The act of sitting down and playing a drum kit has many health & wellness benefits.  First off the drums are a percussive instrument meaning they have to be struck which is body movement.  The repetition of these movements equals activity or exercise based on your intensity level.  You must expend energy (calories) in order to perform which increases your metabolism and maintains muscle mass.  Muscle contraction improves immune function through improved lymphatic circulation. The increase in your heart rate will improve blood flow, circulation, blood pressure, and overall cardiac function. 

  Feel good hormones (Endorphins/Dopamine/Oxytocin) are released which stimulate feelings of pleasure in the reward centers in your brain similar to chocolate or sex.  The stimulation of the senses; sight, sound, and touch, builds a stronger mind-body connection which leads to enhanced coordination and feel.  Research shows increased blood flow to the brain and improved cognition and memory in musicians.  Listening to music is very therapeutic but is nowhere near the highly beneficial effects of playing an instrument, and much more so when you are collaborating with other musicians in a band.  Can the euphoria of playing in a band or performing in front of an audience be replicated by anything else?  We can recall the feelings of attending a great concert, but what do the players experience from the energy of thousands in the audience? 

  Playing an instrument is a great way to express your emotions and manage stress while receiving all the benefits of music therapy.  The power of music is evident in movie scores. The music conveys the feeling of a scene. Imagine movies without music?  Music has the power to heal and reconnect even those suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer's as well as learning disabilities or Autism.  Alpha waves in the brain are released when we hear music we enjoy which creates a calming feeling. 

  Listening or playing an instrument has been known to bridge the gap between our memories and emotions as experienced in nursing homes around the world.  Playing music during workouts greatly enhances the experience to motivate and push ourselves helping to reduce feelings of fatigue.  Music has the power to convey feelings of happiness, sadness, motivation and give you spine tingling chills or goosebumps.  When we combine the sound of music and the activity of playing an instrument, the mind-body benefits are limitless.  As a drummer I am sure you have felt the rush and feelings of euphoria when you are playing a song you really enjoy. 

  Listening to a song you love is great but playing along to that song is exponentially better! - even if you are only air-drumming! 

How does playing drums affect YOU?  Leave a comment...

  Maintaining and repairing your investment in drum gear is essential to the success of your playing days.  Replacement parts, broken cymbals, new sticks and heads can really add up over time.  Just like your body, your drum kit sees its fair share of wear and tear. 

  There are many ways to prevent excessive damage to your gear from the angles of cymbals and drums, proper storage and transporting, replacing worn or broken parts as well as buying quality gear that is built to last.  Do your research and choose wisely when purchasing new and used items, know what to look for and known problems with certain brands.  Be sure to take into account your style of playing and music to be sure the gear fits your needs. 

  I will be presenting many topics concerning buying/selling/trading/repairing drum gear on my blog and videos.  There are a number of simple DIY fixes for minor repairs that can be done at home with the right parts and tools.  Major work may be beyond what you want to take on and may require a skilled craftsman to recut bearing edges on drums or repair broken cymbals.

  Most of you reading this are likely not professional drummers and may play in a band or in your basement.  Your day job directly affects your health and joint mechanics.  Office workers who sit have loads of health issues such as; Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Low Energy, Poor Posture, Slowed Digestion and more Chronic Pain! 

  Shop workers or more blue-collar type jobs which require manual labor are more back-building jobs, and office work is actually back-breaking.  Sitting on a throne after sitting in a chair all day can be very taxing to your back.  How ironic is it that we sit all day yet have ever increasing back problems?  This is all based on the “use it or lose it principle”, when you sit in a chair for hours on end, your muscles atrophy.  When your back and core muscles are called upon to sit on a throne and play for an extended period of time, you feel it! 

  Training away from your kit and career are key to long term success behind your drum kit...

  Most of what we see in the fitness world is bodybuilding which is not what an athlete and especially a drummer should be doing.  Increasing muscle size will not benefit your playing, who would make a better drummer - Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bruce Lee?  Proper workouts focus on improving function, not beach muscles which can actually hinder your performance.  You do not play faster rolls due to bigger muscles, this comes from better motor control from practice not weighted sticks. 

  You do not need a gym membership to get healthy, less than 15% of the population belongs to a gym and many of them are not healthy.  Using simple home equipment or simply just your body weight is very effective if performed the right way.  Most of the Drummer’s Rx programs are designed using minimal equipment at home, if you go to a gym that is great and will be addressed but not essential to our system.  None of the Drummer’s Rx programs require expensive equipment or vast amounts of time to see results.  

  Your daily activity level is essential to physical and mental well-being.  Getting at least 10K steps per day is a proven way to maintain your health as we wake at NEGATIVE 10K each day (In a Hole we need to dig out of).  When you hit 10K per day you are actually at zero, anything beyond 10K is working in the direction of CHANGE.  Activity is any low-moderate intensity movement from walking to biking where Exercise is more strenuous moderate to high intensity (Heart Rate, Breathing…) to elicit CHANGE.  The stress from exercise stimulates your body to repair and rebuild to increasing workloads causing a change in your physiology. 

