How Will BTS Endure a Grueling World Tour? We Asked Their Ex-Trainer.

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How Will BTS Endure a Grueling World Tour? We Asked Their Ex-Trainer.

K-pop stars must develop stamina and prevent injuries while also maintaining the lithe physique their industry demands, the band’s former trainer says.

BTS performed a comeback concert in central Seoul in late March, their first group appearance after a four-year hiatus.

Credit...

Bighit Music and Netflix, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

How Will BTS Endure a Grueling World Tour? We Asked Their Ex-Trainer.

K-pop stars must develop stamina and prevent injuries while also maintaining the lithe physique their industry demands, the band’s former trainer says.

BTS performed a comeback concert in central Seoul in late March, their first group appearance after a four-year hiatus.

Credit...

Bighit Music and Netflix, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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By

Francesca Regalado

April 25, 2026

BTS, the biggest band in K-pop, will on Saturday kick off the U.S. leg of a world tour covering at least 11 months, 80 concerts and 34 cities.

The physical demands will be intense. In addition to performing high-energy dance routines onstage, they will also devote hours each day to rehearsals, fittings, hair and makeup sessions, photo shoots and media appearances.

All that typically happens on as little as four hours of sleep, and much of the preparation happens in the gym before the tour begins, the band’s former trainer, Kim Jinwoo, said in an exclusive interview.

Mr. Kim, 42, who was the band’s conditioning coach through their first four tours, compared its members to professional athletes. But unlike athletes, he said, K-pop stars must train to develop stamina and prevent injuries while also maintaining the specific physique that their industry demands.

“It’s a job that puts much more strain on the body than most people realize,” he said, speaking at his fitness club in Seoul. A song from the new BTS record, “Arirang,” was playing in the sleek, all-black weight room.

Mr. Kim began working with BTS when its members — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — were in their early 20s. (Now, all but one, Jung Kook, are in their 30s.)

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