Taylor Swift Underwent Intense Training for Grueling Eras Tour

Taylor Swift is in the middle of the most grueling tour of her life. A multi-year, global trek to put on numerous three-hour shows featuring more than 40 songs apiece? It's no easy feat, but the singer knew that going in.

“I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot,” she tells Time Magazine. “I finally, for the very first time, physically prepared correctly.”

That training began months before she stepped into the first stadium for rehearsals for her Eras Tour. In addition to strength and conditioning in the gym, Swift reveals she built up her endurance by running on a treadmill and singing every one of the songs in the setlist. She would rev up the speed for the fast songs and scale it back for her slower tracks.

Then there were three months of just dancing — which she admits is difficult for her.

“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 says before confessing, “Learning choreography is not my strong suit.”

Swift also made a lifestyle change that helped her zero in on both preparing for the shows and executing them.

“I was really disciplined about drinking,” she shares, admitting that she has lived like a "frat guy" on previous tours.

The pop star stopping drinking months before the Eras Tour launched and has kept it up during its run.

“Doing that show with a hangover,” she says, “I don't want to know that world.”

Of course, all the training in the world means nothing if it all goes out the window once the show starts. Swift kicked off the Eras Tour in March 2023 and will continue the trek in 2024. When it's all said and done, she will have logged over 150 shows.

With long sets and back-to-back shows, coupled with the travel — both domestic and international — Swift has learned to take her recovery process very seriously. She has implemented what she calls "dead days" into her routine.

“I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it back to my bed and eat it there,” she explains. “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," she continues. "But it's the most fulfilled I've ever felt.”

It also helps that Swift has the biggest sources of motivation — her fans. She is locked in on giving her Swifties the best show every night.

“I know I'm going on that stage whether I'm sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed,” she proclaims. “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.”

Swift's Eras Tour is on pause for the holidays, but will resume on Feb. 7, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. She has dates scheduled every month except April and September, and will close the tour out on Dec. 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada.