When you think of nice abs and a tone body, you
often imagine someone putting in hours at the gym, eating right, drinking green
colored grass-like shakes and running laps like an Olympic champ.
Fact is, Trey Songz just doesn’t have to try that
hard. While it’s easy to envy someone who has a naturally svelte physique, rest
assured that the young singer realizes that nothing lasts forever.
In this Health exclusive, Trey took a few moments
out from his tour to discuss his eating habits and workout plan with us. He
also told us how he maintains a positive attitude, and speaks on the key advice
he’s received to stay sane in the music business.
AllHipHop.com: Do you practice any particular type
of a diet or do you have challenges while you’re traveling?
Trey Songz: Truthfully, I’m blessed that I can eat
whatever I want. I eat steak almost every other day when I’m on the road
because it’s one of the easiest things to get access to in these restaurants. I
try not to eat a lot of fast food though I’m forced to.
I eat a lot if steak and chicken, and I try to get
vegetables with all of my meals like fresh broccoli and potatoes. Something
that can stick to my ribs, because sometimes you don’t know when you’re gonna
eat again out here. I try to eat something that’s gonna carry me a long way but
I eat a lot actually. Anytime we on our way from a soundcheck or on our way to
or from a show, we’re trying to eat.
AllHipHop.com: Do you find that certain foods slow
you down or make you feel tired quicker?
Trey Songz: Nah, my mother’s a very small woman
and I think I got my metabolism from her. My digestive system works very fast.
AllHipHop.com: You’re a thin person but you have a
very athletic build. Do you have to do any particular exercises to maintain
that while you’re traveling?
Trey Songz: Lately I’ve been working out a lot. I
do a lot of pushups everyday, I probably do about 200 pushups a day. Situps I
don’t do so much because they’re harder, but I’m getting into that. Within
these hotels that we go to, if they have a pool I try to swim a couple of laps.
If they do have a fully-equipped gym I’ll go in there and work out for an hour
or two. I try to run a couple of miles a week just to keep my endurance up, but
I wish I could work out more than I actually do. It gives you a good feeling –
your body feels good when you work out.
AllHipHop.com: Between the times that you’re in
the studio recording and when you’re on the road there’s definitely a different
activity level. Do you find it harder to work out when you’re in the studio
every day?
Trey Songz: I wasn’t working out as much when I
was in the studio, doing the Trey Day
album, I wasn’t working out at all actually. All I ever had to do was pushups
to keep my body. So I wanna gain a little weight and get a little more definition
with myself. What I wanna do this time is make sure there’s a workout facility
very close if not in the facility recording.
Working out comes so easy if it’s right there in
your face. If you’re sitting around doing nothing and it’s a weight bench right
there, you’re gonna curl. I was in the studio with Lil’ Scrappy, we had a
session and they had weights just laying around, when you’re not laying vocals
and it’s not your turn to go [you’re lifting]. I think that’s a cool way to
pass time, and it’s definitely healthy.
AllHipHop.com: What are some ways you keep a
positive attitude with your work?
Trey Songz: Well to keep a positive attitude we
like to keep a playful atmosphere. There’s a lot of joking going on, but to
keep a cool mental state I make sure I keep a humble mind. I never let the fact
that I’m Trey Songz, I’m on TV every day and my record is playing a million
places take me somewhere mentally where I think problems won’t come or that I’m
greater than the next person. I try to go through it as if this is my life and
this is what I do.
I’m out here to make people happy, people enjoy my
music and I get a kick out of that. That gives me a rush, even despite the
times that I might be tired and don’t want to sign an autograph, or I just had
an argument in my personal life outside of the music that might take me over
the border. I try to just channel that energy somewhere different. Sometimes it
can be difficult, and sometimes I will fail at trying to do that. But more
times than not I’m trying to make sure that the people who enjoy my music and
are here to see me as a performer or entertainer, at a radio interview or an
in-store get an enjoyable experience.
AllHipHop.com: You’ve been in our Rumors section
in incidents that definitely let people know you weren’t a person to be played
with. How do you maintain your common sense when somebody does something that
in the street that you probably wouldn’t put up with?
Trey Songz:
Truthfully, it’s a lot of s**t to go down in this music business that
would not go in the streets with me. Sometimes I’ve exerted that and let it be
shown, but if I could go back and do those situations over in a different
manner I would. I’ve learned from those experiences, when there’s a microscope
on you things get turned into something bigger all the time. It could be
miniscule, but by the time it’s addressed to the public it’s a major thing
that’s blown very far out of proportion.
One thing you gotta learn is, coming from where
I’m coming from, your word is your bond and you don’t get disrespected into a
world where everything is fake and fraudulent and people try to mess with you
all of the time. It’s definitely difficult to deal with. But for me I’m only human,
it’s a lot of mistakes I’m gonna make in life and I’m gonna learn from them
all. I’m never gonna be perfect and I might whoop a n***a a** here, but that’s
life.
AllHipHop.com: Have you had any particular veteran
artist give you advice that’s helped with the trials and tribulations of the
music industry?
Trey Songz: In business senses, to be short and
brief, it’s always the same – stay humble, stay true to yourself, and stay
focused. If you follow those three things you could get what you want. If you stay focused, humble and true to
yourself, at the same time staying true to yourself doesn’t mean you gotta be
who you were before you got in this game. It’s being true to who you are at
that moment, because people change.
If you want to keep making money and being
relevant in this music industry you can’t keep making dumb decisions, and a few
decisions I’ve made have been dumb. But overall I like to think I’ve made smart
decisions, and like I said earlier I’m human… and yeah I’ve been in y’all
Rumors section a couple of times. [laughs]
AllHipHop.com: Anything you want fans to know
about what you have coming up?
Trey Songz: Tell ’em I’m about to get this sex
scandal prepared [laughs]. No I’m just playing! I’m back in the studio
recording a little bit, feeling my way around the booth. I got a lot of things
coming up, I’m on Plies’ album, Rick Ross’ album, Flo-Rida’s album, I’m on Scrappy’s
album coming up. I’m gonna be on 2 Pistols’ album. A lot of collaborations
coming up in the future, and I’m just looking forward to staying relevant and
keeping this music coming.