Smokey Robinson’s Secret to Aging Gracefully: "I Get Up Every Day and I..."
The A Motown Christmas co-host has a simple secret to keeping in shape.
Daily yoga and gratitude are the core tenets of Smokey Robinson's fitness routine. At 84 years old and with no plans to retire, the legendary singer is as fit as he's ever been, and his advice is simple and straightforward: work out, whether you like it or not.
It's a more positive outlook than it sounds like. Ahead of his gig co-hosting NBC's A Motown Christmas, get to know the crooner's inspiring health habits.
How Smokey Robinson keeps fit
"After you get to be about 40 years old, your other job is to take care of yourself diligently and on purpose, and you have to do it whether you feel like it or not," the living legend told Esquire. "I get up every day and I work out. I do yoga. I've been doing yoga for 45 years, and some days I really don't feel like doing that, but I do anyway because you have to."
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The one food Smokey Robinson won't eat
"I have a pretty simple diet, in fact. I don't eat meat," he explained to the outlet, adding, "I haven't had any red meat since 1972. But now I eat chicken and fish again. For a while, I was a total vegan. I eat pretty plain."
Robinson battled COVID in December 2020
Before vaccinations were widely available, Robinson was hospitalized with a severe case of the respiratory disease, he revealed nearly a year later.
"I am a Covid survivor. I got it severely, and I was hospitalized for 11 days [in Los Angeles], and four or five of those I do not even remember," he told The Daily Mail. "It really was touch and go...I could barely even talk. Even when I got home I was hoarse, I could not try to sing because I was afraid. It was one of the most frightening fights I have ever had."
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But Robinson was determined to not only rebuild his voice and health, but to gain strength to prevent future illnesses. "I had to work on my vocal cords and get myself back together. I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life, and it was possible, so I did it," he said.
"Before I got the virus I would work out two or three times a week...Now I work out almost every day, because I don't want to get the virus again even though I've had both of my shots," Robinson said, specifying, "I lift weights and work out. I don't run as I had surgery on both knees, but I do walk. I stay active as I don't want to be decrepit."
Smokey Robinson co-hosts NBC's A Motown Christmas
He and Halle Bailey will be on hand to lead the two-hour special, A Motown Christmas, premiering Wednesday, December 11 at 9/8c on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock. An encore presentation will air on December 17.
