Laying down a solid foundation is essential in just about anything we do. Whether you are building a house, recording a song, playing drums or lifting weights, you will need to start with the basics and build from there.
As a drummer, you should be aware of how important technique is; the way you hold your sticks, the way you sit behind your kit and even the way you move your kit from gig to gig are all crucial in keeping you injury-free. Technique is also true for weight training. Because drum s are such a physical instrument to play, being physically fit will definitely help your drumming. This is especially true if you are a professional working drummer, moving your own equipment around. Even if you play a three-piece kit, you still have to squat, bend, turn, twist, lift and probably carry your drums up a flight or two of stairs somewhere along the line. Trust me, you will be at risk of injury if you are not in shape. God knows I have had to schlep my kit up and down many flights of stairs over the years and I’m glad that I weight trained, ate right, studied martial arts, played sports and stretched over the years because it sure has helped!
There will be those of you who go to the gym, workout and develop muscles, and believe you won’t get injured. This simply is not true. I have seen a college football player who could squat over 300 lbs., blow his back out when bending over to tie his shoes. You don’t want to wind up having back surgery in order to repair the herniated discs. The same is true for the world-class drummer who believes he won’t get injured just because he has roadies and drum techs moving and setting up his kit. One such example is of a top professional drummer who bent over from the waist to adjust his kick drum, knocked three ribs out of place and needed a chiropractor to put them back in.
Injuries, like these and others, can be prevented by doing the right exercises to help make you strong and stable. Most injuries are a result of someone being de-conditioned and while the injury may happen in an instant, the factors leading up to the body being in this weakened state don’t happen overnight.
contain some of the biggest and most important muscles in the body. The human body has over 600 muscles, so, developing an ego muscle has nothing to do with functional strength (which I will get into more in my next article). The muscles such as the erector spinae (lower back), quadriceps, hamstrings and abdominal muscles are the ones that need to be strengthened to help you achieve longevity as a drummer. And of course, let’s not forget your neck
and shoulders for all you hard-hitting, head-banging rock drummers.
You always want to do exercises that are going to be beneficial for the sport or activity that you do. That being said, you do not need to be built like a competitive bodybuilder to be a great drummer. In the two scenarios I mentioned earlier, these injuries happened due to faulty movement patterns, along with the fact that their muscles were not working correctly. Although these were young guys, it doesn’t mean it didn’t take a lifetime for those injuries to occur. This is why it is extremely important to lift weights, or drums for that matter, with proper form and technique.
The following exercises will help challenge your nervous system, strengthen your stabilizer muscles and lay down that foundation that will help keep you strong, stable and injury free.
The Squat
Start with the feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider, with the toes turned out up to 30 degrees. Using a bar on your back for added resistance, it should be placed across the shoulders and upper trapezius, and not touching the cervical spine. Keep the chest up, hold the spine neutral (letting the chest drop or the tailbone roll under could injure the discs). Descending into the squat, take a deep breath in, bend at the hips first, then the knees (like sitting in a chair),
keeping the feet flat on the floor. Always keep
the knees tracking over the toes, eyes straight ahead. A full squat is achieved when the thighs are parallel to the floor. Exhale rapidly, but in a controlled manner while returning back to the starting position. Only descend as far as your range of motion will allow with good form. Perform 1-3 sets of 15 repetitions.
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Kevin Thomas Posavetz has been a certified personal trainer/kickboxing instructor for 10 years and a professional drummer for over 15 years. He specializes in creating programs that include healthy eating, exercise and lifestyle modifications to create optimal performance. His clients have included many successful doctors, lawyers, musicians, actors, professional athletes from the NFL and NHL and models. He has trained actresses Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson, professional drummer Jonathan Mover and supermodels Karen Elson and Lisa Seiffert. Kevin has played, toured and recorded with: The Exposers, Soul Picnic, Edenseed (received national airplay) and In Too Deep. Originally from Detroit he now resides in New York City
Certifications: A.F.P. A: Certified Personal Trainer, Injury Prevention for the Neck, Back and Shoulders, Developing Lateral Speed and Agility, C.H.E.K. Institute: Scientific Core Conditioning, Scientific Back Training Program Design, Equal But Not The Same, Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach, MTA 1 Certified Kickboxing Instructor.
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