The Piano And The Gym

Just like that.

And that is exactly why the "piano practice" discussion should be taken with a grain of salt. It is too broad to be generalized.

But I am truly pleased to discuss it in this forum. It is the first time I am sharing my experience in this field.

Well, then if you like we could go deeper... What is your experience in terms of training? I mean your typical workout, how do you divide it during the week, how many sets, how many repetitions per set and how much weight? How do you split muscles into the days of the week and, if we want, what is the diet of a sporty pianist?

foster12 wrote:

i am pleased to discuss it here.

... I am curious, then maybe you will discover why ...

Eh eh... don't tell me you're a level 4 personal trainer.

Anyway, I also know another talented musician, tuner and luthier who do bodybuilding.

...it's not like you're pulling your oars into the boat right now, Foster?

In what sense, Frank?

Dall us some ideas to deepen the discussion

It's not that they were referring to this... Foster...

TheSimon wrote:

Well, then if you like we could go deeper... What is your experience in terms of training? I mean your typical workout, how do you divide it during the week, how many sets, how many repetitions per set and how much weight? How do you split muscles during the days of the week and, if we want, what is the diet of a sporty pianist?

Maybe it can be useful to me

Just a fool!.

I usually divide my training into 2, maximum 3 sessions per week, of about an hour each. If I don't have time, maybe instead of an hour I do half an hour.

My training is based on fundamental exercises. Squat - Vertical Presses - Horizontal Presses - Pull-ups.

I always and only use dumbbells. I own the stinking Domyos set from Decathlon. And I manage to reach 24kg per dumbbell.

Leg Session:

Warm-up with Abs 8min (I warmly recommend this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx3bNSHB60Q)

Alternatively or in addition, one can proceed with 10 minutes of jump rope.

3x15 Squat 24+24kg with dumbbells in a superset with bodyweight sissy squats to failure.

3x15 Romanian Deadlift very slow with 16kg per hand.

4x10-8-6 One Leg Calf 302 (three seconds down, 2 up). I strongly recommend a 1-second pause at the point of maximum gastrocnemius extension to promote tendon stretching.

To finish, stretching and PFN [postural functional training] as desired, but with mindfulness.

Open content (youtube)

Chest Session - Deltoids

10 minutes of general warm-up. You can do clockwise and counter-clockwise arm rotations, or 3x15 with 2kg per hand of Arlaud movement. Rotator cuff strengthening exercises.

3x10-8-6 Push-ups with a 15kg overload using a backpack + pillows, with a wide grip, thumb opposition, and handles.

Optional: Flies 3x10 20kg per dumbbell in a superset with dumbbell presses to failure.

3x10 close-grip low push-ups, elbows tucked to the body.

3x10 military press with dumbbells.

Back Session

25 minutes of running

3x12 supinated grip pull-ups (palms facing the face)

3x10-8-6 wide pronated pull-ups

3x10 rowing pull-ups (grip of choice, to be varied regularly).

Optional: Biceps with dumbbells. 2 or 3 sets of 10 repetitions to failure.

Abs + Arlaud + PNF stretching

I have been training seriously for 9 years. Of which 2 were conducted in a gym, followed by very serious and competent instructors. (MHC Milano).

Today I am training at home.

Very useful links

Natural B.B. website by lawyer Nicola Garau,

Scooby Fitness, who deserves praise for his originality and competence.scoobysworkshop.com

Foster, do you play or do you practice more?

Congratulations on your consistency ...

Thank you Stradivari!

I follow the wave of how I feel. There are periods when I practice only once a week, and periods when I practice up to 4 times a week.

As I never tire of repeating even to my girlfriend, music and physical activity are not on/off switches.

When I make observations with the telescope, I use my body a lot. Amateur astronomy is a very tiring hobby, on par with the piano and bodybuilding.

The thing that destroys me the most is losing hours of sleep.

Sleep hours are also a very important factor for recovery in sports in general and therefore also in physical bodybuilding.

It is a subjective parameter. In my case, if I can, I prefer to sleep more than 8 hours.

The training I follow is also subjective, variable. Another bodybuilder might find my training insufficient (literally: would scratch a tooth with it).

Read carefully Foster... wait a little bit

I read the information regarding your training; it would be useful to know what you want to achieve with all this work (mass, definition, maintenance, etc.). Another thing I didn't perceive is how the contents of the 2 routines/sessions are managed in the case of 3 workouts or "short" sessions.

