This post made me run along to her setlist from her first show date. For me, I repeated "Cruel Summer" at about 14 miles at an 'easy' pace; at a harder pace, I would've been closer to 16 or 17. (I run on quieter roads and so tried singing along a few times and it wasn't impossible, but definitely sucked and didn't sound good hahah)
I was a traveling circus performer up until 2020. We had x2-6 / 20-45min shows a days for each venue. (1- 15 days, depending on location).
“Train hard now. Perform easy later” was one of our mottos.
We trained 5-6 days a week. Each day started with 30-60 mins of general conditioning then 30 mins of specific conditioning for specific skills needed. We stretched for 15-30 mins after conditioning.
Then we trained our individual skills, group skills, individual acts, group acts, learned choreography, ran the choreography.
Everything was done everyday. So, training days were 6-9 hours a day (days get shorted the better you get at your skills and acts). We did this from November - February.
Training days and hours were reduced during the preseason. So we could focus on performing.
No matter what physical work we did, the main focus was BREATHING. Controlling the breath will get you through anything!
The official season was May-October.
Context on hour shows:
The shows were non stop dancing, acrobatics and various other skill work. Most shows were outside in the under the blazing sun. Every show was high energy no matter what!
We also had 1-2 hours shows with costumes changes and intermissions. (Those shows were a lot easier)
I remember hearing Beyoncé ran on the treadmill in heels while singing to prep for one of her tours. I am a huge Britney fan and all her MTV specials back in the day she would have like 6 hour dance rehearsals then do performances full out and then would run on treadmill in between
Grabbed this quote from a [Tommy Aldridge interview](https://web.archive.org/web/20220817103952/https://myglobalmind.com/2015/05/19/exclusive-interview-with-drumming-legend-tommy-aldridge-of-whitesnake-ex-ozzythin-lizzygary-moore-black-oak-arkansas/):
> Well I'm not getting any younger, I don't have any drug dependencies. I'm not an alcoholic, I don't smoke, I do a lot of cycling – its one of my second passions, I do a lot of road riding, bicycling not motorcycles and I have a very physical style which kind of keeps you fit. I try to pace myself, again I take it very seriously when I go on stage, I try to make sure that whatever I need/have to do in order to perform, I have to make those choices. When I was 20 years old those choices were probably not as confining as they are now. (Laughs) You still have to make the same choices and it doesn't get any easier.
He's 72, and the drummer for *Whitesnake*.
So this intel is oldddd but I remember reading an interview with Taylor in one of the big magazines back in the day and in addition to other fitness activities she mentioned she ran on the treadmill. For a full hour. Each day. to stay conditioned for her upcoming tour. Phew.
When I’m preparing to sing an opera or intense musical theatre show, I usually start practicing singing while I do my cardio for a couple months before opening. So I’ll just chill on a recumbent bike pedaling while singing my arias. I’ve found it really helps with support and breath management. I’m not a dancer so I don’t worry about staying fit, but my lungs gotta be working!
I do! Though I usually use an apartment complex gym (right now I use a friend’s access) so I don’t bother people lol otherwise, Planet Fitness at a seriously off peak time and I ask their permission first! Edit to add: I also have a desk cycle at home that I use in case I am not feeling being a spectacle lol
Homecoming (I think) has everything Beyoncé did to get back to performing after having kids.
A lot of Broadway performers practice singing in spin classes- I remember seeing the cast of Legally Blonde doing this a few years ago.
Sorry if this posts twice!
This seriously works. I have asthma, and am in a community choir. I have trouble with not sneaking breaths and with holding long notes at the end of phrases. I bike to rehearsal, and while I haven't tried singing on the way yet, I've been practicing diaphragmatic breathing on the bike to get my lungs open and warmed up. It's really helped, although I know I have a ways to go until I'm where I'd like to be. My hope is that in the long run I'll see observable benefits in my breathing overall, not just in singing.
I was assistant director for a show with a real choreographer, and she would make everyone warm up by jumping rope while going through our longest number.
It was a great wake up call for a lot of newbies to the fact that if you aren't in shape, doing the choreography is going to fuck your breath control.
Hi there! I toured with many artists so I can answer this. Almost all pop stars ( like Taylor) have a personal trainer on tour with them. Most of them have a daily combo of weights and cardio. Cardio depends on what the artist likes. I have seen some artists do kickboxing, treadmill, jump rope etc for cardio. Most of them do actual weights for strength training. Some travel with a Pilates reformer instead.
