“I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed,” said the pop star, who was named TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year. “That’s part of my identity as a human being now.”
As any of the millions of Swifties who attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour can likely tell you, her stamina during the three-hour, 40-plus-song concert is mind-blowing — and probably only comparable to that of a professional athlete.
So, it should be no surprise that she also appears to train like one.
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In an interview with TIME, which named the superstar its 2023 Person of the Year, Swift detailed her rigorous Eras Tour fitness regimen and self-care routine.
“They had to work really hard to get the tickets. I wanted to play a show that was longer than they ever thought it would be, because that makes me feel good leaving the stadium,” the 33-year-old singer said of the Eras Tour shows, which clock in at over 180 minutes.
Swift revealed she started preparing six months before the tour began in March in Glendale, Arizona.
“I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot. I finally, for the very first time, physically prepared correctly,” she told TIME, joking that she “toured like a frat guy” in the past.
“Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud,” Swift recalled of her set list, which features a whopping 44 songs. “Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs.”
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In addition to cardio, the Grammy winner followed a customized program at her gym, Dogpound, which included strength, conditioning, training, and weight training. Swift also had three months of dance training.
“I wanted to get it in my bones. I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans, and not lose my train of thought,” she said. “Learning choreography is not my strong suit.”
Meanwhile, the “Cruel Summer” singer also revealed she made a huge lifestyle change while preparing for the tour: she quit drinking alcohol.
“I was really disciplined about drinking,” Swift recalled to TIME. “I stopped drinking for a couple months before the show except for on Grammy night, which was hilarious. I gave myself a fun night for that one.”
She maintained her no-drinking rule throughout the first run of the tour, which included 66 sold-out concerts.
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“Doing that show with a hangover,” she said, “I don’t want to know that world.”
Swift also shared that she would have a recovery day during the breaks between tour legs, which she described as a “dead day.”
“I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it back to my bed and eat it there,” she said. “It’s a dream scenario. I can barely speak because I’ve been singing for three shows straight. Every time I take a step my feet go crunch, crunch, crunch from dancing in heels. But it’s the most fulfilled I’ve ever felt.”
While she’s currently on a break right now, she will hit the road again in February 2024 when the Eras Tour resumes. The second run of the tour — which includes stints in Asia, Australia and, Europe, before coming back North America — will consist of 85 shows. Swift emphasized that she will stick to her routine to give fans the best show of their lives.
“I know I’m not drinking on tour. I know I’m working out in between shows. I know I’m keeping my strength and stamina up. I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed,” she told TIME. “That’s part of my identity as a human being now. If someone buys a ticket to my show, I’m going to play it unless we have some sort of force majeure.”
Read Swift’s full TIME 2023 Person of the Year cover story, here.
