Terry Crews started exercising because he thought he'd have to fight his abusive father one day

Terry Crews became obsessed with exercise because he thought he'd have to "fight" his father one day.

The 52-year-old actor and comedian has admitted he began hitting the gym almost every day for over two decades in order to get in the best possible shape to take on his "abusive father", as he believed he'd need to stand up to him in a physical fight in order to save his mother from abuse.

He said: "After my time in the NFL, one thing I noticed is that if you make everything sports-specific, all of sudden, when the sport is over, guys just waste away. You've got to understand, there was a time in my life where I got overweight because I was depressed. I'm depressed, I need something, I need a change, I need to go to the gym 21 days straight. That 21-day period turned into 21 years.

"I was naturally just wanting more. You've got to know, growing up [for me] was not a good experience. My father was very abusive. He used to beat my mother. So it was one of those things where I knew I had to get stronger because one day I thought I'd have to fight him. That's how it started out."

And Terry even said the mindset began when he was just five years old.

He added during an appearance on Running Wild with Bear Grylls: "I always, always had been like, 'Be fit, be ready, be prepared, be there.' But even then it's hard, because certain things did trip me up that I had to get over."

The White Chicks star has previously spoken about his complicated relationship with his dad, Terry Crews Sr., and said in 2014 he learned to forgive him after realising all the good things he'd done for their family.

He said at the time: "I started giving Big Terry credit for what he did do. He was a good earner. He was a good provider. I never excused what had been wrong, but also being able to see the positive finally changed my perspective. It changed my view of our story. Finally, it all became clear to me, and I called my father."