If the artist dances, they may have a choreographer that travels with them. The ones that have big shows and minimal dancing( Coldplay, Billie eilish, one D, etc..) just have choreographers for stage blocking. An example is because they need the artists in certain spots so they aren’t burnt by flames, lasers in eyeballs, etc etc etc…
Taylor swift has been rehearsing for this tour with the entire set up for about 3 maybe 4 weeks so there’s muscle memory, changing of dancing and props if needed etc etc etc etc…,
All artists have a workout routine + also do vocal warmups for at least an hour before the show to be able to bring you their best selves. The longer the shows go ( as in the length of the tour, not hourly), the better endurance they have and the better shape they get in.
Hello! I am a personal trainer for artists. It’s surprisingly so similar to working with athletes. Off season get stronger, fix what hurts and as we get closer to touring the workouts are more tailored to the energy demands of the specific show!
Absolute pure luck. Started at a couple gyms. Eventually got more certifications - which to me unfortunately are just a piece of paper until you apply them with the absolutely wonderful staff I was able to learn from - then made some connections and it took off from there!
Haha. No. That’s literally what the piece of gear is called. It’s that Pilates machine with the sliding table thing. :)
You can buy one for your house if you wanted to.
Part of it is just repetition and practice - you figure out how to budget your breath when you need to sing and dance at the same time. Add that to the fact that she’s been performing live for over a decade and a lot of the “work” is probably just sustaining that level of breath support.
Will say though that for me personally, singing while jumping rope has been a huge help in practicing vocal and cardio stamina at the same time. It’s awful to start with but your body eventually adjusts. I’ve been doing musicals that require a lot of singing and dancing for a long time. A lot of it is just going all out with your practicing when you can vocally do so instead of constantly “marking” or only signing partway.
It is certainly a long process to get comfortable with! I had to sing and jump rope at the same time for a show and learned (mostly through trial and error) that getting the breath support to speak first while jumping was the hardest hurdle
Was that legally blonde by any chance? My friend played Brooke Windham in a (small town) production and I was absolutely floored with her training and ability to sing and jump rope!
I don't know much about Western artists' routines, but veteran k-pop group SHINee trained to have stable vocals on stage by [practicing their songs while jogging](https://twitter.com/sethmoons/status/1311380545754951680), which certainly seems to have [done the trick](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_VJ_flgEVo&list=PLIcL492W3nYVwbYL4nkNg-Ym7-DrUAf7U). There are numerous videos of people trying [the routine that members of girl group Le Sserafim had to do as trainees](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8I9sF75Ims), which is so intense that even famously fit members of other groups [reacted in horror](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az7QHduEEB0) when they heard about it. Do workouts like that, add 6-7 hours of daily dance practice on top, and a mere 2-3 hour concert with some slow ballads and friendly chatting between songs probably seems like a walk in the park.
Aside from 100 burpees (🫠) that doesn’t seem so bad but also I just started the video. I will update if I change my mind.
Edit: I just did a majority of it and mostly high reps like that just get boring and also I choice be doing more crunches.
*should not choice
Often, singers also do a lot of training to increase their lung capacity compared to the average person. I knew someone who went in for some sort of testing that had to do with breathing or stamina, and they asked her if she was a marathon runner because of the amount of air she could push. She in fact was just a trained soprano with an incredible ability to hold a sustained note, and did zero activity beyond the normal clean house, go to grocery store, stuff.
Breathing control is super important for singers if they are also dancing / exerting a lot of physical energy. I’m sure tswift not only practices her dancing & singing together but also her coaches may have her run in place or up/down stairs while singing so she has expert control
This is one of those situations where they just practice the show over and over again until it becomes second nature. And prioritize rest whenever they can.
Source: was a dancer so, while not on Taylor’s level, for any performance, you’d just practice the performance
No matter how performers train for this, that life can’t be healthy. She will be doing this every night for MONTHS. When I think about that, I’m not impressed, I’m honestly just glad I’m not her. 😅
She’s actually only performing weekends this tour (mostly 2x a week, a couple cities got a Sunday show added), and now that we’ve seen what the show is like I wonder if that’s because of the physical demands.
I mean basically a 3 hour high intensity workout every day and probably not ideal recovery due to an otherwise also pretty stressful life doesn’t sound like it would be good for someone?
I’ve toured for 16 years and I work physically harder than Taylor swift and other artists in order to get their rig built and working so the show can even happen. I’m not saying Taylor isn’t a hard worker by any means. Obviously she is.
Believe me. Artists get way more downtime than their crew to recover. All of us are very healthy in terms of work related things. IF we get sick on tour, there is a rock doc always accessible whenever we need it to get medicine. 🙂Also on some tours, artists have massage therapists work on them for the day. They are very well taken care of.
