Lawrence Jones III has built a reputation for being one of the sharpest voices in morning television. At just 30 years old he became the youngest Black co-host in cable news history when he joined the Fox & Friends team.
Behind the early call times and the sharp suits is a man who found something on the mat that the newsroom could never quite offer him, stillness. Growing up in Garland Texas Jones was the kind of kid who stayed active. Basketball was constant and physical movement came naturally. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was part of his world at a younger age too but as his media career picked up momentum and the demands of adult life began stacking up, training faded away.
“I discovered adulthood, and the stresses of work, and all that type of stuff,” he told muscle and fitness.
The shift hit hardest during his time in Washington DC. Professional obligations and social obligations blended together until the line between the two nearly disappeared. Calorie heavy schedules and a slowing metabolism made the toll visible fast.
“My metabolism slowed down, and I had to actually work harder in the gym,” he said. “There was either a happy hour or a get-together meeting, and so you’re just putting on calories, calories, calories, no work-life balance.”
The weight came on quickly.
“Before you know it, it’s like 70 lbs (31.75 kg), just like that, boom!” he said. “There was a gap, a period of like two to three years where I let myself go, essentially.”
After relocating to New York Jones decided to take control. He structured his Sundays around cooking every meal for the week and committed to getting into the gym around 4:35 a.m. each morning, a feat made more remarkable by the fact that his workday at Fox News typically begins around 3:30 a.m.
“I was like 25 or 26 when I started to get a routine and get into meal prepping,” he said. “I realized it was time to get back on the saddle.”
The results were notable.
“I lost the 70 lbs (31.75 kg) in 10 weeks,” he said. “I lost the weight by cooking all my meals every Sunday and then going to the gym every morning at about 4:35 a.m.”
“I get that personal touch, to fix all the things that I need to fix, but I also get my sparring sessions in as well,” he said.
When Jones returned to jiu-jitsu his instructors reset his foundation entirely regardless of what he had learned before. At first that was an adjustment.
“They made me start from zero,” he said. “So, everything that I learned as a child didn’t matter to them. And I’m so glad now, I think I benefited from that.”
Outside the gym Jones channels his energy into working dog training. Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, and Dutch Shepherds are all part of his world.
“I have a Belgian Malinois, and I trained those, and German Shepherds, and Dutch Shepherds,” he said.
The connection between dog training and jiu-jitsu is not lost on him.
“What I found is that when I wasn’t doing the training, I didn’t have anywhere to put that energy.”
Jiu-jitsu became the right outlet.
“The mat is the perfect place, because there is a vlolence in jiujitsu, but there’s also respect as well, and understanding the body and the respect for your opponents.”
The discipline requires a particular kind of awareness.
“You’re not trying to hurt anyone, but you are also learning how the body moves and exerts pain,” he said. “It has been the best thing I ever did.”
Lawrence Jones III received his blue belt in late November of 2025.
Recovery is woven into the routine as well. Jones alternates between cold plunges and heat therapy including saunas and steam rooms keeping his body prepared for a schedule that would exhaust most people.
“One thing that I’ve learned about jiujitsu is that you’ve got to take care of your body,” he said. “I’m all about the holistic approach of the body.”
Perhaps the most unexpected benefit has been what the mat does for his mental space. Television news by nature is loud, opinionated, and relentlessly political. The gym offers him none of that and Jones considers that a gift.
“Everything that I do professionally is not allowed on the mat,” he said. “So, politics, you don’t do that on the mat. You learn when you’re sparring with people that these people come from all different type of backgrounds, all different professions. We all have our baggage that we leave before we get on the mat, which is great.”
That communal reset is part of what keeps him coming back.
“It’s a great equalizer,” he said.
For a man whose mornings start before most of the city has opened its eyes finding something that levels the playing field, even for a few hours, seems to be exactly what he needs.
