Like every person who has had the chance to see Taylor Swift perform The Eras Tour live, I walked away with a natural high and in awe of her. She flawlessly performed for about three hours straight without breaking a sweat or a hair moving out of place. For comparison, I took a break to go buy a big bottle of water because I was dehydrated headed into hour three of the concert. It was genuinely impossible not to notice that this highly talented singer also happened to be in incredible shape. I have never been one of those women who refuses to acknowledge another woman's beauty. Taylor Swift is gorgeous and seemingly in the best shape of her life, my life, and probably your life.
When she explained her workout plan in an interview, I naturally decided to try it. To give some context, I would not say that I'm incredibly fit. My metabolism and genes carried me for a solid 35 years, and even though a few of them have seemingly gone on strike, most are still firing on all cylinders. I'm not someone who naturally likes to work out primarily because I never had to be someone who works out a lot. With that said, I do love all water sports and am more than a decent swimmer. Growing up, I held my nose for a long time when I swam, so I primarily relied on my legs. I can still easily tread water for about ten minutes with my arms fully over my head. I've never tested how long I could actually go just treading. The only time that I really use the full muscles in my arms to swim is when I get caught in a current or tide. Only at that point, it occurs to me that I do know most of the strokes and can propel myself along faster with my arms. To the point, I'm not a fitness guru, but I'm also not out of shape, or at least that's what I thought.
In the interview, Taylor Swift said she spent three months on the treadmill to her playlist. She ran and sang the fast songs and jogged or walked quickly while singing the slower ones. I was off to a good start in the sense that I already do know the words to her setlist of songs. I frequently play "Finish the Taylor Swift Lyric" when I'm bored or when I know someone I love is worried about something. It's a good distraction. When it comes to running, I have never loved running long distances. If you give me an end in sight, I will get there and fairly quickly, but I have never found a way to just run for the sake of it. With that in mind, I hit the treadmill with my setlist. I made it through two fast songs before I had to slow my pace because I think I stopped breathing, and I'm being generous by saying I made it through two songs. Running is hard. Running and singing is damn near impossible. I could not figure out how to run, stay on pace, sing, and breathe simultaneously. It was a complete failure for me.
Am I going to drop the challenge? No, I'm too stubborn and competitive. Also, I'm mildly concerned about my stamina after having to drop out so quickly on my first try. Now, I'm working on my endurance. I add more mileage to my workouts weekly. Rather than stick entirely to her playlist, I break up the fast songs so that I am sprinting and singing through one but then just walking quickly while singing to the next song. Also, my setlist is nowhere near over three hours. While completing a full marathon has never been on my bucket list, I might add doing some shorter ones to it.
Maybe I will eventually understand why people love running "all too well...."
Picture is me dying on the bed after 45 minutes of this routine.
Current Playlist
Djo's "End of Beginning"
Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill"
Selena Gomez's "The Heart Wants What it Wants"
Taylor Swift's "Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince"
Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer"
Taylor Swift's "The Man"
Taylor Swift's "Hits Different"
Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night"
The Wonders's "That Thing You Do"
Big Red Machine's "Renegade"
Taylor Swift's "I Can See You"