Posted by Rick Denney on March 08, 2001 at 14:50:07:
In Reply to: tuba playing and "workouts" posted by tubatheorist on March 07, 2001 at 20:02:32:
This is not obvious. Others mention a clear physiological link between fitness and playing, but I don't think it's the case. I've played while fit and unfit. Last year, I trained for Ironman USA, and the previous year ran the Marine Corps Marathon, among other races throughout the year. When I was in the TubaMeisters, however, I was 70 pounds heavier and didn't ever work out. But I played about as well then as now by any objective measure.
In preparing for the Ironman, I swam roughly three miles a week, rode the bike 125 miles a week, and ran 25 miles a week during the heaviest weeks. For the marathon, I ran instead of riding the bike, and my peak week was 45 miles. My playing suffered because the time spent training was taken away from playing. That sort of training requires single-minded commitment, and is not easy to share with other obsessions.
When people report an improvement resulting from a workout, I think they are mostly playing better because they feel better. An aerobic workout causes your body to release endorphins and other mood-improving hormones, and that can only have positive musical benefit. So the benefit is not physiological as much as psychological, but improvement is improvement.
(Note to Steve: Swimming is not the best aerobic workout, by the way. Running is. Swimming is possibly the best exercise overall, because of the complete lack of impact and the good body position, as long as you don't use poor form and mangle a rotator cuff. It's good for aerobics, strength, balance, and posture, but not the best for any of these. You are horizontal while swimming, and this reduces the work your heart must do during the workout. Also swimming is not weight-bearing, and doesn't use the biggest muscles in the body. Running does on both counts, and you'll get more aerobic benefit from an hour or running than from an hour of swimming. Beware also of chlorine allergies--swimming plays hell with my sinuses--which definitely affects my playing.)
Rick "flabby from a winter of tuba playing" Denney