When it comes to today’s musicians, it seems, the debauchery of the “Sex, drugs and rock and roll” lifestyle is a thing of the past. Harry Styles graced the cover of Runner’s World this month, having finished last September’s Berlin marathon in a mightily impressive sub-three-hour time. In the interview, he told renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami that the latter’s work “freed me from the idea that music had to be an unhealthy profession and I had to be this tortured soul”.
“Being healthy makes you able to be an artist for a long time,” Styles adds. “You can be a structured, healthy person and make great work.”
He is not alone in this approach. Taylor Swift reportedly runs eight miles on a treadmill while belting out her full catalogue to prepare for her shows. At last year’s Glastonbury, Tom Grennan treated his set like a tuneful HIIT workout, sprinting up and down the stage before taking his top off to rapturous applause.
“He is an athlete,” Grennan’s trainer and LowFlo gym founder Tom Lowe tells me. “On tour, he’s travelling to a different city every day. He burns 800 to 1,000 calories per show and he has to manage his voice while staying healthy and injury-free. He is a musical athlete.”
They can’t afford not to
A cancelled show on a tour is bad news for fans; it is arguably an even bigger blow for the musician and their team. In the age of energetic live shows with high production values, people don’t want to pay to see a hungover artist deliver a lacklustre performance either.
So trainers need to build a musician’s fitness before a tour then find ways to maintain it without draining them too much between shows, Lowe tells me.
In Styles’ case, this meant stair sprints and accessible workouts behind the scenes, as well as well-worn protocols to flick between the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous systems.
“During a tour, it’s more about maintaining more than building,” says Thibo David, who was his trainer from 2018 to 2021. “Injury would also have big repercussions on tours and shoots, so although he’s super-fit, it’s not like training an athlete where you can just keep on pushing.”
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Tom Grennan’s trainer, Tom Lowe, says the singer is a ‘musical athlete’, taking his training seriously to ensure he can deliver on stage (BBC)
For Grennan, staying in shape on tour also means case tracking sleep and health metrics via a Whoop band, performing resistance band workouts in a hotel room, swerving takeaways for nutrient-dense meals that can be prepared on the road, and establishing a consistent recovery routine around shows.
“He’s changing the game as a musician,” says Lowe. “We’re three or four years deep into working together, he’s probably gone past 60 shows in that time, and he’s never cancelled. Something’s going right there.”
The pair have developed a recovery routine, helping the singer bounce back during busy spells.
“On the last tour he was so active on stage, then he would come straight off and we would get the Normatec compression boots on, get the hydration going – we would treat it like a professional sports team,” Lowe explains.
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It feels good to feel good
There are many ways to trigger the release of dopamine – the so-called “feelgood” hormone. The quick thrills linked with rockstars gone by is one way. Exercise – intense exercise in particular – is another.
“Engaging in novel or physically challenging activities can stimulate the release of dopamine and endorphins, which create feelings of pleasure and satisfaction,” says Joshua Davidson, a lecturer in clinical exercise science at the University of Derby.
The “sensation-seeking” trait that spurs this behaviour varies from person to person. “Tom does always need some form of challenge, whether that’s CrossFit, Hyrox, half-marathons or preparing for a Men’s Health cover shoot,” Lowe says.
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Sport can provide a controlled environment to challenge yourself and trigger the release of dopamine and endorphins (Getty/iStock)
Exercise is also linked to improved mood, mental health and general wellbeing – it builds a body that is more enjoyable to occupy.
“In the time we’ve been working together, there are two major changes I’ve seen in Tom,” Lowe says. “Firstly, dropping off drink and drugs and finding fitness – it’s clearly his source of endorphin release and his way to get rid of the anxiety or whatever he’s going through at the time.
“Life is full of ups and downs, but in recent years, there have consistently been more ups than downs, and he has linked that with training and being around positive people.
“Then there’s the knock-on effect of the physical changes he’s seen. His whole body has changed phenomenally. The stylist didn’t know what was happening when they tried to fit his trousers because he was putting on leg muscle.”
Grennan has invested in taking care of himself, Lowe adds. This includes personal training, private chefs and more. The aim is to maintain his career for decades to come.
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Harry Styles performs during the Brit Awards (PA)
How to train like Harry Styles on tour
According to David, Styles and his team would do stair sprints in the stadiums around his Love On Tour shows. You can also find a bodyweight workout challenge the pair would often tackle together below.
In eight minutes, complete:
Press-up x 100 Sit-up x 100 Squat x 100
Partition these exercises however you like. For example, you could do 10 rounds of a circuit that sees you complete 10 press-ups, 10 sit-ups and 10 squats.
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How to train like Tom Grennan on tour
Lowe and Grennan would use a set of £20 resistance bands to give the singer a comprehensive upper body workout while staying in hotels.
Their go-to upper-body workout involves completing a different exercise each minute in a circuit format. The aim is to perform as many repetitions as you can in each 60-second window, maintaining good technique, then move on to the next exercise.
You can watch the video above for a demonstration of each exercise.
Part one:
For 12 minutes, complete the circuit below (EMOM12) –
Minutes one, five and nine: Banded bent-over rowMinute two, six and 10: Banded overhead pressMinute three, seven and 11: Banded upright rowMinute four, eight and 12: Tempo press-up (lower for three seconds, hold at the bottom for one second, press up for two seconds)
Rest for two minutes, then begin part two:
For six minutes, complete the circuit below (EMOM6) –
Minutes one and four: Butterfly sit-upMinutes two and five: Hollow rockMinutes three and six: Forearm plank
Rest for two minutes, then start part three:
For 12 minutes, complete the circuit below (EMOM12) –
Minutes one, five and nine: Banded biceps curlMinute two, six and 10: Banded overhead triceps extensionMinute three, seven and 11: Banded front raiseMinute four, eight and 12: Chair dip