It seems to me that there is a lack of exercises dedicated to important muscle groups, such as triceps, rhomboids... it is also true that they work indirectly in some of the exercises you do, but (and this is the point) it seems to me that you follow a methodology that is perhaps a bit "static". What I mean is...

If the work were constant (I mean 2/3 (better) full sessions per week), I would divide the year into 6-week periods, in which I would alternate Full Body routines and specific routines for muscle groups.

In the specific routines, it is better to pair small muscles with large muscles to take advantage of hormonal responses and the nutritional supply that blood brings, because evidently a large muscle has different needs than a small muscle. For example, do Squats and then biceps, etc.

In general, it would be nice to reach a point where you have 6 routines to vary at least twice a year, in order to subject the musculature to ever-new stimuli, sometimes specific, sometimes "general."

Therefore, you should mix combinations of exercises for each specific muscle group (you should have at least 3 to 6 in your repertoire) so as to combine them in the 6/12 routines per year.

Obviously, to have this variety, dumbbells are insufficient... I don't know the reason for this exclusive choice.

I don't know if I managed to give you some ideas...

---------------------

That being said, what is the connection you see with the world of piano playing?

... a forum of gym rats

Hi Frank! I am against isolation exercises. They "make the muscle stupid" and, in my opinion, if not performed with the utmost care (sacred rites), they lead to joint vices.

Having little time, I always favor multi-joint exercises.

Due to my physical build (ectomorph HG 1.87cm), if I train the triceps even with just one isolation exercise in addition to multi-joint ones, I become bulky and it leads to postural and joint disorders. And it certainly doesn't improve my piano playing.

I follow the theories of Poliquin and Tozzi on Natural B.B. closely; they are different but full of insights.

My training is aimed at hypertrophy and joint functionality. I had problems with ligament laxity in my left shoulder (I am left-handed) when I was 13, with several relapses. This led to acromioclavicular impingement problems, which I have resolved (at least until today) with dedicated exercises.

I love reading and researching in this field. Certainly not from "Men's Health" sources and other nonsense, but from authoritative books.

Regarding the issue of micro/meso/macro cycles, I am fed up with programming. I think that varying training even every two weeks, in a sensible way, is the healthiest and most advisable thing to do.

For an amateur like me, with the physique I have (and the joint problem I've had, and my passion for the piano), it makes no sense to aim at trying to bench press 180kg.

I have always preferred using dumbbells over a barbell. I have noticed that the barbell, whether you like it or not, forces you into movements that can be non-physiological.

Dumbbells are much more "foul" (tricky), if we want to say they are more dangerous for a pianist. Yet, if managed well, I can assure you they do their job. You become more master of the movement (if someone teaches you).

My testimony is not that of a bodybuilder under the influence of steroids and creatine, but rather that of a 26-year-old ectomorph guy who doesn't take supplements, who eats heartily 4-5 times a day, and has nonetheless had massive increases in terms of hypertrophy.

Regarding the issue of hormonal response, I have never read anything strictly scientific and therefore I don't believe it. Let me explain: nothing to say about the issue of increased GH, testosterone, etc., etc., but it is not written anywhere that you cannot have a similar increase also by working on smaller muscles or with supersets like I do.

Here is a funny link on the subject http://scoobysworkshop.com/squat-myths/

In short, they seem like "gym rat" things to me, like the obsession with casein before sleeping instead of "whey". And well, I would really like to read about a medical experiment conducted in this field, related to hypertrophy.

Or like the nonsense that too much aerobic activity burns muscle. In reality, studies done on triathletes, marathon runners, and other endurance sports say that the effects of muscle mass loss only occur due to overtraining.

Some little articles...

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Running-Reduces-Visceral-Fat-169202.shtml

http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/30/lessons-from-ultra-endurance-runners/

The problem of Overtraining is almost never addressed by gym trainers. Also because it is counterproductive.

I have always suffered from it. For this very reason, I have greatly rationalized the number and sets of exercises, and the duration. I have significantly extended recovery times. Sometimes even 10 days between one leg session and another.

I see that you have very clear ideas; besides, mine was a general post. I had already appreciated the fact that your workout lasted about an hour (regarding the issue of overtraining); clearly, if you have had physical problems, a certain physiognomy/muscular predisposition, or otherwise specific goals, the program can only be personalized. That is how it is, and it must be for everyone.

