Who lifts weights here?

gdgross said:
But I'm concerned that increasing my grip strength will decrease my agility on the fretboard. If it will hurt my playing, i'm not interested.
Click to expand...

Dexterity and strength are not mutually exclusive. Just make sure to keep up flexibility and playing guitar while you build a grip of steel!

I’m not a weight lifter, but I’ve done a lot of rock climbing and I never found hand or finger strength to inhibit my playing. That said, I’ve never been a shredder and I can barely reach the add-9s on Every Breath You Take, so take my input with a grain of salt.
 
madmarcus1960 said:
As far as power lifts go, get some good lifting straps. That will assist your grip until it catches up. I have bad basil joint arthritis(thumb joint at the wrist), but I still lift and still play guitar almost everyday. "JUST DO IT"!👊
I believe strong hands only help correct technique. Pain or no pain, got to live life.
Click to expand...
Been there, done that (straps, belts, gloves, etc.). It will eventually wear out your joints, no getting around it. Ever experience chronic joint pain? The kind where it’s with you 24/7? The constant pain is unbearable, my hip joint was completely gone, no cartilage due to wear, the bone socket was polished. My orthopedic surgeon said he couldn’t imagine the pain I must’ve been experiencing.

There are plenty of things in life where the “just do it” mantra makes no sense...this is one of them.
 
Agree to disagree, no your limits, slowly pass them with good technique incrementally.
Most people with injuries either have bad technique/over train/bad genetics/accidents, or in my case years of corticosteriods for asthma in my youth(eats away at soft tissue).
Staying in shape and finding a way to stay fit in spite of chronic pain is as much about mental health as physical heath. Sorry about your body failing you, getting old sucks, I choose to deal with some treatable pain(CBD oils) and continue my lifestyle.

To be clear, I would not suggest to the OP to lift himself into injury, straps(never wore a belt, just keep core strong) will promote confidence as he starts lifting heavier weights. You'll still need common sense when it comes to progressing to heavier weights.

And not everybody that has lifted all their life winds up like your situation. I know a lot of old people that have lifted their entire adult life, that have no traumatic effects from having done so. Someone that has tried to exceed their genetics, often through chemical means(not accusing anyone!!) will pay the price.

Good luck to the OP, get a couple of books about power-lifting or join a board about it and ASK, ASK, ASK questions. Most of all be patient about your progress. Yes you can hurt yourself if your not careful, but proper technique will reward your efforts with slow steady progress. So will proper nutrition and rest.
 
I lift weights, cycle and do Krav Maga, but one of the best things is Yoga

I don't go to classes as I've found a couple of great YouTube channels that I can find time for, and find I don't have much in the way of consistent aches and pains, if any at all
I'm in my early forties and agree with Joe Rogan who says it's essential for anyone over 40
It certainly seems to help in recovery and fix any muscle issues for me

I highly recommend the Kassandra Yoga channel
 
Yoga is awesome. In addition to weights and guitar, I played ice hockey goalie for 30 years into my late 40's. Yoga was integral in staying flexible while increasing my strength. Besides Downward Dog from the back of a yoga class can make for a good day....or not!:eek:
 
madmarcus1960 said:
Yoga is awesome. In addition to weights and guitar, I played ice hockey goalie for 30 years into my late 40's. Yoga was integral in staying flexible while increasing my strength. Besides Downward Dog from the back of a yoga class can make for a good day....or not!:eek:
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, the physical benefits o Yoga are huge. And thanks to social media the images some of these lovely female Yoga instructors share are fantastic for the mental well being, and dare I add, stimulation of the mind

I highly recommend a visit to Cat Meffens Instagram channel for evidence..........
 
Plenty don't. Know guys that never really lifted but were huge due to genetics and physical jobs. Also know guys that were really strong, but never got huge.
 
Older Les Paul’s are weight lifting and dexterity challenging.

