Taylor Swift spent six months training to hit the stage for her Eras tour, which kicked off in March. She followed a strict training schedule to prepare for the show, which is more than three hours long.

“Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud,” Taylor, 33, told Time magazine in her Person of the Year profile, published on Wednesday, December 6. “Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs.”

The pop star said she trained at Dogpound and followed a custom program that included strength, conditioning and weights. “I knew this tour would be harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot,” she admitted.

taylor swift on eras tour training why she stopped drinking
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Throughout the concert, Taylor performs 44 songs with very specific choreography and has 16 costume changes. She worked with choreographer Mandy Moore, who was recommended to her by Emma Stone.

“I had three months of dance training because I wanted to get it in my bones,” the “Shake it Off” singer shared. “I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans and not lose my train of thought. Learning choreography is not my strong suit.”

Taylor also cut out alcohol during her training period, although she made an exception at the Grammys on February 5. “Doing that show with a hangover … I don’t even want to know that world,” she said.

The Eras tour often requires Taylor to perform the show multiple nights in a row. She is currently on a break until February when she will continue with the international leg of the tour through most of 2024.

“[The fans] 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,” Taylor explained. Tickets for the Eras tour were notoriously hard to get, with Ticketmaster being taken to court after the chaos that ensued.

The Grammy winner certainly doesn’t take it for granted and spends her days off recovering so she can perform at the highest level the next time she takes the stage.

“I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it back to my bed and eat it there,” she shared. “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. I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable or stressed. 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.”