Keith Richards is a guitar player and co-founder of the legendary band The Rolling Stones. And he’s known for being a lifelong heavy drinker, smoker, and drug user. But these days, is Keith Richards healthy?
Keith Richards is surprisingly healthy. He no longer smokes cigarettes, has cut back on his drinking, and goes to the gym for 3 hours a day, multiple days per week. His regime includes weight lifting and lots of reps and sets.
Keith recently sat down for a new interview with Mad House Magazine and talked about his amazing transformation. When asked about his healthy living, Richards revealed that part of his new exercise regime includes going to the gym and doing heavy workouts.
Keith also has a personal trainer. Another factor contributing to his incredible shape is that he has cut out his 2 packs of cigarettes per day and one bottle of Jack Daniels’s habits.
Richards also told the magazine:
“There are kids 50 years younger than me, and they give up way before me. It’s the mind that quits, way before the body does. My mind won’t quit. I am benching 350 now and deadlifting 500”.
Let us find out which health secrets have been allowing this aging rock star to strut across stages year after year.
What does Keith Richards eat?
Keith Richards says his favorite meal is bangers and mash. But the guitarist avoids cheese whenever he can. Additionally, he enjoys burgers, steak, meat, fish, and potatoes but also takes vitamins to balance it out.
For Richards, the food’s always been like fuel on the road.
He doesn’t go around looking for the local delicacies and does not fancy expensive food. But he does enjoy a little wine with meals. His love for shepherd’s pie goes back decades.
In his book, My Life, Keith Richards mentions that he likes cooking for himself, which usually includes home-cooked food with some variation on the mash but not much.
According to him, he eats only when he likes to.
We’ve been trained from childhood to have three square meals a day, the complete factory-industrial revolution of how you’re supposed to eat.
Keith endorses a decent eating habit. He says:
“It’s terrible for you to stuff all that crap in at once. Better to have a bit here, a mouthful there, every few hours a bite or two. The human body can deal with it.”
How do Keith’s habits compare to Mick Jagger’s?
Read my recent article to check how the members of the Rolling Stones remain so fit and trim. Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger discussed traditional ways to keep burning calories. But there’s 1 surprising thing he does that really keeps the pounds off.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Happy Birthday Keith Richards December 18, 1943 “The Human Riff”, guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of The Rolling Stones who have had over 35 Top 40 singles and albums. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created ‘rock’s greatest single body of riffs’. 77! pic.twitter.com/dID5mm5WD3
— Ken Calvert (@kencalvertshow) December 18, 2020
How does Keith Richards stay so thin?
Keith stays thin by doing regular regimes of walking and workout training. But he also only eats small meals multiple times per day instead of eating 3 big meals. Additionally, the constant touring of the Rolling Stones means Richards is very physically active.
DJ Gerry from Starlight Music uploaded a YouTube video describing The Rolling Stones’ workout & secret exercise routines.
Keith Richards laughingly said that he does not need to work out because playing guitar with The Rolling Stones is enough of a workout for anybody.
But on a serious note, Keith is known to follow an intense workout regime that involves strenuous physical exercises, walking, and dance choreographies.
But many of the band’s fans doubt that it’s just the exercise that keeps Richards thin.
They believe that a combination of his lifestyle and genetics have a significant role. Along with this, his active and busy lifestyle also contributes much to his shape.
Keith also said that he used to walk down Oxford Street with a slab of hash as big as a skateboard. A cocktail of cocaine and heroin, which he said was customary for breakfast. But in truth, he gave up the hard stuff eons ago.
The BBC mentioned in an article:
“The volume of harmful substances ingested by Richards over the years suggests his survival. Whether it’s genetic or because he’s built up a tolerance, he does have an unusually resilient constitution.”
NO BUSTING THE CRUST! On every tour, the one thing @officialKeef must have in his dressing room, is his beloved Shepherd’s Pie. Strict instructions – no one is to ‘bust the crust’ but Keith. The first slice is his slice. pic.twitter.com/LFm93ES3vw
— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) February 23, 2018
Is Keith Richards a vegetarian?
Keith Richards is not a vegetarian but does enjoy meatless Shepherd pie from time to time.
Richards’ culinary skills were unknown to the world. But his book, Life, by Keith Richards and James Fox, describes dozens of stories revealing Keith’s love for food and cooking.
Josh Ireland, who was a touring chef for The Rolling Stones and U2, revealed what it’s like cooking for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
He said Mick Jagger really enjoyed vegetarian food and the crew often ate it too.
Keith Richards would order two Shepherd’s pies, made specifically to his mum’s recipe. “One was to eat, and one to put his cigarette out in.”
As of now, Keith Richards may be cutting back on drinking, but he doesn’t seem to have gone vegetarian or be on a complete health kick.
Keith Richards • The Rolling Stones~ pic.twitter.com/dAmqW0AQv9
— Rollin’ here in Rock memories (@Rollin_Memories) October 28, 2021
Does Keith Richards work out?
Keith Richards does work out, and his fitness regime involves walking, swimming, weight lifting, and working with a personal trainer up to 3 hours a day multiple days a week.
Richards revealed recently how he keeps the trim shape and his workout routine. But he did caution against jogging and running.
Richards told Rock Archive:
“I don’t do any of this trotting around, I think it’s bad for you. It’s bad on the joints, especially on concrete.”
He further added that he does a lot of swimming and loves taking his family pet for walks. He has a house on Parrot Cay in the Turks & Caicos islands and swims a lot there, where he held his month-long birthday celebration.
And of course, there’s touring with The Rolling Stones too, as working with the band is nothing short of a workout for anybody.
And honestly, staying fit has contributed a lot to the band’s success over these years. Perhaps the Rolling Stones are among the rare bands going strong with no intentions of stopping anytime soon.
But are concerts the main way the Stones got wealthy?
Read my recent article to find out how much money the Stones made in their career and how it got made. We’ll look at concert revenue, royalties from their albums and streams, but also the 1 surprising way Mick made most of his money.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
For every cigarette you smoke, god takes an hour away from your life & gives it to Keith Richards #AwfullyBritishFakeHistory pic.twitter.com/4Xch0ODrtC
— Brookranger (@Brookranger) June 27, 2021
Does Keith Richards still smoke cigarettes?
Keith Richards finally quit smoking cigarettes in early 2020 at the age of 76 after being at least a 2-pack-a-day smoker for more than 50 years.
Richards recently spoke about his smoking and drinking:
“It’s been about a year now (since quitting cigarettes). I pulled the plug on it.” He also admitted to enjoying a glass of wine occasionally and a beer. It was time to quit, just like all the other stuff. And it’s been interesting to play sober.”
Now his focus is on enhancing his cooking skills.
Keith’s autobiography, Life, contains a tip to add some zing to your Shepherd’s pie as his bodyguard Big Joe Seabrook handed to him.
Richards says:
“Before you spread the spuds on the top, you chop up some more onions because the onions you’ve used to cook with the meat have been reduced, and he was damn right.”
In addition, Keith says that “If I meet you in a bar and you say, ‘Do you want a drink?’ I wouldn’t turn it down! I’m not a puritan in these matters. It’s just that it’s not on the daily menu anymore.”
Did Keith Richards have a blood clot?
In 2006, Keith Richards was hospitalized after suffering a mild concussion from falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji. During his hospital stay, doctors discovered that he had a blood clot in his brain.
The clot was caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which is an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins in the brain. This condition can cause bleeding and other complications if left untreated.
Fortunately, Keith Richards underwent successful brain surgery to remove the clot and has since made a full recovery.
Since then, Keith Richards has continued to live life to its fullest and still performs with the Rolling Stones today. He has also become an advocate for health awareness and encourages people to get regular checkups to ensure their health is in good condition.
So while Keith Richards may have had a blood clot at one point in his life, it did not stop him from living life on his own terms and continuing to make music with one of the most iconic bands of all time.
Did Keith Richards ever have cancer?
It makes sense considering that Richards was a heavy smoker for decades. But no, Keith (knock on wood), has never had cancer.
That being said, his wife is a cancer survivor, as is Stones guitarist Ron Wood. Sadly, Late Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts died from throat cancer.
Richards’ wife Patti Hansen fought (and won) the battle against bladder cancer in 2007.
She declared that she had undergone chemotherapy, followed by a complex operation that included a hysterectomy, the extraction of her appendix, the excision of her bladder, and the formation of a ‘neobladder’ made from her intestine.
Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in 2017. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor and was declared cancer-free in 2018. But he was later diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in 2020. But he appears to have beaten that too.
This despite a 50-year habit of 25-30 cigarettes a day!
Charlie Watts, the drummer of the Rolling Stones, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004. He underwent radiation therapy and chemotherapy to treat the cancer and was declared cancer-free in 2005.
Sadly the disease caught up with him and Charlie Watts, the legendary drummer of the Rolling Stones, passed away on February 23rd, 2021 at the age of 76.
Conclusion
Legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is also a singer, film producer, and record producer.
And as we all know, he is also the co-founder of The Rolling Stones, who have toured the world 48 times. Rolling Stone Magazine called Keith the single creator of rock’s most significant single body of riffs on guitar and ranked him number four on the list of 100 best guitarists.
And while he’s not known for being a health nut, and the rock n’ roll lifestyle was certainly a big part of life for Richards for decades, he’s surprisingly healthy now!
Even more interesting when you realize how unorthodox a player he is on guitar.
Richards has been touring with his band consistently, which requires keeping health as a priority. He does it through a combination of workouts and food. And after years of terrible teeth, Richards finally got dental work done in 2013!
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
