Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Treadmill Workout

When rumours passed through some run related media outlets that Taylor Swift trained for her Eras Tour by singing her entire set list while on the treadmill, I knew I had to try it out. I just needed to find a treadmill, and an empty house (cause no one wants to hear me sing).

So, when Tania went out of town, I asked for access to her house for a couple hours and hoped her cat would be a gracious audience.
Not only was it the perfect way to rise out of the Lavender Haze of this magical week between Christmas and New Years, but it was also the perfect counterpoint to several days of a lot of food and family.

‘Tis the damn season right?

I picked one of the many playlists on Youtube that had the complete Eras Tour setlist with lyrics and started running. Faster for up tempo pop songs, slower for her more relaxed ballads, but I kept it at a decent run pace the entire time, and aimed to sing every word with as much fortitude I could muster. And let me tell you it was not easy to balance holding those long notes, or fast lyrics while struggling for enough oxygen to not drop like a mic on the treadmill.

The workout starts with a bang with the Lover era, and while I typically nail the Cruel Summer bridge flawlessly every time it comes on while I’m in my car, trying to belt it out while on the treadmill belt was a pretty big fail. “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can”, but The Man has always been a favourite run song so I was quite happy to pick the pace up and fumble my way through that one, but it mostly left me pretty winded.

“I’m just like damn, it’s 7 am. You need to calm down”.

So I did, for Lover, before struggling through the relentless repetition of the Archer. Seriously, how does she do this? I get it. They can see right through you. Let’s move on.

Ok, one album down. And one thing is for certain. I’m a much better runner then singer.

Zadie agrees.

Dammit, young Taylor’s lyrics from her country albums are fast and wordy and I don’t know them as well so I had to work so hard to stay on top of things. But still, “I don’t know how it gets better then this, take my hand and drag me head first, fearless”.

There was definitely some air guitar happening for that one.

Thank god for those moody, covid-era ballads of Evermore and the chance to slow down a bit. Folklore and Evermore are my favourite T-Swift albums and the reason I started listening to her in the first place.

Those lyrics got me through some tough times, and also sparked a love for her music in my oldest daughter. Katie has since turned into a dedicated Swifty and is the biggest reason Taylor is by far the most played artist in our home. I’m not complaining. It’s a fun way for Katie and I to connect. We sing her music together in the car, we went to the Eras Tour movie together, I hope we can get tickets to see her live one day. I probably would not have become much of a Swift fan beyond Folklore and Evermore if it wasn’t for Katie’s enthusiasm.

Ah Evermore. So much emotion. So much easier to sing while running. Things got real dramatic on that treadmill and I watched Zadie Tolerate It before disappearing upstairs.

“This is for the best. My reputation’s never been worse.”

And the tempo picks way up again as we move onto the next album…

“Are you ready for it?…Baby let the games begin.”

For these few quicker songs, I bumped the speed up to a 5:00/km pace, which is a decent effort for me at the best of times, but to do that while trying to control my breathing enough to still sing was almost impossible. Rumour has it that Taylor walked and jogged during these training sessions, so I don’t think that she hit this speed. Or maybe she did, that girl is super talented so I wouldn’t doubt it.

Either way, my attempt at it was bad. There is a reason I did this little experiment in an empty house with no video evidence.
I slowed it right down to a recovery pace for Enchanted. Afterall, she spends the whole song standing still and wearing a ball gown (even the pros take breaks once and awhile) but it doesn’t last long. Speak Now doesn’t get a whole lot of love before the party starts again for the Red album. By this time, I was definitely feeling more like 42 than 22, but I was definitely red faced and sweaty sparkly, and Red is a really fantastic album so I still enjoyed every minute, especially the whole 10-minute version of All too Well.

That’s like a 2 km song.

FOLKLORE! I could die happy with this album. And death was maybe not too far from the truth by this point of my run. I’ve run enough ultras to know what it’s like to cry while running, sometimes moved by emotion, sometimes by beauty, sometimes by pain. Listening to Folklore, remembering the season of my life it played soundtrack to, struggling to control my breath and pace, all while serenading sweet Zadie who had returned to bear witness, made this era a tough and beautiful one. By this time, I was
well over 23km in and bracing myself for two more albums of pop hits.

While Style, Blank Space and Shake it Off are probably some of her biggest hits, I don’t really care for them. And now that I’ve tried to sing them while running race pace, I’m quite happy to never hear them again. Too bad her songs from the vault off this album didn’t make the tour, Is it Over Now?

The finish line is in sight, I’m well glucose-d and ready for the last few songs off Midnights. While Taylor is all seductive and sexy sparkly, I was decidedly un-sexy on Vigilante Shit, but I stayed strong. (Best believe I can still make the whole place shimmer.) Karma is the breeze in my hair on the treadmill as I cooled it down to Long Live as the outro just like in the theatre, looked Zadie right in the eyes and with my whole heart I sang “I had the time of my life, WITH YOU”

She swatted at my laces as I stepped down.

At 3 hours and 13 minutes of showtime, I ran 31.5km at an average of 6:08/km pace, singing 45 songs and ending with tired legs and a sore throat.

I love how many ways there are to be athletic. Some of us run really far, some lift heavy, some dance, some kick a ball, and some sing. Next time you watch someone preform, consider the training that goes into it to make it look easy. Taylor Swift is definitely an ultra endurance athlete to pull off a show and
tour schedule like that, under so much pressure, and with so much style.

In heels. And sparkles.

This ridiculous experiment was a really fun way to meld together some of the things I love. Running, singing (poorly), beautiful lyrics, bizarre athletic challenges, and writing about it so that anyone that cares enough to read this far can chuckle at the thought of me trying to hit the high notes in Wildest Dreams while at a full run.

Thanks Taylor.

Oh, and thanks Zadie.