Working out

[hi1000]

hello

i m new here. Just want to introduce myself.

i m from Singapore and just want to thank all the people at this site. Very helpful:)

I m a student... so still young learning drums and stuff:)

Just wanted to ask, does working out help in drumming? Because i have seen some drummers have real big arms and stuff but yet my friend who is a gym guy said some drummers in the church i go to worked out but their fingers got slower.

Any comment?

[dogxray]

Working out is good for you period. It will build up your stamina to keep you going. I have met many drummers that were quite built up but I still think the best payers and the ones I have seen are your drummers that play with the fingers and wrists. I don't believe working out will slow down your fingers but they need exercise as well by doing rudiments and rolls.

[jimi]

Be careful if you are doing weights to keep up your drum practice. It can be negative for all the smaller muscles otherwise, and cardio vascular work will help alot with your stamina. Running for Virgil is a big part of his routine.

[hi1000]

thanx guys for the advice. one more thing... i stutter while i play drums.. like u know in a fill or something i will play but then my arms will like stop or stutter on their on for a moment or 2 and then i lose the timing.

Any advice?

[stapper15]

yes and no. when you work out you build *red muscels* which is for strength an stuff like that. you can do that but not to much. when you practice durmming you get *white muscles* which is for speed control and stuff like that. if you do to much working out and not enough practiceing you will just be to stiff to do anything. you dont need to be hard core and work out everyday for 3 hours that will be bad you, more like 3 hours of practicing drumming. if you want to get better faster at drumming you need to practice, working out isnt going to do to much if not make things worse. so set up a good practice routen and go from there

stapper

[Matus]

Good call stapper, if anything I'd work out based on calisthenic exercises, which are the ones that use your own body weight. Pushups and such. I have to set up an exercise routine for myself because I have lost most of my physical condition (used to play handball but had to get out of it) and I'll be used very soft weights for certain muscle groups, the rest will be running and similar things. You just don't want to experience over training, trust me :D

[alencore]

well said stapper. no wonder i felt stiff after doing a week of push ups.
cardio vascular work outs like running , swimming or cycling are good as what i experience. it helps build stamina for drumming.

[jimi]

In short, i guess its exercise to supplement drumming rather than being separate from it. I agree with Matus that using your own weight is best, and cheapest too. (then instead of gym or exercise gear you can get that new snare you've always wanted:))

[hi1000]

haha ok thx:)

[C.J.]

Well said Jimi! The thing is to search for the athletic side more that de body building side of working out.

[Johnny]

Weight training won't slow you down. That's a myth. I'm not a huge fan, but look at Bobby Rock. Also, Mangini weight trains...he ain't slow.

[Xen-]

Virgil weight trains for sure, too. Anyway, I began weight training along with running ~2 years ago, and now I naturally hit way harder with both hands and feet and have a better endurance. Oh, and practicing more didn't make me slower... :p

[stapper15]

this reminds me, yes they do weight train and i knwo it doesnt slow them down if you do all the proper thigns you wont have the prob of being stiff, for example: always stretch before and after you workout thats a must if you dont you will always be stiff which is not good.

stapper

[jimi]

Virgil has done weight in the past, he doesn't now. I didn't say it slowed you down for sure, you just have to do it properly like stapper15 has just pointed out. Alot of people dont know alot about it, or might be trying it for the first time, so i thought it was important to point out.

[Johnny]

BTW, I have an article on weight training on my site:
www.johnnydrums.com/text/weights.html

[BrettLee]

Interesting article there Johnny.. Thanks for the tips..They really make sense...

[DerNeue]

Yes. The article is quite good. But the workout is much shorter when you really cut back to the core exercises.
Squats and Calf work
Bench Press and Dips for the chest.
The back exercises shown in the link are the best.
For the shoulder it is enough to do military press. The rest is done through rows for the back, where you also train your rear shoulders. Also benchpress trains the front part of the shoulder. You really do not need more to build strength and muscles. I advise anyone who wants to train short and effective the books of Stuart McRobert. You can order them at amazon.com. Brawn is the most important book of his'. His theory is to concentrate on these exercises and just add one to two pounds every week.

And please do not stretch before a workout! Because stretching weakens the muscle. It is better to prevent injuries by doing a warm up set, in which you prepare for bench pressing by doing a set of pressing with perhaps only 75% of the wheight you would later use in the workout.
But muscles can be stretched after a workout.

It sounds strange but you do not need to train your arms. They receive enough training from benchpresses, dips and military presses (works the triceps). And the bizeps benfits very well from pulling exercises like chin ups and every other back exercise.

In that manner your workout is very short and effective and you can concentrate on your hobby!

O, I forgot to give an example routine:
you could do a whole body workout (two times a week)
Squats (with 10-15 reps)
Benchpress
Bentover Rows
Calfwork
Press
Chinups
Abs
Lower back

Every exercise with one warmup set and 2-3 working sets. The repetitions that you probably could work with is something between 6 to 12. Do not go to full failure in every set! Only the last set may be performed till you cannot move the weight. That means when you have already done perhaps 8 repetitions and feel like you can move the weight one more time, do it. But that is the last one. Rather than doing endless sets, try to increase the weight every one or two weeks for about 1-2 pounds.

Sorry, but I could not put myself shorter! :rolleyes: