YoIf you’ve been exercising your vocal cords with Taylor Swift’s album. The Department of Tortured Poets, it may be time to move on to other parts of the body, such as the arms, legs, and trunk. We asked three fitness trainers how to turn some of Swift’s new tunes into a fun and effective workout.
Fortnight
Use the opening track on The Department of Tortured Poets as a warm-up for the rest of your workout, he advises Kelly Borowieccertified personal trainer in San Francisco.
Perform 14 repetitions (to mimic fifteen days) of each exercise.
- Arm circles: While running in place, extend your arms and make circular movements forward. Reverse directions halfway.
- Sit down and reach: Sit in a squat position and then, as you stand, raise one arm above your head and along the midline of your body. Switch arms after each squat.
- Jumping jacks: Start with your feet together and arms at your sides. Jump your feet to the sides while raising your arms overhead. Go back to the starting position.
- Hamstring Curl: Stand up straight and lift one heel toward your glutes, bending your knee. Lower your foot again and repeat with the other leg.
- March from knees to chest: March in place and alternately bring your knee toward your chest. Keep your back straight and abs tight.
- Quad stretch: Reach back with one hand to grab the ankle of the foot on the same side. Hold your ankle toward your glutes for a few brief moments and then switch sides.
Repeat throughout the song and every time you hear the word “fortnight,” turn your head to the side and offer one of Swift’s iconic dramatic looks, suggests Borowiec.
The Department of Tortured Poets
Borowiec calls this routine The Tortured Legs Department, because it contains “slow, torturous squats.”
- 5 reps of squats: 3 seconds sitting, 1 second standing.
- 5 reps of squats: 1 second sitting, 3 seconds standing.
- 5 reps of squats: 3 seconds down, 3 seconds up.
- Press for 10 seconds. While squatting, move your legs up and down.
- For 20 seconds, jog or run in place.
- Rest for 15 seconds.
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Repeat for the duration of the song. Beginners can perform every other rep and/or just go down part of the way into a squat, Borowiec says; those who are more advanced can hold weights to feel an extra burn. During rest periods, do some “mom humming” as Swift calls it: sway, dance and sing, making every face and hand gesture speak to you as you lose yourself in the music.
My child only breaks his favorite toys.
This workout focuses on basic exercises, which can be performed at a slower pace. The key is to focus on deliberate, controlled movements without compromising form, says Borowiec. That way, unlike Swift’s guy, you won’t break anything important.
Perform each of these abdominal exercises for 30 seconds. Take 13 seconds of rest (a nod to Swift, who was born on December 13 and often references that number) between each set, advises Borowiec.
- Bikes: Lie on your back, hands behind your head, and alternately bring your opposite elbow (but think shoulder) to your knee while extending your other leg.
- Reverse crunches: Lie on your back with your legs in the air, then lift your hips off the floor by contracting your abs and lifting your knees toward your chest.
- Russian twists: Sit on the floor with your knees bent, lean back slightly, and twist your torso from side to side while holding an optional weight.
- Mountaineers: Start in a plank position and then alternately bring your knees toward your chest in a running motion.
- Bird dogs: Start on your hands and knees, extend one arm forward and the opposite leg back while keeping your back flat, then return to the starting position and switch sides.
down bad
This song has a fast beat in the background, Borowiec notes, which allows for the synchronization of faster cardiovascular movements. She recommends singing out loud while she performs these cardio moves, just like Swift did when she got in shape for the Eras Tour.
Perform each exercise for 45 seconds. Get down and do a burpee every time you hear the word “down.”
- Jogging in place (or give a shout out to Travis Kelce with quick football feet)
- jump the rope (imaginary or real)
- Ski jumpers: Start in a squat position, then jump laterally from side to side. Reach your opposite arm to your opposite foot while keeping your chest elevated and your back leg in the air behind you.
Repeat for the duration of the song.
See you later, London
This workout, designed by Borowiec, focuses on the upper body and targets key areas such as the arms, shoulders, and chest. Try to perform each move smoothly, using force rather than momentum, he says, channeling the inner strength that Swift modeled in leaving her beloved London behind.
Perform each exercise for 40 seconds, with dumbbells.
- Bicep curls: Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing up, bend them toward your shoulders, and then lower them back down. Keep your elbows close to your sides.
- Triceps extensions: Hold a dumbbell with both hands, extend your arms overhead, and then lower the weight behind your head by bending your elbows at 90 degrees. Go back to the starting position.
- Chest press: Lie on your back with your elbows bent and at shoulder level, then push the dumbbells up until your arms are extended straight up and lower the dumbbells to chest level.
