Musician diet and exercise discussion

General Music Discussion
#21

What I eat, how much I exercise and how much I sleep has always affected my performance as a guitarist and everywhere else in my life. Playing as a hobbyist is not the same thing as a performing musician either, it’s a lot of work and can be very draining physically, emotionally and mentally. Sometimes your on the road for extended periods of time, don’t get enough sleep, get bad food or eat things you’re not used to, and party too much. It all has an effect on your ability to perform and play.

As you age, these things affect you more, you don’t have the brain elasticity, and your body doesn’t recover as fast, and you don’t have the level of dexterity and reflexes you did when you were younger. I wish I had known that when I was younger so I took better care of myself. I can’t imagine the damage the garbage that passes for food these days causes people, not to mention the energy drinks.

I think this topic may have taken a wrong turn into territory I didn’t intended it to. I was more curious what peoples routines were, and what they eat/consume, rather than what their opinions were on the subject…

#22

Well, I think the opinions are correlated to what they eat/consume, which is why people are giving them. The other thing is that diet and exercise should be tailored for the individual and also the goals can be different for different people and different times in ones life. If you want specific routines/diets then maybe stating a more specific goal will help.

My guess is that a lot of people don’t have strict routines which might be why there aren’t many suggestions - I have no routine, hence I’m overweight!:hamburger:
In your opening post, you seem to have a good view of what you need - varied diet with lots of vegetables, regular exercise (which can be varied too). Can’t go wrong with that really.

#23

There’s actually something to this - good hydration is important for ligament/tendon help, and stretching and hydration can help, at least at the margins, minimize some of the risk of tendonitis and other RSI injuries. Form and just listening to your body are bigger factors, but hydration definitely helps.

Well, it’s tough, because those two go pretty hand in hand. My opinion on the subject is that diet and exercise are pretty irrelevant to playing guitar, provided that they don’t impact your fine motor control or coordination. Doing a couple tequila shots and then picking up a guitar, your motor control would be impacted. If you’re fairly caffeine sensitive, four espressos would probably do the same. I got into rock climbing a little in college but didn’t stick with it because while it was fun, it was absolutely hell on my calluses and my fingers were too stiff and sore after a climbing session to really play guitar well - again, I can see that being a factor.

Beyond that, though… I don’t think being an ultramarathoner or couch potato really impacts your ability to play one way or another, nor do I think if you’re an omnivore and decide to go vegan, you’ll notice a sudden change in your playing. Guitar isn’t an “athletic” endeavor in the sense that it requires a high amount of aerobic or anaerobic capacity, or a high amount of muscle strength. Speaking personally, as a fairly serious cyclist, the only correlation I’ve noticed between riding and playing is I tend to be a little better in the off season because I’m spending less time on a bike and more time practicing.

#24

I feel obligated to say something because i am a physician. I agree with what appears to be the consensus already: diet is probably not something specifically fine tuneable to the guitar player. Agree with trying to align with fundamentals of good nutrition, hydration, and avoiding excesses of alcohol.

In terms of exercise, i do think that more of us would benefit from learning formal hand stretches and intrinsic hand strengthening exercises that can be incorporated into a regimen and even as part of a warmup.

These days we say “sitting is the new smoking.” it kills just as much so us guitar pickers probably do spend a lot of time sitting when we’re in the zone. Just make sure to get up every now and then.

Hope that was helpful. I’m not your doctor so you should discuss what you need to focus on when it comes to your diet with with your own healthcare team and i’m not liable and yadda yadda

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#25

Potato, rice and spaghetti because that’s everything that I can afford )

#26

Use beans (eggs too) for a cheaper protein, frozen vegetables to round it out (canned corn and peas is fine too). I know you may have been joking…but you raise a good point that is often discussed - ‘eating healthy is too expensive’ but…it’s not so. It can be done in terms of sensible portions, fiber and spending smart at the grocery store.

#27

Nah, I’m used to that stuff. I’ve been being in a bit complicated situation for last couple of years, so for now my ‘diet’ is kind of limited. The only problem is meat… because I LOVE meat. Though I buy it once or twice a month, I’d better eat it everyday ))

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#28

I invested in a comfortable strap recently and now practice standing up idk if its a placebo effect but I notice I get more in the zone in terms of improv when practicing standing up now.

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#29

not to get on too much of a tangent but, the placebo effect is an actual effect. If the standing is getting you the outcome through the placebo pathway, enjoy it!

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#30

I am a FIRM believer in the placebo effect. Even if I know something doesn’t work, if it seems to work, I’m happy to go with it. :smiley:

(95% of my practice is standing. Not that I really gig anymore, but I figure if I WERE gigging, it wouldn’t be sitting in a chair or on a stool, so I’d rather practice in the same position as I play. Using the same justification for cracking a beer while doing some technique practice is maybe a little less defensible, but hey, as long as I’m practicing!)

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#31

Swedish blodpalt and pullups!

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#32

As someone who has been suffering tendon problems for the past few years the only thing which has helped me is heavy loaded dumbell wrist curls and reverse wrist curls but you have to take 5 seconds when letting the weight fall to the ground after the lift.
I don’t believe stretching helps, tried it for years with no improvements, just slowly warm up on the guitar is better. I’ve tried loads of things and weights/rest is the only thing that made a big difference. Also clean living, for me it has been giving up alcohol as that stuff ruins your body.
Stress can play a huge part in health I find, if you get stressed it can affect all sorts of things. Controlling stress is probably the hardest thing to do as it’s usually caused by things outside of our control.

I don’t believe diet or exercise has anything to do with guitar ability, look at Shawn lane he was heavily over weight, smoked yet absolutely killed on the guitar.

#33

I compete/train for the sports of Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting, have a degree in Kinesiology and am a certified strength coach/personal trainer so I like to think I’m pretty well read on diet and exercise - as far as it relates to guitar playing, I can’t see how it has much of a DIRECT effect on it outside of the idea that if you’re healthy, you’re gonna live longer and subsequently be a better player because you get to spend more years doing it :joy:

I’d recommend getting a full blood panel pretty regularly, especially if you’re electing to forgo red meat @ScottyB as it’s one of the most readily available sources of iron in the human diet. While some vegetables and legumes contain iron as well, this is non-heme iron (as opposed to heme iron found in red meat) and not as easily absorbed by our bodies. As a former vegetarian I found out that I have a bit of a genetic predisposition towards iron deficiency and this coupled with a meat-free diet really didn’t jive with my red blood cells, lol. Circling back to the blood panel thing though - just a good idea as an indicator of your overall health and it can point out some deficiencies that may need to be addressed by your diet/lifestyle. Vitamin D is a big one as well.

I will add as far as the exercise component goes that being a robust and strong individual is pretty much in all cases preferable to being fragile and not strong :joy: regular exercise and strength training can definitely make you a bit more resilient. The strengthening of connective tissues over time after repeated loading could potentially help mitigate some overuse or postural injuries we commonly see in guitar players like wrist and shoulder problems. I think being able to hold 315+ pounds in the front rack position may have made my wrists a little more robust :thinking:

Sarcopenia (muscle loss due to the aging process) is a big issue that affects our quality of life as we age and one of the best ways to prevent it is exercise - particularly weight bearing exercise as it’s one of the most effective for maintaining skeletal muscle mass. Losing the physical facilities to perform basic tasks can definitely reduce your quality of life and most certainly will put a damper on your guitar playing in your retirement days … so stay active, and stay healthy so you can keep shredding till you croak :frog:

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#34

@Philausopher seeing a 315 clean makes me feel tired, lol.

I think exercise / nutrition can affect your playing and longevity (either life in general or deteriorate your quality of life enough to affect playing). To what degree depends on the person and their lifestyle.

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#35

Being great at playing guitar doesn’t seem to be affected at all by diet, exercise or even sobriety once they have the skills. But every guitar hero that is high or drunk on stage, or completely unhealthy and shredding away, was once a kid with a guitar and had no interest in drugs or alcohol. So they practiced.

My impression is that no matter the circumstance, what we eat, drink, or how fit we are is irrelevant to ability. The important thing is practice and learning from it over time.

Of course, I’m not a guitar hero but I enjoy being healthy, fit, and active so I eat right, exercise and generally try to stay healthy. I drink alcohol but in moderation

#36

It’s actually quite straightforward.

Have a balanced diet that includes your grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, and proteins.

Personally, I’d also place more emphasis on eating more grains and vegetables, and that’s my weakness. I love beef, chicken, and pork, so lately, I’ve been eating smaller portions of that and taking my time with it, lol.

As far as exercise, again, no need to be a powerlifter or a fighter, but moderate cardio, a little weight training, and especially some stretching will go a long way. As my doctor will say, “A little bench press never hurt nobody.”

#37

I totally get where you’re coming from on the whole “too many pills” thing—I’ve had the same frustration. I’ve been trying to stay healthy while playing, and I’ve found that focusing on whole, unprocessed foods works best for me. I personally avoid most supplements, but one thing I’ve added is organic whey protein isolate.

I don’t use it every day, but when I’m in need of a quick protein boost, it helps without being too heavy. I’ve noticed it’s easy on my stomach, which is a win for me since I tend to be sensitive to a lot of things. I agree, aerobic exercise is key, especially if you’re trying to keep your energy up for long practice sessions without bulking up too much.

#38

You mean only in weekdays before 8pm, right? :smiley: