Keith Richards says he doesn’t work out as rehearsing with The Rolling Stones is ‘enough’

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Legendary guitarist Keith Richards says he has no need to work out because the physical strain of The Rolling Stones is “enough” to keep him healthy.

While it is unclear whether the band will tour again because of Richards‘ lack of interest, he did go on record once to say that he keeps himself in good shape by rehearsing with the Mick Jagger-fronted group. The band released their most recent album, Foreign Tongues, earlier this year, and it appears that performing with Jagger and Ronnie Wood is enough of a workout. Avoiding the gym appears to be easily done when playing with the band, as Richards breaks down the only time he has ever worked out.

He told Mojo Magazine: “No, no, no. (Chuckles) The only time I’ve ever done anything like that is after an injury – rehab, like when I’ve broken ribs. I find exercise boring. Actually, when you work with the Stones – which I love to do – rehearsing for eight or nine hours a day, standing up and moving around, I find that enough.”

It makes a massive change to how Jagger keeps himself in shape, with Richards explaining that The Rolling Stones’ frontman is always on the move, whether that’s on a run or with a “physical education instructor.”

Richards added: “I’d rather do that than go crazy on treadmills. Mick does all that stuff, but his dad was a physical education instructor. That’s part of him. ‘Where’s Mick?’ ‘He’s out running.’ ‘In this weather?!’ I find that by the time I finish rehearsals, I haven’t just been rehearsing the music; my body has been rehearsing too.”

Richards’ relaxed view of working out comes in clear contrast to how hard Jagger worked himself when training for shows with The Rolling Stones. Jagger confirmed that much of his on-stage persona had been built around being a “show-off”. Jagger’s stage-strutting is the stuff of legend, and with the band’s most recent tour in 2024, it appeared the frontman had lost none of his iconic style.

Jagger has privately studied ballet and takes dance lessons to maintain his on-stage energy, but broke down how this persona came about when speaking with BBC Radio.

He said: “I never thought about it. It’s what you have to be, it’s what you are. There’s no getting away from it. I like it, yeah. It’s what I do. That’s the exciting thing about it, being this big show-off. You have to be a bit more professional than just being a silly show-off, but at the beginning that’s all you are.

“You have to be an extrovert, there’s really no room for shrinking violets in that role. You can be a shrinking violet as a bass player or a drummer even, but you can’t be a shrinking violet as a frontperson. So you have to give yourself in to the crowd and you become part of them and have a relationship with them.”