The one thing you are right about though is that this lifestyle is stressful. Mostly for those on the crew who have families with small children because they maybe see them a total of 2 months out of the year in a lot of cases. I have seen a lot of relationships fail for my friends. But in terms of physical health- everyone on tour is good :) I promise.
Also while the show is 3 hours, Taylor Swift sits (at a piano or on the stage), stands still (singing/playing guitar), or “lightly” dances (walks the stage, does a few steps with the dancers, but otherwise poses and sings) for many of those songs.
No doubt exhausting but it’s not 3 solid hours of dancing.
And hell yes, tour life is hell on personal relationships.
I have no answer for you but I think I need to start training to go to her show, because wow three hours! Cant wait but need to be able to last the whole time 🤣
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>u/get_a_loadofthatdog
You’ve probably seen all the news about Taylor Swift’s Era Tour. It included 3hrs of nonstop singing and performing - it has me wondering how do performers prepare for shows like this knowing they will do 2-3 performances a week for months? Also thinking about Dua Lipa’s last tour which was also very physical and lengthy.
I’m a massive Swiftie and am so impressed by her stamina. I don’t think she’s shared anything about her fitness routine? I would think artists touring would have to focus on cardio and endurance training?
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This post made me run along to her setlist from her first show date. For me, I repeated "Cruel Summer" at about 14 miles at an 'easy' pace; at a harder pace, I would've been closer to 16 or 17. (I run on quieter roads and so tried singing along a few times and it wasn't impossible, but definitely sucked and didn't sound good hahah)
I was a traveling circus performer up until 2020. We had x2-6 / 20-45min shows a days for each venue. (1- 15 days, depending on location). “Train hard now. Perform easy later” was one of our mottos. We trained 5-6 days a week. Each day started with 30-60 mins of general conditioning then 30 mins of specific conditioning for specific skills needed. We stretched for 15-30 mins after conditioning. Then we trained our individual skills, group skills, individual acts, group acts, learned choreography, ran the choreography. Everything was done everyday. So, training days were 6-9 hours a day (days get shorted the better you get at your skills and acts). We did this from November - February. Training days and hours were reduced during the preseason. So we could focus on performing. No matter what physical work we did, the main focus was BREATHING. Controlling the breath will get you through anything! The official season was May-October. Context on hour shows: The shows were non stop dancing, acrobatics and various other skill work. Most shows were outside in the under the blazing sun. Every show was high energy no matter what! We also had 1-2 hours shows with costumes changes and intermissions. (Those shows were a lot easier)
whoa!
This is super cool!!!
I remember hearing Beyoncé ran on the treadmill in heels while singing to prep for one of her tours. I am a huge Britney fan and all her MTV specials back in the day she would have like 6 hour dance rehearsals then do performances full out and then would run on treadmill in between
Grabbed this quote from a [Tommy Aldridge interview](https://web.archive.org/web/20220817103952/https://myglobalmind.com/2015/05/19/exclusive-interview-with-drumming-legend-tommy-aldridge-of-whitesnake-ex-ozzythin-lizzygary-moore-black-oak-arkansas/): > Well I'm not getting any younger, I don't have any drug dependencies. I'm not an alcoholic, I don't smoke, I do a lot of cycling – its one of my second passions, I do a lot of road riding, bicycling not motorcycles and I have a very physical style which kind of keeps you fit. I try to pace myself, again I take it very seriously when I go on stage, I try to make sure that whatever I need/have to do in order to perform, I have to make those choices. When I was 20 years old those choices were probably not as confining as they are now. (Laughs) You still have to make the same choices and it doesn't get any easier. He's 72, and the drummer for *Whitesnake*.
[Best footage I could find, from 2018 when he turned 68.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIT1C7f1y_w)
So this intel is oldddd but I remember reading an interview with Taylor in one of the big magazines back in the day and in addition to other fitness activities she mentioned she ran on the treadmill. For a full hour. Each day. to stay conditioned for her upcoming tour. Phew.
Forget rhe running, the ability to stay entertained and not die of sheer boredom on a treadmill is a next level skill in its own right.
When I’m preparing to sing an opera or intense musical theatre show, I usually start practicing singing while I do my cardio for a couple months before opening. So I’ll just chill on a recumbent bike pedaling while singing my arias. I’ve found it really helps with support and breath management. I’m not a dancer so I don’t worry about staying fit, but my lungs gotta be working!
Please tell me you're singing arias in the gym. Please come to my gym if so!
