Does physical conditioning effect guitar playing?

[guitarist4doodd]

Originally Posted by daniel2001

Malmsteen.

i saw that coming before i finished reading the top thing

[Razzy]

I'm 6'6, 215lbs, and I'm amazing. lol >.>

[maxx11778]

it improves everything. you'll be better at sports even if you only do curls. and it helps you mind to be less depressed

[Sir Fire Hydran]

Ever since I started going to the gym, probably six weeks ago, my rhythm playing improved drastically. I'm serious. There has been a massive improvement in my strumming, my keeping up a rhythm, keeping in time. I would also dare say the musicality of my playing has been enhanced slightly (possibly because of my better rhythm).

It might just be that going to the gym has made me feel better about myself, and that is being reflected in my playing. Or it could be that going to the gym has given me more control over my body, and that is giving me more control in my playing.

[nitro juiced]

Originally Posted by RR5 Rhoads

I'm not entirely convinced.

I think it's the general feel goodness you get from working out...it just improves everything..

[CatfishStudios]

Originally Posted by Tingly

Precise correlation is impossible.

But, c'mon, proper conditioning relates to everything long term, including mental ability, mental outlook, stamina and longevity, all of which are somewhat applicable to playing.

I concede defeat, you have convinced me. Its probably hard to play guitar while having a stroke.

[doakwolf]

Yeah, check out Keith Richard's guns.. They're the reason he was so good

[Strat Kid]

Originally Posted by RR5 Rhoads

I'm not entirely convinced.

Yeah, but then again....

[ZampraZ]

I don't think it will make you play 'faster' because I know thats what your wondering

[NunoSlash]

Petrucci and George Lynch....skinny *******s that went crazy with the dumbells, George Lynch looks like Arnold Scharwnznegger (or whatever his last name is) look at this video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FUAtAuADe9s

Amazing song btw, MR SCARY!!! One of the best instrumentals ever!

[Fruitloop]

I think it also depends alot on what style you play.
If you mostly strum chords and play rhytm you might get a small boost from increased arm strength.
I work out 4-5 times a week and after a really intense workout my fingers/wrists ability is definitely reduced for a while. After they cope it's back to normal.
The only times I've noticed an improvement is when I lay off the exercise, for a period of time I will play better and feel stronger in my hands (then it goes back to normal again).

That's the thing, your muscles will always be in the process of rebuilding with a mass-gaining regime which takes away some of the juice. When you stop you'll feel a boost which goes away pretty quickly (much like skating with weigths and then removing them).

This has atleast been my personal experience, I can't say what it's like with a lighter workout routine. I would say strictly aerobic type exercise is the ideal for guitar playing, with a bit of anaerobic thrown in.

[Sir Fire Hydran]

Originally Posted by Fruitloop

I think it also depends alot on what style you play.
If you mostly strum chords and play rhytm you might get a small boost from increased arm strength.
I work out 4-5 times a week and after a really intense workout my fingers/wrists ability is definitely reduced for a while. After they cope it's back to normal.
The only times I've noticed an improvement is when I lay off the exercise, for a period of time I will play better and feel stronger in my hands (then it goes back to normal again).

That's the thing, your muscles will always be in the process of rebuilding with a mass-gaining regime which takes away some of the juice. When you stop you'll feel a boost which goes away pretty quickly (much like skating with weigths and then removing them).

This has atleast been my personal experience, I can't say what it's like with a lighter workout routine. I would say strictly aerobic type exercise is the ideal for guitar playing, with a bit of anaerobic thrown in.

I found that going to the gym helped my body develop a rhythm (doing exercises rhythmically is necessary to build up strong and solid muscle). This new sense of rhythm has helped my rhythm in the music I play, and spending an hour and a half in the gym doing rhythmic exercises helped me to keep a rhythm up for enough time to play an entire song (something I have had trouble with in the past). So going to the gym has just conditioned my body to doing rhythmic things for long periods of time.

[EmoBasher]

for a while i got REAL lazy, spent all day sitting down, no movement, just on the pc or other activities that dont include moving lol

u lose your control if u do that...

staying in shape is good, and relevant

[gtrhrcane]

Yes.

[rodderz]

Originally Posted by Semi-Hollowbody

I imagine standing there for 1 to 4 hours with a guitar can be a little draining..so the more endurance you have the better the blood flow...not to mention the guys that run around and go nuts for 4 hours...

back in the day they used to just not eat and do coke or smack to get that energy!

yeh i agree. Also If you think about it when you're learning to play guitar your fingers and wrist are growing in strength, and advanced techniques often require a lot of strength