Taylor Swift just revealed the exact training routine she did in the run up to her Eras tour, and surprise surprise, it’s a doozy. “Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud,” she says. “Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs. Then I had three months of dance training, because 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.” Just to be clear: it takes a minimum of three-and-a-half hours to go through the entire Eras setlist, so our girl was on that treadmill for three-and-a-half hours, while singing, every day for six months. But is it healthy? Should you do it? Sure, but there are caveats. Read on.
As mentioned in the intro, Swift was on the treadmill for 3.5 hours, running while going through the set list for the Eras tour. By singing while running, she was automatically limiting the intensity of her workout. Experts call this the “talk test”—if she went too hard, Swift wouldn’t be able to sing at the same time. “In general, if you’re doing vigorous-intensity activity, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath,” says the CDC.
Running offers incredible benefits for health, longevity, and overall wellness. “There is no question that if you are not exercising and if you make the decision to start — whether it’s walking, jogging, cycling, or an elliptical machine — you are going to be better off,” cardiologist Dr. Aaron Baggish, associate director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, says on Harvard Health. “Many dedicated long-term runners do not run because they want to live longer. They run because it makes them feel better on a daily basis. There is a mood-elevating, quality-of-life benefit that comes from being a regular exerciser.”
Music and exercise go hand-in-hand for a reason—research shows the former can improve the latter. “Listening to music while exercising doesn’t just relieve boredom — it can help improve the quality of your workout by increasing your stamina and putting you in a better mood,” Jenny Markell, PhD, says on the National Center for Health Research website. “In particular, music that is motivational or synchronized with your exercise is shown to have physical and psychological effects. When a song has a strong, steady beat, for example, you can pedal or run to the beat of that music, which tends to feel satisfying and may inspire you to exercise more. The lyrics or catchy rhythm of motivational music inspires you to exercise longer or work harder during your exercise routine.”
Want to try Swift’s workout? Don’t try to do too much too quickly, and always consult with a medical professional before starting a drastic new regimen. “Start slowly,” Brandee Waite, a physician with the UC Davis Sports Medicine Program, says on UC Davis Health. “I recommend increasing your mileage by no more than 10 to 15 percent per week to help avoid injury. Set some interim goals of completing first a 5K, then a 10K and then a half marathon if you are new to long-distance running. Joining a running club can put you on a good schedule to avoid injury while carefully ramping up your mileage. Local running shoe stores typically have information on options. Also, it is very important to stretch after you run.”
Ultrarunner Zoë Rom took one for the team and tried Swift’s workout for herself. Rom says she approached the workout the same way she would for a marathon (smart). Her conclusion? She loved it. “It wasn’t just hard. It was fun,” Rom says in her article for Outside Online. “Constantly varying efforts help you stay engaged, and focusing on remembering the lyrics helps you stay more present with the effort, rather than hyper-fixating on how far you’ve gone, or time elapsed. Though I’ve had the set list nearly memorized since it dropped at 3:31 P.M. EST on March 18th, the unpredictability in song length and intensities is a nice mental challenge. It’s tough but flexible. Demanding but fun. Much like the singer herself.”