 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2009-09-28 15:28
I really think that exercise and nutrition should be an essential part of everyone's life include that of musicians. I have lost eighty pounds going from 250lbs with a 37" waist to 170lbs with a 31" waist. I follow a program called Body for Life which has a an exercise program and a nutrition program where I eat six meals a day about every two to three hours.
In years past before I decided that I needed to make a transformation, I used to have a terrible time auditioning and performing in front of people because of anxiety. I would catch colds frequently and lacked energy. Recently in the last few auditions that I have taken I have found that this anxiety has nearly completely disappeared and has resulted in my having very successful auditions. No longer was I constantly shaking, feeling dizzy and I was able to select reeds that worked better with out the frantic desire to sound "perfect".
I am convinced that the reason why I can focus so much better is because of my nutrition. I had a constant stream of good nutrients flowing into my system opposed to having sugary type items that would spike my blood sugar and energy temporarily. Furthermore when it came to playing as a soloist I felt better on stage because of my improved appearance and I am certain that people also interact with me in a more positive way.
It has been a constant stream of positives for my clarinet playing to have really taken responsibility for the physical side of my life. Has anyone else made a similar type of change and noticed any similar effects?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: crnichols
Date: 2009-09-29 02:07
That's a great revelation for everyone to hear. Good health = feeling better = better clarinet playing!
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: CarlT
Date: 2009-09-29 03:00
James, I sort of stumbled (literally) into a path for good health 40 years ago when a friend asked me to join him in a game of handball, and I was hooked. As the years passed, handball has pretty much died out, and racquetball has taken its place (the racquet makes it so much easier on the hands).
Shortly after I started playing, I realized that I should not only exercise regularly, but that I should eat right, as well. Now I'm in my 70s, and I regularly beat (in racquetball) a 21 year old, who was a three year starting high school quarterback, and whose team was over .500 each of those years. This kid has been playing racquetball for over a year now, is a super athlete, and he is just now beginning to catch up to me in racquetball, though I'm 50 years older than he.
Oh, he will in time, no doubt, pass me up, but I will give him a good game for years to come (knock on wood).
My point is that not only will good eating habits and exercise benefit your clarinet playing, but they will be of major help in anything you do in life. It will greatly prolong the aging process, and give you a quality of life almost unheard of in the elderly community.
The good thing, too, is that it's almost never too late to better one's health, so don't think if you believe you're "over the hill", that you can't improve your health by practicing good habits. Of course, one should consult his/her doctor prior to anything strenuous, and it's never good to "over-do" it. Rome wasn't built in a day...blah, blah.
Any time I see an opportunity to get on my "good health" soap box, I take it. If I could inspire just one person who reads this to seek good health, I would be pleased.
Happy playing.
Carl
CarlT
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2009-09-29 12:13
James.
That is quite an accomplishment in terms of weight loss and toning. Great work.
I am also a firm believer that in order to achieve full potential in a physical activity such as playing clarinet, you have to have a good fitness and diet program. I cross train, rarely eat anything processed, and am limiting my alcohol intake.
Now 50, I still have the energy I had at 30, though my muscles take longer to rebound after a good workout.
Thanks for bringing up this important topic and your successful personal story.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: knotty
Date: 2009-09-29 14:09
You bet, everything is affected by your physical condition including your mental outlook. I too lost a lot of weight, 240 down to 160 and still losing, my goal is high school weight of 142. It all started when getting off the bus one day, my knees almost buckled. That was my serious clue to start doing lifelong workouts.
So, I began what I used to do 40 years ago, cycling. (I'm 64) Today, I do one day rides in the 125 to 150 mile range about once a month and do daily 30-40 miles. I can do everything around the house I used to do when 25 although a bit slower.
My diet is 90% plant based with an occasional turkey sandwich.
Good going James, keep it up.
knotty
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: whole note
Date: 2009-09-30 00:32
You are completely right about the positive effects of exercise and nutrition.
For me, fitness led to better muscle tone, which meant better posture and breath support. And the discipline to eat right and exercise carried over into patience and determination to improve the clarinet playing.
I added yoga to my weekly routine and it has helped me get even more mentally centered. I notice that the better I get with physical balance, the more I can focus when I play.
