How Miley Cyrus Stays Strong While Seemingly Never Slowing Down

Cyrus's workout routine is a big part of her musical career. Back in 2021, she posted two incredibly impressive videos of her singing while running on the treadmill. In one of the videos, she struts while singing bars from her song "Plastic Hearts." In the other (shown here), she runs while singing a powerful rendition of Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl." Both treadmill singing sessions were to help her prepare for a headline performance at the Super Bowl LV TikTok Tailgate.

Of course, she doesn't only run and sing. In 2020, Cyrus also posted an Instagram video of her holding wall sits while doing vocal rehab. Only this time, her musical workout followed surgery for Reinke's edema. All this to say, music and fitness definitely go hand-in-hand for Cyrus.

In the 2023 music video for her hit single "Flowers," Cyrus powers through a series of scantily-clad workout moves (allegedly inspired by her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth's workout). Whether or not the moment was intended to be a dig at Hemsworth, Cyrus absolutely crushed the exercises, including alternating battle-rope slams, glute bridges, Spiderman push-ups, and more. In fact, after seeing her flawless execution, you may feel motivated to try the "Flowers" workout for yourself.

Things may look perfect from the outside looking in, but you never know what someone is really going through. In a May 21 interview with Zane Lowe, Cyrus opened up about a few of her recent health scares, including her ongoing journey with Reinke's edema.

Cyrus has been dealing with Reinke's edema (also referred to as polypoid corditis) for several years now, crediting the voice disorder for giving her a "super unique" sound. "I have this very large polyp on my vocal cord, which is giving me a lot of the tone and the texture that has made me who I am, but it's extremely difficult to perform with," she told Lowe. "I'm not willing to sever it, because the chance of waking up from a surgery and not sounding like myself is a probability."

She added that, while smoking and drinking can exacerbate certain symptoms (like hoarseness), lifestyle factors are not the sole cause. Still Cyrus has to keep a close eye on her vocal health at all times — especially if she were to go on tour again.

"I put a tour together like every other week, because I want to do it, but it would have to be in a way that is sustainable for me," Cyrus told Lowe. "I don't lip sync. I sing live. And these songs are big."

People forget that Cyrus is a true triple threat. But putting on a Cyrus-level show requires some serious physical prowess. Just look to the TikTok she dropped on May 21, teasing new music, and showcasing some impressive choreography. "Body is bodying! Choreography is choreographing," one commenter wrote. Could this impressive choreography mean a tour is on the horizon? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, Cyrus is hard at work, getting ready to put on more unforgettable performances.

Whether she's kayaking, hiking, swimming, or wake surfing, a lot of Cyrus's physical activity happens in the outdoors. Like the free-spirit she is, Cyrus spends plenty of time in nature while on vacation, but also in her own backyard, where she tends to a farm full of animals.

From 2013 to 2019, Cyrus was on "the strictest [vegan diet] you've ever known," she said in a September 2020 interview on the "Joe Rogan Experience." In 2019, she decided to expand her diet. "I was vegan for a very long time, and I've had to introduce fish and omegas into my life because my brain wasn't functioning properly," she said. She remembered feeling like she was "running on empty" at the Glastonbury music festival.

While vegan diets work for many, Cyrus said she felt better once she started eating animal products again. "I'm so much sharper than I was, and I think that I was, at one point, pretty malnutritioned," she explained. For her first non-vegan meal, Hemsworth (who was also vegan for a few years) cooked her some fish on the grill. Cyrus said it was a difficult moment. "I cried, like, for a long time. I cried for the fish . . . it really hurts me to eat fish," she told Rogan.

Cyrus initially chose to go vegan because she's an animal-lover at heart, not necessarily for health reasons. "I have 22 animals on my farm in Nashville, I've got 22 in my house in Calabasas, I'm doing all I need to do for the animals," she told Rogan. "But when it comes to my brain . . . you can't be vegan and be this quick." (Editor's note: Following a vegan diet can sometimes lead to nutrient deficiencies, but you can work with a doctor or dietitian to make sure you're getting what you need.)

Cyrus was still a pescatarian as of 2020, but she seems fairly open to changing it up as needed. "I'm experimenting a lot with my diet, and my body, and my routine," she said.

Cyrus is mindful about her diet, but according to her godmother Dolly Parton, she still treats herself to some good old-fashioned comfort food from time to time. "Miley and I both love Southern food, like mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and a big ol' hunk of cornbread," Parton told Insider in a 2022 interview.

"Miley's trying to watch what she eats now — she's gone through a lot of phases of being vegetarian or being vegan or whatever," Parton said. "But in the earlier days, or when her defenses are down, we still eat that good ol' food like meatloaf."

Cyrus has been showing off her yoga skills since the early days of Instagram. She's specifically a fan of Ashtanga yoga, once teaching Jimmy Fallon a tricky pose in a 2016 appearance on "The Tonight Show." Since then, she's shared many photos of herself in various arm-balances and deep twists, as reported by People. In 2023, she also posted a full yoga flow on top of a paddleboard (which is no easy feat).

Pilates may be all the rage right now, but Cyrus has been a documented fan of the practice for years. In 2013, she was often spotted leaving Mari Winsor's LA Pilates studio. Winsor told People she'd been working with the singer — both in the studio and in Cyrus's home Pilates setup — on leg and core strength using a Cadillac machine. "When we work out, we don't just do a couple of moves," Winsor said. "It's at least a half an hour of working out."

Following her 2019 vocal surgery, Cyrus posted herself stretching on a piece of Pilates equipment along with the caption "on vocal rest not body," per People. Around that time, she had also split with Hemsworth, and shared that she was being gentle with herself.

"Take time off, relax, enjoy warm meals, indulge in the sweets we usually try to stay away from but alsooooooo KEEP MOVING," Cyrus wrote in a 2019 Instagram Story of herself on a Cadillac reformer (as reported by People). "Even if it's for 15-20 minutes a day! Something is better than nothing!" she continued. "I've been trying to be super gentle on myself and even if it's just a walk with my mom or dogs in the morning! Movement is an important ingredient to self love/care."

During the COVID pandemic, Cyrus also started her own talk show from home called "Bright Minded." In one episode, she brought in her trainer — Saul Choza from Winsor Choza Pilates — to lead a seven-minute Pilates workout for her fans, with classic moves like Pilates curls and bridges.

In a June 2020 interview with Variety, Cyrus announced that she'd been "sober sober" for about six months. She initially gave up alcohol and other substances for vocal surgery, but decided to stick with it after realizing that her family has "a lot of addiction and mental health challenges."

Later, in a November 2020 interview with Apple Music, Cyrus admitted to "falling off" during the COVID pandemic. Cyrus said she is "not a moderation person" and once again decided to completely eliminate alcohol from her life. "I don't have a problem with drinking, I have a problem with the decisions I make once I go past that level . . . I become very impulsive," she explained.

In a June 2024 episode of "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman," Cyrus said she still leads a sober lifestyle, with the exception of an occasional hit from her mom's joint. "I will randomly take one small puff off my mom's joint, pretty much never because it's way too strong," she told Letterman. "The last time I smoked her weed was a couple weeks ago, and I did walk in and take the smallest puff ever and I couldn't drive for what felt like three days."

Apple Fitness+ recently made it easier to work out exclusively to Cyrus's music, thanks to its dedicated Artist Spotlight. Now you can get in shape with HIIT, strength, dance, and cycling classes all set to some of the singer's top tracks.

Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at PS. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining PS, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.