Movement is particularly important as a musician as a counterbalance to the predominantly seated activity.

For you to have the kind of fitness I’ve defined above, you need to exercise in such a way as to call upon the various components that keep you functionally fit. These are:

Balance-This is the most important component of fitness, in my opinion. Without balance, your strength and flexibility are greatly compromised. The capacity to maintain posture and move safely and efficiently is crucial to anybody’s functional fitness. (One of the main benefits from studying and applying the Alexander Technique is a significant, measurable improvement in balance.)

Flexibility-You need a healthy range of motion around your joints. In part, this means you need good pliability and extensibility of your muscular tissues. It also means you need to cultivate the kind of coordination that enables safe, yet wide ranges of motion in all your movements.

Cardiovascular endurance-You need a healthy heart, lungs and circulatory system to help you sustain effort in activity (and to quickly recover from that effort).

Muscular strength-You need the capacity to generate enough force through your limbs to be able to remain functional (to be able to easily and safely perform tasks that demand a reasonable amount of muscular strength, like gardening, or carrying luggage, for example).

Muscular endurance-You need to be able to effectively employ repeated muscular effort as you carry out an ongoing task (while minimizing fatigue).

Core strength and control-You need the muscles in your trunk (including your neck and pelvis) to work in an integrated, efficient way, according to how your body works with gravity (again, this is where the Alexander Technique really helps). The better your core works, the more strength you have in the rest of your body.

Agility-You need to be able to quickly change the direction or position of your body as you move. (This can also be a crucial element in functional balance.)

Source: https://billplakemusic.org/2014/04/10/fitness-and-exercise-for-musicians-choose-wisely/

 

Dance??

 

We have to be a bit like an athlete really. Or rather regimented/disciplined in some way.
Which is why I got so much work over and above others on the list during my heyday.
I eventually stopped all alcohol and that's what people that pay for you like to see.
Although, all the brass players I know in the West End go out to the pub halfway through and sink a pint before their next piece is to be played dans le theatre!
One guy would go to a backroom and carry on listening and counting the bars whilst he had a smoke and drink, and then go back up on stage for when his few notes had to be played!

Alcohol slows your muscles and mind down and lowers your top end, and level, in the moment.
Suggest at least not drinking 48 hours before a gig too, to get it out of your system.

So I want to say, it's not just what you DO, but also what you DON'T DO.
Abstinence.
The breath, though.
Synchronising your breath with your activity and movements is paramount, imo.
Breath long and slow onstage.
Some of the concepts within T'ai Chi and Chi Gong can be applied to what we do, very effectively.

I laugh but feel sad when I meet younger people who stay up all night creating awesome tunes.
If I ask them to get involved in a project, they aren't used to normal daytime hours at all!
So I feel it is important to have a schedule that you keep to in regards eating times and sleep times.
What will one of them do when he is suddenly asked to dep at the last minute?
Turn up off kilter and probably not be asked again.

"Words of advice for young people". lol
W.S.Burroughs

 

I've been suffering from severe arm pain because of daily excessive computer use (at least 8 to 10 hours)... I've shifted to using a vertical mouse... But the flare up hasnt subsided yet.

Take regular breaks from your producing guys! This arm pain is terrible.

 

4 Office Posture Exercises

20 Minute Qigong Daily Routine for Stretching and Flexibility

 

Have a kid. Lord knows every time I start making music, I have to get up and do something.

 

That article complicates things immensely (and is probably an ad for Alexander Technique). Just get strong and all the rest will fall in place (strength is that "20% work" that gives "80% of the results").

Source: my wife who is certified PT and bikini fitness competitor.

 

How did you get a picture of me working out exactly?????

 

Ok now very seriously advice and life changing quick workout routines by the legend Tony Brits:

And:

Keep it fit.

 

carrying the bass players ampeg 810 up and down the loading stairs every night

 

Well done!
One of the more universally useful threads created on this forum for musicians, especially in these isolated times for health and wellbeing.
KUDOS.

 

So many younger musicians I meet are wasting time with their eyes glued to their phones on stupid moronic social sites and texting. It seems that almost all my older musician friends and friends in general have active lifestyles. I personally haven't been on Fuckbook for about 6 years. I have to lift weights and practice playing my guitar at least 4-5 times a week otherwise the arthritis in my fingers starts acting up, I also read quite a bit also brushing up on my varied interests.

 

It is common medical knowledge that stamina, flexibility, joint health and healing is in lesser abundance with age.
The isolation has for some strange reason stopped some people from realising they can still walk outside their back door or their balcony and do some simple exercises to maintain a semblance of exercise. If a person has enough room to swing their arms, they can do simple callisthenics exercises in their own lounge room daily or walk outside and breathe in the air. We are organic and without some exercise at an older age, muscular atrophy can be a very real thing.

 

Some year ago I had a serious problem (epicondylitis) at my left arm, I couldn't lift a bottle of water.
After trying some treatment with no success, I tested (not much convinced) the PowerBall (gyroscopic ball) for half an hour (at least) a day and after a week all pain disappeared. It sounds like magic but really is not.

I'm regularly doing exercise more or less each 2 days, if I can every day, from half an hour to one hour.
Callisthenics, cardio, skip rope and a bit of weights, plus shadow boxing (not finding any sparring partner right now) plus punching bag (that is a tree actually) in summer, with 14 ounces gloves.
And last but not least this, custom made reflex ball Panasonic edition:

It's a lot of fun but it hurts at times if you're not fast enough.

Oh BTW, all this it helps just with overall health, but playing hard on piano will hurt hands and arms at times in anyway. To train piano you do have to train in piano only.

 

I bring my kid to the jam. I have a sessions with him alone, at first it was only having fun making noises on the mic, singing or leaving him free on the keyboard. I´ve been doing this from where he was 2 years old (he is seven now) and i´ve ended up (on top of the fun and the good moments) with a stounding selection original voicesamples and freeform compositions and my kid ended up singing like a pro and knowing the ropes of every sound processing tool in the daw.

Just a father to father tip.

 

How to warm up before playing piano

 

Does energetic headbanging counts as exercise?

 

It's not a sport, headbanging is movement. Good for the heart and circulation and also the neck and chest muscles are trained.
The problem in our new computing world is really the lack of exercise. Which at some point leads to disease.

An example from a person who works in the office.

- 8 hours lying in bed.
- Breakfast while sitting at the table.
- drive to work while sitting in the car
- 8 hours sitting at the desk
- Return seated in the car
- Sitting in front of the computer in the evening
- Sitting on the couch in front of the television late in the evening.

That is a lack of exercise, the only thing that is upright is going to
the canteen, going from the car to the desk and going to the toilet.

 

Anybody who is a former runner, hiker, biker, dancer?, suffering from plantar fascitis. I can tell you these exercises work

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/plantar-fasciitis-stretches