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Fitness and Stamina


Norris
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The other night my trio were playing and we all noticed that all of us were flagging a bit in the last few songs. We were all tired and the performance suffered - not really enough for the audience to notice, but we did.

I suppose a certain amount is down to age. I'm the youngster in the band at 50. The drummer is 63 and the guitarist/singist is 58.

I assume that general fitness would help - I'm certainly not as fit as I could be. However it is not easy to find the time/motivation when you have a day job and family. I don't think the drummer is likely to hit the gym any time soon either. Plus it can be a long night when you've arrived at about 7:30 to set the gear up and are still playing at about 1am.

Any tips, advice, experiences to share?

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To be honest you're doing well to get to play as you do, I have two small children and a partner with health issues. I get no practice time and only make it to a monthly OM night. Yes it's hard to find time or motivation for the gym but in not convinced that CV fitness will aid you much in playing for longer unless you're exerting yourself too much doing it

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[quote name='charic' timestamp='1458645633' post='3009305']
...do it more often and you should be ok?
[/quote]

This. Doing weights only makes you better at doing weights. We rehearse as if we're gigging and practise two one-hour sets at least twice without a break. So gigs seem easy by comparison. It's nothing to do with age, it's training!

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General fitness will help - as it helps with everything. One thing you can do is don't sit around for hours before you play in that sort of situation...get out for a bit, have walk about, have something decent to eat etc. Also a drink of orange juice half way in the set can give you a bit of a sugar boost, but I wouldn't go for any of the sports/energy stuff.

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The more you practice playing 2hr sets, the easier playing 2hr sets live becomes. If rehearsal is very low-key and only a few songs are gone through, or you only rehearse every now & then,well a gig is going to be tougher in comparison. As the army says, train hard, fight easy.

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[quote name='charic' timestamp='1458645633' post='3009305']
Just do it more often and you should be ok?
[/quote]

:) I've been gigging pretty much every weekend for the last 31 years. You're right though, it is a long night, especially for the Dog & Duck. I must admit that I thought "phew" when we asked what time we were finishing :D

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[quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1458654887' post='3009455']
What tires me out is the setting up and taking down more so than performing.
[/quote]

That was me when I was buggering about with two 410s, a heavy rack case, a pedal board, two basses and about a hundredweight of ancillary gear... I'm enjoying gigging so much more with one bass, one lead, one strap and a Rumble 500 combo (16kg).

Edited by discreet
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I've got a Rumble 500 combo - feather weight. The heavier stuff is the lighting - I really must get some new stands. I don't think the carrying is the issue though as we don't usually have far to carry it.

I was wondering if anyone else had noticed similar fatigue, considering the BC demographic

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I'm getting too close to 50, but I find the early set up and long wait on function gigs is the worst. By the time you start playing at 10pm its hard to feel too enthusiastic when you left home at 4pm...

Your GP will tell you you've got high blood pressure, early Type II diabetes and the end is nigh. Just look after yourself, use a light amp and keep gigging!

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I've found that since I've lost a bit of weight I have a hell of a lot more energy now and I've still got a fair old bit to lose. I walk around 30 miles a week and am on my feet most of my working week so standing for a couple of hours at the weekend doesn't seem so bad.

Eating sensibly is a big one for me. Eat junk and your body will feel sluggish and lethargic more quickly than if you eat things that are good for you.

Drinking plenty of water is also huge. Chances are when you're playing you're sweating so you need to drink as much as you reasonably can as dehydration will make you tired and more likely to make mistakes and you will begin to struggle to concentrate. the opposite is that you drink so much water you have to excuse yourself half way through a set, much to the amusement of the singer who proceeds to tell everyone in the audience and makes "flushing" noises over the pa :lol:

I probably drink 6 500ml bottles of water during a wedding gig plus more before and after.

Edited by Delberthot
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I'm a firm believer in a good diet, regular exercise and good quality sleep. I know that time is at a premium for many of us (myself included with a young family and running my own business) but just 30mins every day of any activity that raises your heart rate (yes sex counts) and quality sleep can make huge difference. That said, long nights with 1am finishes are tough no matter who you are. I'm no puritan mind, I love a few beers or rums the same as the next man.

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[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1458664917' post='3009637']
I find a 5k all out effort at ParkRun on the Saturday morning sets me up for the day.
[/quote]

Come to think of it I did spend about 3 hours splitting logs that morning - does that count? :D

It's not the first time I've felt myself flagging though, even when I've not been that active beforehand

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Did my first park run in Oct 14 after 6 years of zero exercise. Had to stop to say hello to my breakfast halfway round. Went back the next week, and the one after that.

Since then I've run at least 5k per week and I'm signed up for a half marathon in Oct. I'm almost a stone lighter and feel miles better at gigs.

The yoga is a good call, I need to build that into my week.

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Ha. Thanks. The trouble is that running bores me senseless. I think I might have to do something to get fitter though. I'm not overweight but I don't think the walking a mile each way to work every day is really enough.

Edit: It's better than nothing though :)

Edited by Norris
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Taking better care of myself in terms of personal fitness makes a massive difference to my quality of life.

Concentration, stress reduction and increased energy are just a few of many benefits.

Its essential for my extremely stressful job, and my other hobby which involves a bit of risk/fitness. (Motorcycle training on race tracks.)

Musically, running whilst listening to the music that I am learning is a lovely way of getting 'practice' without even picking up a Bass.

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