As Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour workout has shown, prepping for musical performances now includes more than simply rehearsing songs and choreography—you’ve got to train your entire body for the demands of the stage.
Swift’s preparation, as we learned in her Time Person of the Year interview, included singing-fueled, multihour treadmill sessions to power her through her three-hour shows. With Super Bowl LIX—and its famous halftime show that comes along with it—quickly approaching, we couldn’t help but wonder: Might headliner Kendrick Lamar, who is featured on Swift’s “Bad Blood,” be preparing in a similar way, even though his set list won’t be nearly as robust?
So we did a little digging into how the “Not Like Us” rapper, who recently took home five Grammys, works out in general—and tapped a couple trainers to see how that kind of training could do him a solid on the field.
While Lamar is pretty tight-lipped about his fitness routine, we do have some info on his movement of choice. Last fall, he talked to Harper’s Bazaar about the early-morning ritual that helps him stay physically and mentally ready: running.
“When I started running, that’s where I started to understand. There was this threshold of pain in the spirituality for me,” he told SZA, who interviewed him for the piece. “I remember my shins was aching and I was like, I got one mile to go. Then I get whispers and downloads and start talking about shit that I want to know about. And next thing I’m three miles in, four miles in. I wake up and do that shit every day.”
This could benefit Lamar in a few ways. For any performer, breath control is key, and a consistent running routine, like the one he spoke about, can help build up stamina for the stage, Lindsey Clayton, a certified group fitness trainer and run coach based in New York City, tells SELF.
When engaging in a high-stakes performance such as the Super Bowl halftime show, endurance is key. “Cardio endurance and oxygen consumption will increase over time if you are running consistently,” Clayton says. The regular habit of long, easy runs, such as Lamar’s daily three-to-four-mile bouts, would likely be appropriate for getting the body ready for this type of performance. Clayton also suggests adding in strength training to prep for something like this, since it can boost power and agility, which will help your muscles handle the work once it’s showtime. This is something which Lamar also likely includes in his workout routine (at least based on this 2023 Instagram post.)
While Lamar didn’t mention anything about singing while he ran, we do know—as Swift showed us—that doing so can add an extra layer to training too. Clayton, who used to be a performer herself, would often prep for showtime by singing while running on a treadmill. “It’s going to feel terrible in the moment, but the body’s ability to endure and not feel gassed at the end of it will get better over time,” she says.
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