You know you should do it.
You know you should warm-up your body before you play, but I’m betting that you either don’t do it, or you aren’t doing it effectively as you could.
I know that you can probably get by without warming up. So can a high level collegiate or professional athlete if they need to. But here’s the thing. You can get by, until all of a sudden you can’t.
So high level collegiate and professional athletes warm-up.
But they don’t do just anything. They don’t just stretch a little and then go. It turns out, that doesn’t help.
They warm-up like a professional. They use warm-ups that are science-based and proven to be effective.
I took a look around the internet and I saw a huge gap between what I think a modern, professional warm-up should look like, and what is commonly suggested.
With injury rates for collegiate and professional musicians hovering around 80%, one area I think needs examination is what our expectations are in terms of what a modern, professional warm-up for musicians should look like.
To that end, in this weeks podcast I’ve taken a deep dive into what a warm-up should do, what it shouldn’t look like, what the science has to say about what it should look like, and how to make sure that you don’t become overly reliant on it.
How to Warm Up Like a Pro
Plus, I’ve also taken the recommendations from one of the best and brightest and made it into a video that demonstrates what a modern, professional warm-up for musicians should look like. And it will take less than 5 minutes. So, no excuses. Watch it, learn it, bookmark it and start using it.
Before you do though, I’d highly recommend listening to this week’s podcast so you understand the why behind it.
A Better Warm-up in Less than 5 Minutes
Last, I’ve curated got 3 additional warm-up resources and two related articles from around the web down below.
Enjoy!
musician’s maintenance: warm-ups
Avoiding Pianistic Injury with Bronwen Ackermann | Tim Topham
This is a great interview with one of the biggest names in musician’s health. The whole interview is great, but the best part is that in it she describes the warm-up that she recommends. Her description is what formed the base of the warm-up that I shared above. If you click the link to the interview and scroll down, there’s even a video of just the warm-up discussion.
Alexander Technique Based Warm-up | Eileen Troberman
Here’s a YouTube video that is a reasonable example of a warm-up based on Alexander Technique principles. If you watch this, you’ll notice some overlap in terms of the movements that are used. The video clocks in at just over 10 minutes, so I think it’s a little too long and there’s too much discussion and teaching in it to use in the practice room, but it might give you a template if you like Alexander Technique.
Yoga Based Warm-Up | Music Body Mind
If yoga is more your thing, here’s a nice warm-up from Amelia at Music Body Mind that minimizes the static stretching. Again, this video is just over 10 minutes and it’s a little relaxing for my taste, but if you are keyed up and need to settle some prior to playing, this would be a great option.
musician’s maintenance: read
Do You Need a Pre Warm-Up Ritual | The Bulletproof Musician
In the podcast, I talk about warming up your body as a ritual to help you access flow states. Here’s another take from a performance psychology standpoint. By the way, if you’re not already reading or following The Bulletproof Musician, you are missing out.
Why Pre-Workout Stretching is Actually Dangerous | Scientific American
Here’s a nice piece that looks at static stretching and is a nice summary piece about how it can affect muscle performance and why it isn’t recommended as a warm-up.