Ease Pain. Recover Faster. Protect Your Music Career from Injury.
Go from stiffness and pain to playing longer and practicing harder while feeling amazing. This program will help you develop the musician-specific strength you need to protect your music career from pain and injury.
“I have been basically injury free since completing this course, and that has been absolutely life changing” – E.R. Viola
Virtual Hands Up if Any of These Sound Like You
No judgment! This is what I’ve heard from the musicians I’ve worked with…
- You’ve had an injury in the past, but you’ve never fully recovered. Either there is still some pain, or it flares back up periodically.
- You’ve got that tight muscle on the side of your neck that you can never seem to stretch or massage out. It’s probably been there for a long time and may have even gotten bad enough to give you headaches.
- You’ve got that impossible knot between your shoulder blade and your spine. You’ve had people push into it, laid on tennis balls and lacrosse balls but nothing ever seems to get quite deep enough to touch it.
- The center of your middle back get sooo achy when you sit for too long, especially if there’s nothing there to support your back. But you keep sitting up tall and dealing with the pain anyway (even though all you want to do is lay down on the floor of the rehearsal space).
- Your lower back hurts when you get up each morning. Or maybe it’s when you sit or stand too long. Or maybe your back makes you feel like you’re 80 years old everytime you stand up after sitting for too long.
- Your shoulder hurts bad enough that it’s hard to hold your instrument. Or wash your hair, or put on your jacket (jackets are the worst). Sometimes even just rolling over in bed can hurt.
- Your forearms always feel tight and tired. No amount of rest or stretching seems to help. Sometimes you even get tingling down into your hands, especially in the mornings.
- Or maybe, you keep getting told not to hold tension while you play. But no matter how much you try to “let it go” the tension is there. You may have even been blamed for having “bad technique” (but I bet that’s not the case).
- You’ve been told by a doctor to “just stop playing.” I hate this advice. They just don’t get musicians. Maybe you even did what you were told and stopped playing for a while, only to have the pain come roaring back when you started playing again.
- Or maybe you just feel like your body is getting beat up by your music. Your body and your music don’t feel in harmony. You want to play more, but the more you play, the worse you feel.
Contrary to What You May Have Been Told: Playing Music Doesn’t Have to Be Physically Painful and You Aren’t a Bad Musician if You Get Injured
8 in 10 musicians will experience an injury that interrupts their playing at some point in their career.
Of those, only 2 will make a full recovery.
One will leave music entirely due to pain and injury.
And 5 will continue on to have some kind of chronic pain or recurrent flare-ups.
Injuries are very common in musicians, but I don’t think they are necessary.
They happen because high level musicians like you are trying to push the upper limits of your ability.
When you do that, sometimes you push a little too far. And that is ok.
In sports, injuries are so common that they are expected. They are addressed openly and early so that the athlete can get back on the field as quickly and safely as possible.
In music, injuries are also common. However an injured musician is usually told that the injury is their fault and that it wouldn’t have happened if they were better.
They are told that pain is just a part of the process and to stop complaining.
They are told that their spot has been given to someone else.
They are told by doctors to just stop playing.
To me, all of this is just plain stupid.
There is a better way.
There are proven things that musicians can do to hurt less, reduce their risk of injury, and make sure that they make a fast, full recovery if they do get injured.
The research is clear. The number one thing that you can do to reduce your risk of injury is to improve your strength.
For a football player, this may mean doing heavy squats.
However, musicians are athletes of the small muscles.
That means that musicians need to do exercises that increase the strength, efficiency and stability of the small postural muscles that matter most to them.
The Musician Specific Strength Program will help you do exactly that.
NOW INTRODUCING
Guided Workouts to Safely and Effectively Build the Musician-Specific Strength You Need to Prevent Pain, Recover Faster and Protect Your Music Career from Injury
The Musician Specific Strength Program has three goals:
- Develop Strength in the Muscles that Matter Most for Musicians Musicians have unique needs. Unlike athletes or dancers, getting stronger or more fit will not help you perform better. Really, the main reason for musicians to exercise is to prevent injury. To do that you need to know which muscles actually matter, which exercises address those muscles, and how to organize those exercises into a sequence that allows for safe, gradual strengthening. Studies have been done on professional orchestral musicians and the results were clear. If musicians consistently exercise the right muscles, at the right level, and gradually progress their training, they experience less pain, fewer injuries and recover from injury faster.
