of his group Turbo’s debut. Since then, he has gained a robust physique of 178 centimeters in height and 82 kilograms in weight through steady exercise and extensive diet control.

Kim Jong-kook is so sincere about his bodybuilding that he only knows his home and the fitness center. However, he has recently been embroiled in a controversy when an overseas bodybuilder accused him of using steroids, saying, “That body is impossible at the age of 46.”

Kim Jong-kook old pictures

Kim Jong-kook then countered by conducting 391 doping tests, and most netizens are rooting for him as they know his sincerity better than anyone else.