- Standing rows: Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs with your palms facing your body. Pull the dumbbells toward your chest while squeezing your shoulder blades, then lower the dumbbells back down.
- Shoulder press: Hold the dumbbells at shoulder height, press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are extended straight up, then lower them down. Alternate arms if necessary.
- jump the rope during the rest of the song. Individual jumps or rhythm jumps.
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Tip: Keep different size dumbbells nearby to adjust the difficulty as needed. If you don’t have dumbbells, you can use water bottles or soup cans. And since you’ll be moving your arms a lot, wear all the friendship bracelets you collected on the Eras Tour, suggests Borowiec.
Just out of jail
Imagine that you have just been freed from some metaphorical restriction and your first step is to exercise your deep abs. This is how, according to Lara Heimanncertified yoga instructor based in Princeton, New Jersey
- Verses 1: Lie on your back, with your knees bent, hands behind your head, and elbows bent. Exhale, lift your shoulders and head off the floor, lift your left knee, and rotate your chest and spine to the left. Return to the center and go down, then repeat to the right.
- Chorus: Place your knees over your hips, lift your head and shoulders off the floor, and then rotate your pelvis.
- Verses 2: Start the same as the first verse but straighten your left knee and extend your right hand outside your left leg.
- Rest briefly.
- Bridge/chorus: Scissor legs.
- Rest and breathe.
I can fix it (No, I really can)
Try a barre exercise to this soulful song, suggests Linda Magid, a fitness instructor at Denver Parks and Recreation in Colorado, who also teach online. It targets your arms and requires light weights (2 to 3 pounds); or substitute a can of beans or a large book. “Dating someone you’re trying to fix takes an incredible amount of work, as does sweeping,” Magid says.
- Stand tall with a weight in each hand, like Swift preparing for a fight.
- Verse 1 and chorus: Slowly raise your arms forward to shoulder height and slowly return them to your sides, eight times. When the chorus begins, raise your arms forward and pulse them in small movements. You should feel an intense muscle burn. Drop your arms to rest.
- Verses 2 and 3 and chorus: Slowly raise your arms to the sides to shoulder height and slowly return them to the sides, eight times. When the chorus begins, raise your arms to the sides and pulse them in small movements. When the chorus ends, lower your arms to rest.
- Verse 4 and chorus: Raise your arms back (with a slight bend in the knees and a slight lean forward) and return them to your sides slowly, eight times. When the chorus begins, raise your arms behind you and pulse them in small movements. Drop your arms to rest.
I can do it with a broken heart
One of the most lively songs The Department of Tortured Poets Requires cardiovascular exercise. Magid’s routine, which gets more difficult as the song progresses, appropriately focuses on the heart and lungs.
- Movement 1: March to the first “1,2,3,4”.
- Movement 2: Jog in place: You can switch to a high-knee jog for the second half of the verse, until the second “1,2,3,4.”
- Move 3: Quick Feet: Crouch into an athletic stance with your feet wide and run on the spot as fast as you can. Your steps should be small and close to the ground. (Smile while moving your feet very quickly, just like Swift did while she was dying inside, Magid suggests.)
- Repeat.
- Movement 1: It can be a trot here instead of a walk.
- Movement 2: They may have their knees high all the time.
- Move 3: Quick feet while moving side to side and back and forth.
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Clara Arco
With Borowiec’s instructions, turn this tune into a satisfying cool-down. Its leisurely pace makes it a good choice for stretching and relaxing, he says.
Hold each stretch for 30 seconds. Switch sides mid-song.
- Knee to chest: While lying on your back, hold one knee against your chest and straighten the other leg.
- Glute/hip stretch: Lie on your back with both knees bent. Cross your right ankle over your left knee, then gently pull the back of your left leg toward your chest.
- Prone Quad Stretch: Lie face down, grab one ankle with your knee bent, and pull it toward your buttocks.
- Cobra: Lie face down, then push up into your forearms as you lift your chest off the floor with your hips down.
- Child’s posture: Kneel with your knees open, sit on your heels, and lower your torso forward with your arms straight or at your side.
- Triceps stretch: Extend one arm above your head, bend it, and gently press the elbow with your other hand.
- Biceps stretch: Extend your arms behind you and then point your thumbs down and back.
Conclude the workout with three deep breaths: Extend your arms above the top of your head, form Taylor’s signature heart shape with your hands, and then release your arms to your sides. Inhale on the way up, Borowiec says, and exhale on the way down. Then enjoy the burning sensation of those tortured arms, legs and core.