Weight training, and how it affects your drumming has been the subject of debate for many years. In this article I’m going to share some of benefits I’ve found for my own drumming. I’m also going to try and dispel a few commonly held myths surrounding weightlifting and drumming.
Why I Started Lifting Weights
1. One of the reasons I started lifting was that I wanted to do something other than running, on at least some of the days I wanted to avoid injuries caused by repetition and overuse of certain muscles. In the past, I’d injured my knees from running everyday in order to try and keep my weight down. I was running everyday, because like most people, I found that as I got older I had to exercise daily or I’d eventually weigh 250-300 lbs. This may have eventually resulted in a stroke or heart attack, both of which may have ended my drumming career.
2. I also wanted to strengthen muscles that weren’t getting worked out while running. This included my arms, shoulders, etc. Studies have shone that starting in our 30’s we start losing muscle mass, resulting in weakness and loss of stamina. Obviously this isn’t good for your drumming ability. I found out through several articles I read that you can counter much of this muscle loss through weight training.
3. I wanted to look my best. I wanted to be more cut, and have bigger muscles. This is the shallowest reason for lifting weights I admit, but I’m just being honest.
Dispelling 2 Common Weightlifting And Drumming Myths
Here are some common misunderstandings about weight training and drumming, and what I have found in my own experience.
1. Lifting weights will make the muscles tight, and therefore slow you down on the drum-set. I haven’t found this to be the case at all. I’m definitely playing faster than I was a few years ago. I don’t know if the weights have increased my speed, but they certainly didn’t slow me down.
2. Lifting weights will result in big muscles and this will also slow you down. This is one of the most common misconceptions about weightlifting. People say they don’t lift weights because they don’t want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. Women say they don’t lift weights because they don’t want big muscles. I can promise you that you will never have big muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger unless you really want them. People like that dedicate their lives to body building in order to have those huge muscles.
After lifting heavy weights 2-3 times a week, one hour at a time for over 3 years, I still don’t have giant muscles. I look much better and am much more cut, but I certainly don’t look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Weightlifting Benefits I’ve Found For Drumming
1. The first weightlifting benefit I’ve found is that it’s made it easier to load my drums in and out of venues. This was never an issue when I was 20 years old. But the older you get, the more this becomes an issue. I have a very heavy trap case. At one point, I injured myelf lifting it, because those particular muscles were out of shape. I added One-Arm Dumbbell Rows to my workout, and I haven’t had a problem with this injury again.
2. The second benefit I’ve found is a big increase in energy and endurance. I was having trouble with certain types of repetitious beats. These included grooves played for most of the song with the right hand on the bell of the ride cymbal. It also included high energy beats like the Bo Diddly beat.
3. The third benefit I’ve found is that I’ve eliminated sore muscles caused from drumming by strengthening them. I was having occasional pain in my shoulder muscles. I strengthened my deltoid muscles by doing the Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise. This eliminated all the pain because it was simply caused from weak muscles.
It seems obvious to me that you will play better and have a longer career as a drummer by being healthy rather than unhealthy. When I saw Buddy Rich play, he was almost 70. He was playing better and faster than ever. This was possible because he still had his health, and he still had the physical strength to play the instrument. Lifting weights can be a great way to maintain your health and enable you to continue to practice, improve, and play the drums until the day you die if that’s what you want.
Play Drums 10x Faster!
Get MY Top 10 Exercises For Increasing Speed Today!
These Are The Same Type Of Exercises That Helped My Student Matthew Lam Win A Fastest Hands Drumming Competition 2 Years In A Row!
(Price $17 Free Today!)