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I am preparing for auditions and in addition to hours a day on the horn, I was wondering what kind of physical exercise you do to prepare. Me personally, I run about 2 miles every other day and ride the stationary bike for about 5 miles a day and do some other cardio and situps/crunches and light weight workouts. So I'm just curious if anyone else does any preparation outside the practice room even with diets and lifestyle changes.

Might be an interesting topic...

Best,
Justin Beish

Exercise always seems to increase my overall energy levels. If you could stand to shed a couple of pounds, then exercise can also make breathing easier, and increase lung capacity which might be constricted by body fat.

This is a great question. I would like to consider myself a fitness fanatic, of sorts. In addition to maintaining a job playing the tuba, I play minor league football. I feel like doing cardio helps me maintain my vital capacity, and in turn helps my cardio. On top of that, building muscle through weight training never hurt anyone (seriously, that is).

My 6 day gym routine balances extreme cardio and weights on alternating days. For instance, I will run 5 miles very quickly on day 1, with only attention to abs later in the day. Day 2 would consist of supersets of biceps/triceps and chest, if I felt like I could handle it. In addition, I would run 2 miles as a warmup/cooldown...to keep the heart pumping. This is not my typical 13 minute 2 miles.. more of a nice liesurely 18 minute trot. Day 3 is a legs day. Much emphasis on leg presses and extentions. Not neglecting calf raises on the leg press machine. Also run the nice slowed pace 2 miles on this day. Day 4 is back to strictly cardio.. 5 miles, quick like a bunny. Also emphasis on abs later that day. Day 5 is focused on back/lats. On this day, I'll throw in a nice 3 mile run for good measure. Day 6 is my max day. I'll focus on maxing my benchpress, bicep curls, tricep extentions and leg presses/squats. Not many reps.. just an indicator of where I am at in my training. For instance, I'll bench 215 a few times, and then try for 230 twice. On this day, I do no substantial cardio, because my muscles are normally exhausted and I generally have football games at night.
Day 7 is complete rest... usually because I have been severely beaten from football the day prior. Rinse, lather and repeat...

As for diet, I could never commit to the low carb stuff. I live to eat.. not eat to live. Cutting down saturated fats and counting calories seems to help me. If i need to drop weight, I'll take my normal calorie intake and reduce it by 500 calories. In addition to my cardio, I can normally drop 2.5lbs/week. When I'm trying to gain weight, I add 500 calories to my diet and also go back to my supplements. In addition to these stated above, I have nearly eliminated caffeine from my diet. I feel like I rest better, and I don't miss it at all. The occasional chocolate treat is fine.

I think as tuba players, we are far too often put into the "fat kid with pimples" catagory. Being out of shape certainly does nothing to help one's playing. That being said, excercising relentlessly is not for everyone. Maintaining a healthy balance between diet and excercise is essential for maximum performance, in my opinion. It's perfectly fine to cheat once in a while (I find myself doing in when we're on tour), as long as you don't slip into bad habits.

As far as playing goes, I also find that a nice run prior to warming up opens my lungs up and relaxes my airflow. I've heard of teachers requiring their students to run prior to a high pressure situation. It gets the heart rate up, and seems to help to reduce nerves. I'm fortunate enough to not have a nerve problem, but I'd be interested in hearing results if someone were so inclined to try it.

Just my .02 cents... hell.. that was more like .03

JHardisk wrote: As for diet, I could never commit to the low carb stuff. I live to eat.. not eat to live. Cutting down saturated fats and counting calories seems to help me. If i need to drop weight, I'll take my normal calorie intake and reduce it by 500 calories.

The Atkins Diet craze is an attempt to loose weight without exercise. The low carb diet does not supply enough energy for a highly active lifestyle. Fats burn too slowly to fuel high output workouts. For those who choose exercise, carbs are necessary. And, IMO, a plate of pasta sure tastes better than a cheeseburger without the bun.