Knowing you care for yourself and can count on yourself to do that, leads to a much more confident and relaxed state of mind.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-09-30 01:11
This should be for anyone, not just clarinetists. I turned 70 last week, everyone was shocked thinking I wasn't even 60 yet. That's partly because I feel 50, and act like I'm 30, maybe younger at times. I work out every morning 45-60 every day. I'm not a health nut when it comes to eating but I don't go wild either. I drink a couple of glasses of wine every night, a few beers now and then and, ready for this, a mixed drink now and then as well, maybe once a week. I love steak and red meat but only eat it a few times a week, the rest of the time I balance. I'm still active as a professional musician in the Baltimore Symphony and generally feel great. You have to take care of yourself because no one else will but you don't have to go crazy to be healthy and wise. Yes, I'm still on top of my game clarinet wise. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2009-09-30 01:26
If your body's working well you will work better. Loosing it is quite hard, keeping it off is a lot, lot harder.
Let us know in a year how it's all going, then in 2, 3, 5 - cause long term is the only thing that counts, otherwise don't loose it in the first place as you'll be less healthy gaining it back again.
And nobody, but nobody that looses weight thinks that they will gain it back, yet most do.
I've done Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, and LA Weightloss - should have done 2 at the same time, would have had more to eat....... 
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-09-30 07:42
Finally gotten my act together over the past year as well. Dropped 35 pounds since March, with a combo of cleaning up my diet (to a perhaps extreme measure) and exercise. Didn't consider myself particularly chubby, but apparently had a few to lose.
Diet alone will only work for as long as you stay on the diet, especially because, if not coupled with the right kind of exercise, you'll lose both fat and a lot of muscle (i.e. the fat burning apparatus). For me, getting in shape wasn't "hard" in that I followed a very simple set of guidelines, similar to what James seems to be on. Exercise can be strenuous, but I don't think I'd say hard, in that I didn't have to engage problem-solving or pass tests. Once I determined that it was something that I actually WANTED to do (and not something that I "should" do), it's been way easy to keep at it, the trickiest part usually consisting of finding something healthy on the menu at some restaurants.
Maintaining is easier if it comes with a change of lifestyle, especially if you have a reason to change other that "because I should". I had a realization that there's so much cool stuff out there I could be actually doing rather than simulating, watching, or reading about, and that every day I'm not doing it, I'm missing out. While my friends may be playing Wii Sports or watching TV, I'm riding a bike along the riverbed, learning Capoeira, or improvising personal background music to people walking by. Heck, I even ditched TV (OK, I kept Netflix) because it was such a passive activity that sucked up time I could otherwise spend doing cool things. A healthy lifestyle, for me, has become both an enabler of cool things, and an enjoyable end in itself.
I've also become quasi-addicted to farmers' markets, and this has both integrated healthy eating into a thoroughly enjoyable weekly outing, and weaned me off sugary foods to the point of finding lots of them hard to eat, especially in rapid succession. I don't care for more than a couple bites of most desserts these days... just too sweet. I can't even handle most breakfast cereals, but love a bowl of oats with cinnamon and blueberries. I'm currently giddy in anticipation of the return of pear season. I still indulge in less-healthy meals here and there, though, quite frankly, it's often more out of a desire to be sociable rather than of some deep unsatisfied craving. Once I discovered the joys of a fresh cherimoya, a banana split is suddenly less spectacular (still tasty if I haven't had one in a long while, though now I'll get it to share).
If you approach a healthy lifestyle as "here's this awesome bunch of things to try!" you'll probably do much better with it than "this book says it can fix me, but it looks hard."
I'll second whole note's comment about posture and breath support. That's probably the most dramatic clarinet improvement I've noticed recently, and I'd say my tone quality has been a primary beneficiary. I also had my longest practice session in years last week (with breaks, of course), and probably could have gone longer if necessary.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda ★2017
Date: 2009-09-30 12:08
Congratulations on all your positive experiences! This is an inspiration to many of us. I've experienced better strength and air support when doing the Hamilton Mountain stairs, one of the sets of 350+ stairs that go up the escarpment that divides our city between the Upper and Lower. (Oh, and besides a mountain we have a castle, too! Giggle!) Now that I started voice lessons I have to do the stairs again.
We've gone through about 3 years of very difficult and stressful circumstances in our lives that have drained us emotionally and physically. But now we feel that we're on the upwards side of the experience. So the next step is to start getting more physical exercise again. My husband put the brakes on eating red meat once his doctor put him on Lipitor.. he wasn't about to be on a prescription for the rest of his life. So we're eating better, although I have more physical need for meat than he does... must be my blood type or something. Now that our four kids have left home, we downsized so that they can't come back home, our second grandbaby is on the way, we're in a better position to start back into doing what we need to do for ourselves.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