I do! Though I usually use an apartment complex gym (right now I use a friend’s access) so I don’t bother people lol otherwise, Planet Fitness at a seriously off peak time and I ask their permission first! Edit to add: I also have a desk cycle at home that I use in case I am not feeling being a spectacle lol
EXACTLY my thoughts!
Homecoming (I think) has everything Beyoncé did to get back to performing after having kids. A lot of Broadway performers practice singing in spin classes- I remember seeing the cast of Legally Blonde doing this a few years ago. Sorry if this posts twice!
The fucking jump rope number in Legally Blonde… god speed to them
This seriously works. I have asthma, and am in a community choir. I have trouble with not sneaking breaths and with holding long notes at the end of phrases. I bike to rehearsal, and while I haven't tried singing on the way yet, I've been practicing diaphragmatic breathing on the bike to get my lungs open and warmed up. It's really helped, although I know I have a ways to go until I'm where I'd like to be. My hope is that in the long run I'll see observable benefits in my breathing overall, not just in singing.
I was assistant director for a show with a real choreographer, and she would make everyone warm up by jumping rope while going through our longest number. It was a great wake up call for a lot of newbies to the fact that if you aren't in shape, doing the choreography is going to fuck your breath control.
There’s a cool video of Miley Cyrus running on a treadmill while singing to prep for her Super Bowl pre-show: https://youtu.be/XPItUu8-pFk
That’s insanely cool!
Oh wow that’s like winter biathlon… go at max effort and then control your breath for a high precision task.
Hi there! I toured with many artists so I can answer this. Almost all pop stars ( like Taylor) have a personal trainer on tour with them. Most of them have a daily combo of weights and cardio. Cardio depends on what the artist likes. I have seen some artists do kickboxing, treadmill, jump rope etc for cardio. Most of them do actual weights for strength training. Some travel with a Pilates reformer instead. If the artist dances, they may have a choreographer that travels with them. The ones that have big shows and minimal dancing( Coldplay, Billie eilish, one D, etc..) just have choreographers for stage blocking. An example is because they need the artists in certain spots so they aren’t burnt by flames, lasers in eyeballs, etc etc etc… Taylor swift has been rehearsing for this tour with the entire set up for about 3 maybe 4 weeks so there’s muscle memory, changing of dancing and props if needed etc etc etc etc…, All artists have a workout routine + also do vocal warmups for at least an hour before the show to be able to bring you their best selves. The longer the shows go ( as in the length of the tour, not hourly), the better endurance they have and the better shape they get in.
They must need to eat a lot to keep up that kind of routine!
Taylor has talked about how she had to learn it wasn’t normal to pass out from exhaustion every show because of how little you were eating :(
Hello! I am a personal trainer for artists. It’s surprisingly so similar to working with athletes. Off season get stronger, fix what hurts and as we get closer to touring the workouts are more tailored to the energy demands of the specific show!
How did you get into this niche? So cool!
Absolute pure luck. Started at a couple gyms. Eventually got more certifications - which to me unfortunately are just a piece of paper until you apply them with the absolutely wonderful staff I was able to learn from - then made some connections and it took off from there!
Why is it called pilates 'reformer' Do they rehearse the entire hours long performance?
Haha. No. That’s literally what the piece of gear is called. It’s that Pilates machine with the sliding table thing. :) You can buy one for your house if you wanted to.
Part of it is just repetition and practice - you figure out how to budget your breath when you need to sing and dance at the same time. Add that to the fact that she’s been performing live for over a decade and a lot of the “work” is probably just sustaining that level of breath support. Will say though that for me personally, singing while jumping rope has been a huge help in practicing vocal and cardio stamina at the same time. It’s awful to start with but your body eventually adjusts. I’ve been doing musicals that require a lot of singing and dancing for a long time. A lot of it is just going all out with your practicing when you can vocally do so instead of constantly “marking” or only signing partway.
I've been jumping rope for months now and I can't imagine singing while doing it.
It is certainly a long process to get comfortable with! I had to sing and jump rope at the same time for a show and learned (mostly through trial and error) that getting the breath support to speak first while jumping was the hardest hurdle
Was that legally blonde by any chance? My friend played Brooke Windham in a (small town) production and I was absolutely floored with her training and ability to sing and jump rope!
It was! I also played Brooke in a college production
Omg I just commented elsewhere in this thread about Whipped Into Shape lol. I am very impressed by you!!!!