- Avoid Injuries Due to Exercising The risk of injury is high enough for musicians. You don’t need to add to that by doing exercises that are just as likely to injure you as they are to help. Unfortunately this is all too common. Musicians know they need to take care of their body, so they find some exercises on YouTube or from a friend, but instead of feeling better, they hurt more and feel worse. So they give up. There are two main reasons for this: 1) Using risky exercises that address the wrong muscle groups; 2) Using exercises that address the right muscle groups, but at a level that is too challenging. In the studies on professional orchestral musicians, none of the musicians experienced an injury related to exercise. So, it is possible to get all of the benefits of exercise without the risk of injury if you select the right exercises, start at the right level, and gradually progress.
- Use As Little of Your Time as Possible I get it. Musicians like you are really busy. The Number 1 reason musicians don’t take care of their body is because they don’t have the time. That’s why I’ve put together a program that will take as little time as possible without sacrificing effectiveness. The Musician Specific Strength Program only requires 2-3 workouts per week and the workouts range between 19 and 42 minutes with an average of about 30 minutes. That means if you do 3 workouts per week at an average of 30 minutes each, you only need to devote 1 hour and 30 minutes per week to exercise. If you have 168 total hours each week, that means you’ll only spend 0.89% of your week exercising. In the long run, investing less than 1% of your time to exercise can create so much value in terms of preventing the loss of jobs, opportunities, dreams, money, and time due to injury. Not to mention the pain and suffering that goes along with injury. Any less and you sacrifice effectiveness. Any more and you’re wasting your valuable time.
The Secret? Repertoire for Your Muscles
The Musician Specific Strength Program uses the same principles as getting better at your instrument.
When playing music you need to play Twinkle Twinkle before you get to Paganini. And you won’t get to Paganini just by randomly picking songs to play.
You need to start with repertoire that is appropriate for your level, spend time with that repertoire, then gradually move on to more challenging pieces.
The Musician Specific Strength Program does exactly the same thing.
✅ Start with the physical equivalent of Twinkle Twinkle for the muscles. Specifically the muscle groups that matter most to musicians.
✅ Then consistently work towards more challenging exercises.
The good news is that your exercise repertoire doesn’t need to reach the physical equivalent of Paganini!
You just need to get strong enough to prevent injury and ensure that you’ll bounce back faster if you do get injured. Then maintain that level of strength.
The Musician Specific Strength Program is optimized for the unique needs of musicians.
You’ll only work on muscle groups that support your music and you’ll only work towards strength goals that actually make a difference in protecting your career from pain and injury.
And you’ll do it as easily and efficiently as humanly possible.
That way you can keep your focus where it belongs.
ON YOUR MUSIC.
Unlike traditional exercise programs, here are a few things The Musician Specific Strength Program doesn’t include:
- ❌ Any encouragement to “push through pain” or “dig deep”
- ❌ Any focus on how you look or “should” look
- ❌ Competition between you and other participants
- ❌ Encouragement to put in more time
- ❌ Striving for exercise related “PRs” (personal records)
- ❌ Focusing on any goal that doesn’t actually support your music
- ❌ Using any big weights or buying expensive equipment
- ❌ Becoming a member of a gym
- ❌ Exercising with other people (unless you want to)
- ❌ Working your schedule around exercise class times
- ❌ Counting any sets or repetitions (musicians count enough as it is)
If you’ve tried to exercise but it didn’t feel right or you didn’t stick with it, that’s ok. It was probably just an issue of not knowing what to do.
If you’ve had an injury, that’s ok. It was probably just an issue of not knowing how to prevent it and not knowing how to heal it.
If you constantly feel stiffness and tension, either during the day or while you play, that’s ok.
Music education does an amazing job at preparing you to excel on your instrument.
But it isn’t set up to teach you how to take care of your body.
The Musician Specific Strength Program will not only show you what to do, but it will also guide you through the whole program.
Take a Peek Inside the Musician Specific Strength Program
Inside the Musician Specific Strength Program you will find 6 Levels of Musician Specific exercises and workouts. They are designed to be done sequentially over 12 – 24 weeks depending on how rapidly you progress through the levels (although I think slower is better).
Here’s what you’ll find when you get access to the program.
Introduction
- There is a short introduction module to get you familiar with the layout of the program, how to move through the program, what to do if you miss workouts, or if a workout is too hard, and more.
- You’ll also get a spreadsheet to help you keep track of your progress (if you like that kind of thing).
The Exercises
- I have curated over 40 of the best exercises I routinely use with musicians in my physical therapy practice.
- I’ve selected these exercises based on how safe they are as well as how easy and effective they are at achieving their goal.
- The exercises address all of the most important body parts for musicians, including…
- Deep neck muscles
- Rotator Cuff
- Back of Shoulder Blades
- Front of Shoulder Blades
- Front of the core
- Back of the core
- Deep hips
- I’ve gone one step further and taken the exercises and organized them into 6 levels, from easiest to hardest, for each body part.
The Workouts
- The exercises are then combined into workouts based on their levels.
- For each level I’ve added a brief warm-up to get your body prepared to exercise (and that you could easily use before you play).
- The exercises are combined in ways that will allow you to move through the workout as quickly and efficiently as possible.
- Each of the workouts has a follow-along video where I do every set and repetition with you while verbally guiding you through the whole thing. You just have to hit play and follow-along.
- You’ll never have to count. Just follow along with me in the video.
- The workouts are between 19 and 42 minutes long.
- In total you’ll have access to over 11 hours of guided workouts.
- For each level, you will have 4 separate workouts using the same warm-up and exercises.
- Each workout differs slightly in terms of how many repetitions you do for each set. This allows for a very gentle, but consistent increase in the challenge of the workouts.
- So the first workout is the easiest for that level.
- The second gets a little harder.
- The third is the hardest of the level.
- Then the fourth drops back to being easy again.
- This sequence allows for a “periodized” program, which leads to the best improvements in the long term.
- The good news is that you don’t need to worry about what “periodization” is or how to do it. The program just does it for you.
The Levels
- The exercises and workouts are all organized by levels
- Level 1 is the easiest (and where I recommend you start)
- Level 6 is the hardest
- When you log in, each Level is organized as a course module
- Each level has its own brief introduction video to help you understand the purpose of the level, the things you may need before you get started, and to introduce you to each of the exercises used in the level.
- Below the introduction you will see each of the four (4) follow-along workout videos for that level
- Each level has its own exercise library in case you need a reminder of how to do an exercise.
Advice for What’s Next
- The final module is for those of you who make it all the way through the program and want to know what to do next.
- I have recommendations for how you can use The Musician Specific Strength Program on an ongoing basis to maintain the strength you’ve gained
- I also have recommendations for other great, musician-specific, ways to stay fit using your newly gained strength.
How It Works
The Musicians Specific Strength Program is taught using an online classroom.
Once you sign up, you’ll immediately be able to login and get to work.
You will have instant access to all 6 Levels, 24 Workouts, 40+ exercises and everything you need. However I strongly suggest you start with the Introduction Module and the Level 1 workouts.
Everything is online so you’ll never have to worry about signing up for classes, seeing people you know in classes or anything like that.
You’ll be able to open the program on your phone, tablet, laptop, computer or other device, log in, and start exercising in the comfort of your home (or anywhere else you have a little space).
If you ever have questions or issues, all you’ll have to do is send me an email (I have it listed in the Introduction Module) and I’ll do my best to help you out.
Cost and Value
The cost of the Musician Specific Strength Program is only $295.
Let’s Make some comparisons.
For $295 you can get
- 3 Physical Therapy Sessions
- ~15 Yoga or Pilates sessions
- 4-5 personal training sessions
- 4-5 massages
- ~30% of an MRI
- 2-3 x-rays
- 1 consultation with an orthopedic surgeon (Just the time with the doc. Does not include any testing or treatment)
Join The Musician Specific Strength Program Now!
By this time next year, you could be:
- Physically ready to comfortably play through those long summer festival weeks
- Not constantly feel the need to rub your neck or lay on tennis balls
- Not wondering if you’ll have to quit music due to pain
- Feeling relaxed and confident with how your body performs
- In a consistent routine of doing the right things to take care of your body
- Not spending your time and money on doctors visits, medical testing or treatments
- Not worrying about pain as you prepare for an audition
- Not wondering if you’ll get replaced if you take time off to deal with an injury
- Feeling like your body is finally in harmony with your music
The Musician Specific Strength Program will get you there.
Join now!
About the Founder of Musician’s Maintenance
Cody Weisbach is the founder of MUSICIAN’S MAINTENANCE, a newsletter that teaches musicians the basics of how to exercise to avoid injury, and THE MUSICIAN SPECIFIC STRENGTH PROGRAM, a guided exercise program, specifically for musicians, designed to do everything but do the actual exercises for you.
Cody is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with over 16 years of experience treating all kinds of injuries and painful problems in the general population, but he especially enjoys working with musicians.
He has been a guest on many podcasts to discuss musician’s health. He has delivered musician’s health presentations to several music programs as well as for the Colorado Flute Association and the National Flute Association’s national conference. He is also a past advisor for the National Flute Association’s Performance Health Committee.
He grew up playing guitar and jazz saxophone, but was never quite diligent enough in his playing to be at risk for his own overuse injury. These days he spends less time working on mastering an instrument and more time writing songs.
He lives in his hometown of Boulder, CO where he has a small physical therapy practice working with musicians and others who need help recovering from injury. He also provides online coaching for exercises and strategies to maximize performance, avoid injury and focus on physical longevity.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Some space on the floor and on a blank wall
- A pillow
- A stick (brooms and ski poles work well)
- A small towel
- A few towels (for a DIY foam roller)
- A 16 oz water bottle or canned foot
- A cheap set of bands like these (Usually about $15. Used in Levels 3-6)
- A yoga mat ($10-20)
All students are entitled to a full refund within thirty (30) days from purchase.
If you’re dealing with minor aches and pains, but can still play your instrument and do all of your normal daily tasks, then this is a good program for you.
If you have so much pain you can’t play or do normal daily life tasks, then you really need to see a physical therapist first. Once your injury is stabilized, this program will be an excellent option for your long term recovery.
You get access for as long as I’m able to afford keeping the program open. If I make improvements to the program, you get them at no extra cost.
At some time the program may become a recurring subscription service. However, if you purchase the program now, while it is a one-time payment, you will keep your access without ever having to pay anything additional.
Yes! The program is meant to address the general strength areas that are common across all musicians. There may be additional areas specific to your instrument that would be helpful. However this program is meant to make sure that the basics are well covered.
Join The Musician Specific Strength Program Now
Start exercising in a musician-specific way that will help you hurt less and keep your body in harmony with your music.
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Dr. Cody Weisbach, Musician’s Maintenance, Play Move Recover, LLC recommend that you speak with your doctor or physical therapist before participating in any exercise or advice from this website. This website or any related products or services are not to be considered physical therapy as they will NOT include a physical therapy evaluation, a physical therapy diagnosis, or medical advice. Participation in this website does not constitute a patient-provider relationship. The advice and videos on this website are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. No information in the program videos is to be taken as medical or health advice. You agree, upon purchase, to release Play Move Recover, LLC (Dr. Cody Weisbach and Musician’s Maintenance) of any and all liability and responsibility from any and all losses, liabilities, injuries, or damages. You agree to use this program at your own risk. Seek medical advice if you have any concerns about your individual needs.