I use to lift a lot of beer bottles and, sure, I’ve got a big belly ;-)
 
madmarcus1960 said:
Agree to disagree, no your limits, slowly pass them with good technique incrementally.
Most people with injuries either have bad technique/over train/bad genetics/accidents, or in my case years of corticosteriods for asthma in my youth(eats away at soft tissue).
Staying in shape and finding a way to stay fit in spite of chronic pain is as much about mental health as physical heath. Sorry about your body failing you, getting old sucks, I choose to deal with some treatable pain(CBD oils) and continue my lifestyle.

To be clear, I would not suggest to the OP to lift himself into injury, straps(never wore a belt, just keep core strong) will promote confidence as he starts lifting heavier weights. You'll still need common sense when it comes to progressing to heavier weights.

And not everybody that has lifted all their life winds up like your situation. I know a lot of old people that have lifted their entire adult life, that have no traumatic effects from having done so. Someone that has tried to exceed their genetics, often through chemical means(not accusing anyone!!) will pay the price.

Good luck to the OP, get a couple of books about power-lifting or join a board about it and ASK, ASK, ASK questions. Most of all be patient about your progress. Yes you can hurt yourself if your not careful, but proper technique will reward your efforts with slow steady progress. So will proper nutrition and rest.
Click to expand...
Tried EVERYTHING for pain...Tylenol, ibuprofen, CBD oil, opiates (Norco and Oxy), 3 spinal epidurals, and MJ. The ONLY thing that came close to giving me any relief was vaping THC at night. Needless to say, after surgery, all was moot as I’m pain free now (minus the other arthritis). If you’ve ever experienced chronic 24/7 pain, you’d understand how some weaker minded folks could commit suicide. Yes, it can get that bad. You see, the bad hip also gave me herniated disks in my back (due to walking off center) and the feeling my knees were grinding (in reality, it was all my hip). After surgery it took over two years for my other leg to heal - you see it effected my Achilles’ tendon in my other leg as well.

I’ve been lifting and in shape for over 40 years. I’m a former cross country runner and marine, pretty sure I know how to work out and, coming from the USMC, most certainly get the “no pain, no gain” mantra.

Additionally, I ripped my right bicep...think it was from lifting beyond my capabilities? Wrong. I was reaching to get my dog her food and it simply snapped. This was while I was in PT rehabilitation after my hip replacement so the over exerted theory doesn’t apply.

If you’re 58, pain and arthritis free, good for you. You should be glad you have descent genetics. Unfortunately we can’t choose our genetics, and, unfortunately for me, inherited most of my mothers genes (and physical ailments). Had nothing to do with “bad form.”

I can bike, hike, have an extremely bad ass ascent trainer, and home gym, just can’t run or do any kind of squats or lunges anymore.
 
Last edited:
Have bad genetics, 2 torn pec tendons 11 years apart, rt rotator cuff twice, ITB both knees, MCL and ACL strains, sprains and automobiles, SI joint sublaxations, Cervical Stenosis C2-T1, and esophageal cancer survivor(2006, cut out 2/3 of it). See how this easily turns into the cabin scene from JAWS, Capt Quint! 😊

I'm just stubborn and not going to let bad luck, bad choices, and intermittent health issues beat me. Keep doing what you CAN do stay active in any way shape or form, but I wouldn't deter anyone from trying to get stronger. Just use common sense and good nutrition.

Later Stinky and seriously thank you for your sevice.
 
Absolutely lift weights. It's one of those things that pays off over time (as you get older.) I lift dumbbells. I don't bother with gloves, but have been pretty good about not getting a death grip on the bars. I'm past the point of heavy weights, so it's usually higher reps...lower weights (I don't push anything over 30 lbs x2) over my head.

I play guitar, and an increasing amount of piano/keys. That, coupled with the techie job I have typing constantly, I worry that my digits will suffer. Thus, I spend quite a bit of time keeping my fingers limber (check around, plenty of hand/finger "workouts" that will combat any repetitive motion sort of problems.)

