Kenny Chesney takes care of his physical health, but he also takes care of his mental health as well. The 55-year-old reveals the surprising — and chilly — way he takes care of his mind, even though it isn’t easy.
“This is hard, but I’ve done it right outside my bus: I sit in an ice tub,” Chesney reveals to Audacy‘s Katie Neal. “I’ve been doing it for years. My friend, a pro-surfer and a guy that invented stand-up paddling in Hawaii, his name is Laird Hamilton. Laird taught me how to do heat and ice, and breath work. So that’s what I do for my brain. It’s interesting how you can workout a lot for your body, but you gotta work your brain out too. That’s how I breathe. I try really hard to change the pH of my blood. And oxygen does that, and ice. Ice is hard.”
Chesney, who says he now sits in an ice bath for about a minute and a half, is down from how long he used to be able to do it, but working his way back up again.
“A few years ago, I was up to over three minutes,” reveals the singer. “I was doing really good, Outside of my bus, I have a sauna and my ice bucket. … It’s the best anti-depressant, the best anti-anxiety medicine you can take. ‘Cause I promise you, when you’re sitting in that thing full of ice, you’re not thinking about anything else, other than being in there.”
Chesney is working on a new album, three years after the release of Here and Now, which came out in May of 2020. While he is eager to share the project with his fans, he insists he won’t release it until everything is exactly the way he wants it, even if it takes a while.
“The one thing I can say about it is that it is still in motion,” the Tennesse native maintains. “People ask me when it’s going to come out, and the best answer I have honestly is, ‘When I feel like it’s done.’ It’s easy to rush it, and it’s easy to put music out when people think it might be time, but I think I’ve earned the right to get it right. I mean, I love it now, but I want to be in love.”
Chesney is currently on his I Go Back Tour, with Kelsea Ballerini serving as his opening act for all shows. Music and tour dates can be found at KennyChesney.com.