  A fit drummer is much more prepared to handle the demands placed on their bodies to perform and lug gear around as well as recovering more quickly.  Training for life’s demands prepares you for what lies ahead, failing to plan is a plan to FAIL.  Our bodies and minds require activity and exercise to stay young and healthy.  Finding a balance between too little and too much is key, over and under-exercisers have many of the same aches and pains. 

  Playing drums definitely adds steps to your activity requirements for the day even though you are sitting.  Wear and activity monitor while playing and it will think you are running due to all the arm movements!

  Some of you may be proactive in your approach to fixing issues but most are reactive when it comes to taking care of yourself.  “An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure” certainly pertains to drummers who want to pursue their passion for life.  Playing pain free with no limitations to affect your flow is what we all strive for. 

  Preventing issues before they happen is essential to reducing lost time and money, if you cannot play, you do not get paid and or get replaced.  Listen to your body, if something hurts or is excessively tight, you need to address it before it gets worse.  “No Pain - No Gain” does not usually end up well and can cause chronic issues that may end your playing days.  Small changes have a large impact over time, make adjustments and evaluate yourself over time to see where you can improve. 

  Listening to music provides phenomenal health benefits but playing an instrument goes far beyond that!  Combining an auditory and physical experience has many healing properties especially when you feel the rush of the smallest hairs on your body being activated through playing, the rush is an addictive high!  Some prefer to get this high from drinking, drugs or other vices, however playing drums is a natural high with nothing but benefits.  Whenever we feel stressed or just want to escape, just sit behind your kit and play.  It is difficult to think about your problems when you are deep into creating music and are physically using your body to reduce stress hormones. 

  Drums create what is referred to as “Movement Medicine”, our bodies are made to move, what better stimulus to move than music.  We all know that the crowd is listening and moving to the beat you are creating which holds the band together.

  Playing the drums is a physically demanding activity that requires extremely high levels of coordination, stamina, precision, timing and athleticism.  These demands lead to trauma to your body which will build up over time and can lead to breakdown if not properly addressed.  Balancing Work (practicing/playing) with Rest (quality sleep, breaks, time off) is required to maintain and boost your ability to recover. 

  Hydration and proper nutrition are also very very important to ensure adequate repair of damaged tissue similar to what an athlete requires when training or competing.  If you are not properly hydrated you can surely cramp up during a performance, especially from excessive sweating in a humid environment under lights. 

  Our approach is to balance work & rest to recover fully before performing.  Restful sleep is crucial to long-term wellness and many of us have inadequate sleep (Insomnia) which leads to fatigue, brain fog, inflammation and many other chronic health issues.

  Tightness in any specific muscle will disrupt your flow and can lead to chronic pain or dysfunction which can affect your ability to perform.  We experience tightness not because we do not stretch often enough, it is more of a matter of inactivity and sitting too often.  “Sitting is the NEW Smoking” relates to health issues we commonly encounter from sedentary jobs or lifestyles which can lead to serious chronic health issues similar to what smokers encounter. 

  Drum kit players have to sit on a throne to play, which reduces circulation and can exacerbate tightness and muscle imbalances.  Setting your Kit up in an ergonomic way around your body is crucial to performance and durability.  As we age our elastic tissue (muscles and tendons) are replaced by inelastic tissue in a process known as sarcopenia.  This condition creates tightness that affects your playing ability if not slowed through a structured warm-up and flexibility program. 

  Static stretching which is the most common form is not very effective long term, we use corrective stretching to reduce tightness and enhance coordination between opposing muscles.  We offer a FREE program called “Before you SIT & HIT” ®  to warm-up your entire body before sitting on your throne and starting a technical warm-up of your hands and feet behind your kit.

  Muscular endurance is essential to each stroke of your stick as well as each repetition of your bass pedal (Drumming is very very repetitive!)  Using proper technique and rebound to play more efficiently will reduce the workload and strain on your body.  Drums and cymbals are inanimate objects that require the player to provide muscular force to elicit sound, the larger the volume, the more force is required.  With each and every action there is an equal and opposite reaction which drives a vibration forces into your body.  Heavy hitters experience much higher levels of stress to their muscles and bones creating more trauma to the body.  Inflammation is created from playing which may cause pain and swelling especially around your joints.  Many players complain of wrist, elbow, shoulder and back pain which typically gets worse over time, “No Pain - No Gain” usually ends your playing career earlier than you would like.  Improving technique (loosened grip on sticks especially) and ergonomics help to reduce wear and tear on your body.  Fatigue while playing can come from many sources including dehydration, depleted energy stores and a lack of conditioning and rest.