Some folks are just plain prone to arthritis, so nothing can be done about that. I've also never been a fan of chewing pills to keep inflammation down, very bad for organs over time. There may be some other more holistic methods, but as it's not a problem for me yet, haven't researched it.
 
gdgross said:
I've been trying to research this topic for a while and haven't been able to find any good scientific answers.

I try to keep in shape, partially by lifting weights a couple times a week. I'm interested in adding some meatier lifts to my routine, like deadlifts, as well as increasing my weight/decreasing my reps on other lifts. But I'm concerned that increasing my grip strength will decrease my agility on the fretboard. If it will hurt my playing, i'm not interested.

Anyone else thought about this or had some experience one way or the other? (Or better yet, found any journal articles or scientific studies on the subject...)

Thanks all - this is really the only guitar forum I'm on, otherwise I might ask somewhere else too :-D
Click to expand...

LIke everybody else said - heavy weights are bad in the long run. I am 48, I used to lift a lot when I was in my 20's, now I have two shoulder sugeries behind me and two hip surgeries ahead. Not exclusively from the lifting, but it contributed.

Starting again now after several years, I switched my training to light weights, doing 3 to 4 sets of 15 repetitions with only 30 seconds break between sets. My experience with it so far is quite good.

And apart from all that stuff - yes, my experience and that of another guitar playing friend of mine is also that heavy weights make your fingers slow. At least if you want to practice in the evening after you have been to the gym before. Doesn't happen so much with the light ones with high repetitions.
 
I’ve had good luck for 30+ years sticking to 8-10 reps and progressive resistance, mostly free weights, basic stuff, some super-setting & good technique.

Irony is, the stronger you get, the more intense the impact on your “architecture”. If you push beyond the physics of your individual architecture you’re inviting early degradation, which kind of negates the original objective, but a lot of guys do that for some reason.

If you listen to your “rig” - what your body tells you - you can find a good balance of optimal strength for you. It’s a great thing to aspire to, and if you get there, it’s a nice challenge to sustain that, modifying as needed over the decades based on what you body/rig tells you.
 
Fitness bands give you a completely different workout and in my opinion, should be cycled in by everyone doing weights. With weights all the stress is at the beginning of the movement. With fitness bands, the stress is at the end on the contraction. It lengthens muscles, where weights can shorten then.
Love/Hate Tom Brady, but it's hard to argue with his fitness level at 42 years old. The TB12 method has a lot of fitness band training. Kettle bells are another great workout.

There's way more to working out than just weights now. My cheap Planet Fitness has an entire room dedicated to bands, kettles, the giant Battle Ropes. TRX straps.

I guess I wouldn't suggest a heavy grip oriented workout the day of a 3 hour gig, but, I play after the gym on a lot of days and just stretch and warmup properly and find no real side effect from using weights or bands.

Good luck to all of you, and just do something, you'll prolong your life and extend your ability to be a source of aggravation to your children. (if you have them 😊)
 
IMO there's no shame in using lifting straps. My deadlift is 525, and I can't lift it without straps. I do go without straps or belt until 405 though, and I don't pull 525 very often. I'm 6'2", sturdy build, so 525 is not crazy for me, adjust your goals accordingly. Now granted I'm not a virtuoso, so if it affects any of the finer points I wouldn't know, but lifting weights got rid of my RSI and lower back pain so I figure it's a good tradeoff. I didn't notice any degradation in agility. No arthritis so far, thank god.

If you're concerned about your hands and forearms, just do low back squats. Squats are basically the most all encompassing exercise there is as far as lifting is concerned.

Regarding the pics: big guys aren't necessarily strong. Some people only train what they can see in the mirror, which happen to be the most useless muscles in the human body. :) Bodybuilder type physique is almost always drug-assisted. People don't grow that big without drugs no matter how hard they train.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom