Here's Why the Viral Taylor Swift 'Treadmill Strut' Is Such an Amazing Workout
Anyone can do it—and it's fun.
Parade.com has an extensive editorial partnership with Cleveland Clinic, consistently named as one of the nation's best hospitals in U.S. News & World Report's annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Click here to learn more about our health reporting policies.
Looking for a way to make treadmill workouts more fun? The solution may be as simple as some Taylor Swift tunes.
The Taylor Swift Treadmill Strut (TSTS) is a fun, high-energy treadmill workout routine created by Allie Bennett, who develops treadmill-based workout routines (which she calls “treadmill struts”) incorporated around strategically arranged playlists by popular music artists.
Bennett has amassed an impressive fan base on TikTok, with more than 300,000 followers, and her “treadmill strut” videos have seen the kind of traffic that would make many aspiring social media influencers envious, routinely getting more than 500,000 views. Several have topped more than one million views—but the Taylor Swift workout has been her most popular by a wide margin—going viral and earning more than 3.4 million views so far. Here's what it entails, and how to do it.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Related: Learn About the TikTok Famous 12-3-30 Workout
What makes the Taylor Swift Treadmill Strut a Great Workout
Bennett’s treadmill workout videos have also earned rave reviews from health and fitness professionals, many of whom appreciate that the emphasis is on having fun and boosting your mental health, as opposed to dropping pounds or counting calories. “I love that it's an opportunity to decompress by listening to great music while moving your body,” says Sonya Daniels Walker, PhD, and program executive for Healthy Living, YMCA of Greater Seattle. “Most importantly, it gives you the opportunity to move your body without worrying about calories or competition. As with any workout, make sure that you have clearance from your physician—then grab your shoes and playlist, and have a great time!”
Some people may mistakenly assume that a treadmill-based routine can’t be effective, but trainers say it can be a surprisingly intense workout. Plus, you can see benefits for your mind as well as your body. “Strutting on the treadmill to Taylor Swift’s The Man is a perfect example of how walking can be so much more than just a cardio workout, it can be a mental stress release and a fun way to express your colorful personality,” says Teddy Savage, Head of Health & Fitness Excellence at Planet Fitness. “The release of endorphins, serotonin, and increase in heart rate will serve to improve your heart health, lubricate your joints, burn calories, and make you the star of your own show!”
Related: What Does An 'Ideal' Weekly Workout Plan Look Like?
The Taylor Swift Treadmill Strut Is a Workout Anyone Can Do
One of the great things about this workout is it’s something that anyone with a treadmill can do, regardless of fitness level. “This workout is actually fun, beginner level, and can easily be intensified for more experienced walkers and runners,” says Jeanette Chandler, Head Nutrition & Fitness Coach at Sideline Prep. “It’s also not as intimidating for those who are beginners. It’s a great interval workout, which gradually adds on intensity. The workout starts with a walking warm-up, which is important to get the body ready for work.” Chandler adds that music can often help workouts seem more like fun instead of work, and Taylor Swift seems to be an especially effective motivating force.
That’s a sentiment echoed by Sean Ruff, NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES) and fitness coach, who says, “It’s not hard to see why the Taylor Swift ‘Treadmill Strut’ went viral. After all, Taylor Swift is a very popular artist with catchy music. Creating an artist-themed cardio workout centered around your favorite artist is a great idea if it helps with exercise compliance and consistency, and makes you feel good from a mental health standpoint.”
Ruff says this routine is fun while also being a great form of exercise. “The ‘Treadmill Strut’ cardio workout is rooted in some forms of interval training principles in which intensities are varied from low to high and possibly back down. Interval training is a very effective way to burn a lot of calories in a shorter amount of time than traditional forms of cardio. Interval training has also been shown to increase metabolism hours after your exercise session which is effective in assisting with weight management goals such as fat loss.”
Related: Is the TikTok ’75 Hard’ Challenge Healthy?
How to Make the Taylor Swift Treadmill Strut Burn Even More Fat
While the Taylor Swift Treadmill Strut is a great workout to begin with, there are ways you can supercharge its fat-burning powers, trainers say.
“I would play with the incline and decline settings to give myself a little more challenge,” suggests Denise Cervantes, Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Performance and Fitness Specialist at Herbalife Nutrition. “Another simple challenge for most could be not touching the hand railings while walking to the beat. Or even going faster when you hear the chorus and slow down during the verses.”
Ruff says another way to increase the intensity would be “to move laterally (facing sideways) and to move backward, like in a backpedaling motion on the treadmill. This will place further demands on the body, forcing exercisers to move in different planes of motion—which is beneficial from a functional movement standpoint. These progressions offer some great ways to add variety, additional challenges and demands on the body during this treadmill-based workout.”
Want a clever way to amp up your routine? Savage offers these fun tricks:
“Grab a lightweight set of dumbbells as your ‘Bee-Bop Boomboxes.’
Every time Taylor says the word ‘man’ in the song, raise your hands high in the sky—that’ll be 24 shoulder presses by the end of the tune!
Each time she says the word ‘running,’ increase your speed by .5 or your incline by .2, and that’s four times to pump up the jam by the last note in the song!”
Next up, check out 125+ free streaming workouts to do from home.
Sources:
Denise Cervantes, Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Performance and Fitness Specialist at Herbalife Nutrition
Jeanette Chandler, Head Nutrition & Fitness Coach at Sideline Prep
Sean Ruff, NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES) and fitness coach specializing in fat loss, muscle gains, and performance enhancement
Sonya Daniels Walker, Ph.D., Program Executive—Healthy Living, YMCA of Greater Seattle
Teddy Savage, Head of Health & Fitness Excellence at Planet Fitness