Country star LeAnn Rimes has taken to literally skipping through tours after time spent just sitting and eating on her tour bus left her struggling to complete concerts.

The singer admits she never used to take care of herself when she was on the road, sitting alone on a bus ferrying her from one show to the next. So she turned to fast food and TV to comfort her through lonely nights - and then found herself gasping for breath in the middle of shows.

She tells Fitness magazine, "I went on the road and became very sedentary... It was a really lonely experience, and I turned to food. I wasn't taking care of my health. I was getting out of breath in the middle of the show, my schedule was crazy and sometimes I was getting really sick."

But that all changed when she started dating fitness freak Dean Sheremet, who is now Rimes' husband - now she works out in between shows. The singer admits she's particularly pleased with her rope-jumping skills.

She adds, "I take a jump rope with me for cardio. I skip rope for 10 to 12 minutes at a time, at a really fast pace, and it burns an enormous amount of calories per minute... Now I'm like Rocky!"

-LeAnn Rimes Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)