Cant seem to play the drums while im increasing muscle mass.

[Johno Fisher]

Hey guys, i looked into previous topics and nothing really helped me with this problem. I want to gain slight muscle mass. Have gained a bit over the past year, but i find i just loose feel of the drums and general playing ablility. I dont want to be huge. Just a bit bigger, but playing during the week of training is a nightmare. Low reps on high weights. My thoughts are just get to a size im happy with and deal with it for now. Then when im happy. Maintain it through pressups and cardio. I only want a slightly more toned upper body and arms. I know this isnt a gym forum, but does anyone maintain thier body and play drums

Oh dear i sound like a pig

:)

[Chip Donaho]

Just go about your business, lift weights, practice on a pad, etc....I done both motocross, lifted weights, and played drums for many years. What works for me is to just shake my hands/wrists for a few minutes before playing. That action will loosen up your wrists.  ;)

[Johno Fisher]

It doesnt seem to work for me, i seem to maintain a stiffness for weeks on end, i guess ill just have to plan further ahead for practices and what not! :)

[Andy Ziker]

It doesnt seem to work for me, i seem to maintain a stiffness for weeks on end, i guess ill just have to plan further ahead for practices and what not! :)

In my new book, Drum Aerobics (Hal Leonard), I included a pictorial (with descriptions) of a routine that I to do each morning before I work out at the gym. I call it "Drum Yoga". It's a combination of warm-up exercises that I learned from years of playing competitive tennis and a low-intensity yoga class that I took in the past.

I can't guarantee that this will work for you, but it works for this ever-aging 42 year-old.

[Big Yummy]

Have you tried using weightlifting gloves or straps?  Maybe you're straining your hands too much when handling the weights.  That might make your hands a bit numb and inflame the small connective tissues in your hands and fingers.

If you're trying to build your biceps, there's no need to kill your fingers whiles doing it.

[Joeos5]

I am intrigued by your comment that you can't play drums while increasing muscle mass.  I have been doing a lot of swimming and cycling recently and it seems like the swimming is, more so than the cycling, is affecting my playing. I am swimming about 12 kilometers per week with some interval training. So, I am playing mostly marimba right now but the excessive exercise seems to affect my fine motor abilities.  The only thing I can say at this point is that if I don't work out for a few days, my technique is better.  If I am tired, this too will affect my ability to play technical stuff and sometimes this tiredness comes from working out. I am interested in any other comments that others might have with similar experiences. Joe

[David Endres]

A friend of mine had the same problem.  We came to this conclusion: when body building, you're building stiff, "slow-twitch" muscle tissue, whereas drumming uses a lot of elastic, "fast-twitch" muscle.  By playing like you normally would, you're trying to make the new slow-twitch fiber move faster than it can, and this is making you sore/stiff.

- Check your technique, make sure you're playing efficiently (death grip, etc.)
- Make sure to stretch thoroughly before playing.
- Make sure you're using proper posture when playing, and proper technique when lifting.
- The biggest help to him: making sure you have some down-time.  This goes for all types of exercising, whether it's lifting weights, doing cardio, or drumming.

We could be completely wrong, but it seemed to make a world of difference to him.

[KevinD]

Hey I was able to find a post that I did on this from 4 years ago regarding weight training. And this post is actually related to a similar post I did about 6 or 7 years ago on the same subject (which I can't find).

But first a few points:

When you lift, especially with heavy weights with the goal of building bulk, you are essentially breaking down the muscle fibers and it takes quite a while for them to come back in full. A week is a short period of time. SO if you work out on a Sunday and still have some tightness, muscle fatigue or things just don't feel right on the following Sunday when you go to play....that is normal with that type of training. Of course everyone's recovery time is going to be different for a variety of reasons.

Now to my 4 yr old post below. Basically studies of athletes have found that they have the greatest increase of fast twitch muscles AFTER a employing a cycle of 90 days of weight training and then a 90 day layoff.  After that 90 day layoff the muscles lost bulk but still retained their strength and density. In the case of the college baseball players in the study their bat speed (via the use of fast twitch muscles) actually increased at this point.

A friend of mine who is a sports physiotherapist and trainer etc.. has had similar findings with his clients.

So if this holds true (like I said everyone is built differently) you'll probably have some issues in the short term but the long term effects are probably not detrimental and could actually be beneficial if you don't over do it and cycle on and off.

In any case just make sure you stretch, flexibility is key both with drumming and outside of that.

My old post below from 2006 or thereabouts:
...

Somewhere in the past two or 3 years in a similar post, (that I can't find) I had referenced a study conducted by some Universities on athletes, (baseball, football and track I think). The studies found that when the athletes trained for strength, (usually a 9-12 week cycle) then ceased weight training altogether for 90 days, the speed and power of the fast twitch muscles increased considerably.

The bulk associated with the weight training diminished over the 90 days but the muscle retained it's strength and density.

One case cited a college baseball player that strength trained from August through November. He stopped weight training but still ran and did things like that to get in shape for baseball season (he didn't go to McDonalds a lot either ;-).

At the start of spring training (the end of the 90 day layoff) he had developed significantly increased bat speed which led to increased batting average and power on the field. There were other interesting examples.

They were trying to decide if the bulky muscles were actually converted to fast twitch or if the fast twitch muscles were a by product of the bulky muscles after the bulky muscles went away.