Miley Cyrus is always changing it up. From her “Hannah Montana” beginnings to her eras as a “Bangerz” wild child, “Malibu” romantic, and now a free-spirited rocker, Cyrus is the perfect example of an ever-evolving artist. Just as her musical career evolves, however, so too does her wellness routine.
After going viral for her “Pilates arms” at the 2024 Grammy Awards, and sparking search for her workout in the “Flowers” music video, it’s no wonder everyone is asking about Cyrus’s fitness routine. But the 32-year-old star isn’t always an open book when it comes to her wellness practices. That said, we do occasionally get a glimpse into her routine, thanks to various easter eggs dropped in interviews and social media posts (don’t worry . . . we take notes). After all, putting on a Cyrus-level show requires some serious physical prowess.
If you’re curious to find out about Cyrus’s wellness routine, read on to learn everything we know — including her favorite workouts, sobriety journey, and time spent as a vegan. We’ll also touch on that intense “Flowers” workout routine, and share a seven-minute workout you can do with her actual Pilates instructor.
— Additional reporting by Chandler Plante
Cyrus’s workout routine is also 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 version 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 (the swelling of the vocal chords due to excess fluid). 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 near-naked workout moves rumored to have been snagged from 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.
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” podcast. But 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,” Cyrus said. She described performing at the Glastonbury music festival and feeling like she was “running on empty.”
While vegan diets work for many, Cyrus says 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 nonvegan meal, Hemsworth (who was also vegan for a few years) cooked her some fish on the grill, and 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, dietitian, or nutritionist to make sure you’re getting what you need.)
She was still a pescatarian as of 2020, but Cyrus seems fairly open about changing her diet, depending on what her body needs. “I’m experimenting a lot with my diet, and my body, and my routine and my exercise right now,” 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 Business 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, including 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 reflecting on the fact 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.”
Whether she’s kayaking, hiking, swimming, or wake surfing, a lot of Cyrus’s physical activity happens in the outdoors. She spends time in nature while on vacation, but also in her own backyard, where she tends to a farm full of animals.
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.