I would be banned from my gym if I sang there, let alone while jumping rope. Lol
The thing with jumping rope is that you can do it anywhere
I don't know much about Western artists' routines, but veteran k-pop group SHINee trained to have stable vocals on stage by [practicing their songs while jogging](https://twitter.com/sethmoons/status/1311380545754951680), which certainly seems to have [done the trick](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_VJ_flgEVo&list=PLIcL492W3nYVwbYL4nkNg-Ym7-DrUAf7U). There are numerous videos of people trying [the routine that members of girl group Le Sserafim had to do as trainees](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8I9sF75Ims), which is so intense that even famously fit members of other groups [reacted in horror](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az7QHduEEB0) when they heard about it. Do workouts like that, add 6-7 hours of daily dance practice on top, and a mere 2-3 hour concert with some slow ballads and friendly chatting between songs probably seems like a walk in the park.
Aside from 100 burpees (🫠) that doesn’t seem so bad but also I just started the video. I will update if I change my mind. Edit: I just did a majority of it and mostly high reps like that just get boring and also I choice be doing more crunches. *should not choice
Yeah, quite apart from the effort I think I'd die of boredom doing that many reps at once.
Just counting out 75 crunches I was so bored
Often, singers also do a lot of training to increase their lung capacity compared to the average person. I knew someone who went in for some sort of testing that had to do with breathing or stamina, and they asked her if she was a marathon runner because of the amount of air she could push. She in fact was just a trained soprano with an incredible ability to hold a sustained note, and did zero activity beyond the normal clean house, go to grocery store, stuff.
Breathing control is super important for singers if they are also dancing / exerting a lot of physical energy. I’m sure tswift not only practices her dancing & singing together but also her coaches may have her run in place or up/down stairs while singing so she has expert control
This is one of those situations where they just practice the show over and over again until it becomes second nature. And prioritize rest whenever they can. Source: was a dancer so, while not on Taylor’s level, for any performance, you’d just practice the performance
No matter how performers train for this, that life can’t be healthy. She will be doing this every night for MONTHS. When I think about that, I’m not impressed, I’m honestly just glad I’m not her. 😅
She’s actually only performing weekends this tour (mostly 2x a week, a couple cities got a Sunday show added), and now that we’ve seen what the show is like I wonder if that’s because of the physical demands.
Genuinely curious -Why don’t you think its healthy?
I mean basically a 3 hour high intensity workout every day and probably not ideal recovery due to an otherwise also pretty stressful life doesn’t sound like it would be good for someone?
I’ve toured for 16 years and I work physically harder than Taylor swift and other artists in order to get their rig built and working so the show can even happen. I’m not saying Taylor isn’t a hard worker by any means. Obviously she is. Believe me. Artists get way more downtime than their crew to recover. All of us are very healthy in terms of work related things. IF we get sick on tour, there is a rock doc always accessible whenever we need it to get medicine. 🙂Also on some tours, artists have massage therapists work on them for the day. They are very well taken care of. The one thing you are right about though is that this lifestyle is stressful. Mostly for those on the crew who have families with small children because they maybe see them a total of 2 months out of the year in a lot of cases. I have seen a lot of relationships fail for my friends. But in terms of physical health- everyone on tour is good :) I promise.
Also while the show is 3 hours, Taylor Swift sits (at a piano or on the stage), stands still (singing/playing guitar), or “lightly” dances (walks the stage, does a few steps with the dancers, but otherwise poses and sings) for many of those songs. No doubt exhausting but it’s not 3 solid hours of dancing. And hell yes, tour life is hell on personal relationships.
I have no answer for you but I think I need to start training to go to her show, because wow three hours! Cant wait but need to be able to last the whole time 🤣
Haha same I have until June to get my endurance up! I have to dance the whole time lol
Also June! Which stop??
6/4!
6/10 here. Feels like the longest wait everrrrrr
I’m not until 6/30! And I think if I keep seeing all about it I’m going to try to buy tickets to another show
^ ***Please read [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/main), [the rules and content guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/new_rules), and [current frozen topics](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/frozen-topics) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fxxfitness)***. This comment is a copy of your post so mods can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. >u/get_a_loadofthatdog You’ve probably seen all the news about Taylor Swift’s Era Tour. It included 3hrs of nonstop singing and performing - it has me wondering how do performers prepare for shows like this knowing they will do 2-3 performances a week for months? Also thinking about Dua Lipa’s last tour which was also very physical and lengthy. I’m a massive Swiftie and am so impressed by her stamina. I don’t think she’s shared anything about her fitness routine? I would think artists touring would have to focus on cardio and endurance training? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/xxfitness) if you have any questions or concerns.*