There’s no way you can watch footage of Taylor Swift’s electrifying Eras Tour—where she performs for roughly three straight hours per show—and not wonder how on earth she managed to pull off such an impressive feat of physical and mental endurance. Now we have our answer: She recently revealed the details of a strategic workout (and self-care) routine that’s pure Taylor.
In an interview with Time magazine published Wednesday, Swift described how exactly she prepared to sing, dance, and jump around for hours on end. Six months ahead of her first Eras Tour performance, she started running on the treadmill every day while singing the entire 40-plus-songs set list—“fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs,” she explained. Her gym, Dogpound, also created a special program—just for her—that incorporated strength, conditioning, and weight exercises. “Then I had three months of dance training, because I wanted to get it in my bones,” she added.
Another change she made: “I stopped drinking for a couple months before the show,” Swift said, with the exception of Grammys night. (“I gave myself a fun night for that one,” she added.) Swift kept up the no-alcohol commitment throughout the entire 2023 tour too, she said, because “doing that show with a hangover…I don’t want to know that world.”
As essential as Swift’s pre-tour boot camp was, her post-show rest period was just as crucial. With performances often scheduled back-to-back for three days in a row, she said she cherished what she called her “dead day”: a full 24 hours to give her body a much-needed break by, yep, doing nothing. “I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it back to my bed and eat it there,” she said, calling it a “dream scenario.”
Ultimately, it seems like this balance of training and recovery allows her to keep bringing her A-game for fans. “I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed,” explained Swift, who’s now preparing for the 2024 international shows. “That’s part of my identity as a human being now.”
