Usher, the 45-year-old R&B icon, shared his wellness routine and how he stays physically and mentally prepared for his busy life in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
The eight-time Grammy-winning artist starts most days with a “moment of reflection.” This can vary from reading a book to stimulate his mind, meditating, or practicing yoga. “It really does help to activate my organs and get my mind moving in the right direction,” Usher explained.
Unlike many, Usher’s mornings don’t typically start with coffee. “It all depends on how I ended my night before. Sometimes a coffee martini is appropriate,” he joked. Usher, who will receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday, June 30, continued, “No, typically I wake up and drink celery juice. I’ve been doing this concoction of lemon, ginger, water, and cayenne pepper. I drink it hot.”
For breakfast, he often chooses scrambled eggs with cheese, but only after some physical activity. “I don’t like to eat breakfast before I’ve worked out or done something physical: taking a walk, stretching or doing yoga, sitting in the sun and raising my body’s natural heat levels. Then I eat,” he said.
Wednesdays are an exception to this routine, as Usher practices a weekly fast. “I fast, not for religious purposes, but it’s something my grandmother practiced,” he shared. “I typically try to start around 11 p.m. the previous day, then go the entire day on Wednesday just drinking water.”
In preparation for his Super Bowl halftime performance, which he described as “one of the hardest 15 minutes that I’ll ever have in my life,” Usher intensified his exercise and diet regimen. Alongside daily workouts, he maintained a strict, healthy diet. “I was remedying my body the night before and waking up the next day and eating a very regimented, low-carb diet,” he said.