You will have noticed that in my post I didn't write anything specific other than mentioning possible methodologies... to be adapted precisely to one's own purposes without forgetting any potential problems/physicality.

Regarding the dumbbell issue as well, I only said that I don't "understand" their exclusivity and I absolutely did not contrast them with the barbell or say they are useless; on the contrary... to achieve a good variety of exercises, sometimes one must also resort to bodyweight exercises or only with aids like wall bars, etc.

All this to also respond to TheSimon

TheSimon wrote:

Well, then if you like we could go deeper... What is your experience in terms of training? I mean your typical workout, how you divide it during the week, how many sets, how many repetitions per set and how much weight? How do you divide muscles into the days of the week and, if we want, what is the diet of a sporty pianist?

There is no universal answer, at most guidelines, "strategies" to be put into play, but which must be shaped for the individual.

... perhaps I missed the link from all this towards piano playing, what aspect of sporting activity (Foster or others interested) gave you that extra gear (or less) in playing the instrument?

Great point from Frank just now, and I also thank Enrico for sharing his experience with such passion. Here, in my opinion, the training method should have been clearly distinguished to make it well understood what can cause harm versus what does not create problems; this is because when talking about the gym, one always thinks of lifting weights that must increase with each workout until reaching inhuman weights. It seems clear to me that your training method is much healthier; but to this, I also want to associate myself with Frank's question because I seem to remember that on the occasion of your recording of a Chopin étude, you went a week without training... Therefore, I would also like to know if sports activity has helped you in pianism and if it takes anything away from you.

When I used to train, I belonged to the second category declared by you; I used supplements that caused great fluctuations in some blood parameters, including a very pronounced increase in hematocrit levels, even a doubling of red blood cells but in smaller volume and less capable of retaining oxygen (symptoms that might resemble anemia if it weren't for the compensation provided by the doubling of red blood cells). As far as training was concerned, despite doing a lot of stretching, it was characterized by lifting enormous weights and this created many problems for my fluidity. In the end, for logical, physical, and especially pianistic reasons, I chose to stop.

I learned firsthand that to maintain good health, one must never force things; one must give time its due and not be hasty regarding results.

Gaining 10 kilos in 2 months is unnatural, and therefore everything that is unnatural for the human body is harmful. Today, every now and then I ride my bicycle and go for a spin in the saddle, breathing fresh air since I live in a very green area, admiring nature and relaxing my body.

Thank you again for these healthy pearls of wisdom...

Frank wrote:

… perhaps I missed the link from all this towards pianism, what aspect of sporting activity (Foster or others interested) gave you that extra gear (or less) in playing the instrument?

Not at all, Frank! It is a pleasure to discuss with you all and hear different points of view.

From a pianistic point of view, pull-ups on the bar in particular have helped my muscular rigidity in the upper part of the body. (with a complete extension of the limbs, stretching the shoulders with a pause of 1 or 2 seconds and then pulling the shoulders back keeping them low and extending up to the chin)

Arlaud's movement (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqgr4Oa1iz0) allowed me to acquire that posture, of walking (and of playing), no longer characterized by shoulders curved forward, typical of those who are hyperlordotic and hyperkyphotic (unfortunately I have this tendency).

I would instead advise against overdoing isolation exercises for the triceps and biceps, which can work against our pianistic expectations.

Open content (youtube)

TheSimon wrote:

Today every now and then I take my bicycle and go for a ride in the saddle, breathing fresh air since I live in a very green area, admiring nature and relaxing my body. Thank you again for these healthy pearls...

Here, this can only do us good, especially on a mental level.

If we then get complicated because we are afraid of falling and hurting our hands, well.... it's time to never leave the house again. :D

I take the liberty of reminding you of Django Reinhardt, who played the guitar divinely (in my opinion) even after losing 2 fingers due to a severe burn.

On the issue of "losing something," we must think, for example, of soccer players.

Think of someone who kills themselves with Squats, and the next day goes to play soccer... At the very least, the C. Seedorf effect occurs, and he walks on the field.

However, if he waits for the right recovery times, it can only enhance his running and sprinting.

And so it is with the piano.

If I have finished a chest/triceps session, it will be difficult for me to be as clear and light as a butterfly. Even just due to physical fatigue.