Weight vs. playing

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:37 pm

Stay obese, drink red wine like the obese lab rats who, after imbibing all the good anti-oxidant extracts of the red wine fed to them, showed none of the supposed negative health effects of being obese, and developed none thereafter, and so enjoy life a long time!

eli · Post by **eli** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:46 pm

As a somewhat chubby (5'9"/225 lb) amateur, I can state for certain that playing standing allows better air flow (low F's and Eb's come out better -- BBb 3v sousa) than seated... I think that implies pretty clearly that less (of me) around the middle would be better.

djwesp · Post by **djwesp** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:21 pm

Because of my Drum Corps upbringing I've varied weight quite a bit.

Before DC i was close to 300 pounds, went down to about 175 for a few years, back up to about 210, and now I sit firmly at an athletic 235 (powerlifter but still a chunker).

I can say without a doubt I felt like my sound deteriorated GREATLY when I was under 200 pounds. I'm not sure why. Physically my embouchure is a little quirky and I have affectionately termed "bird lips". I"m not sure how much that factors into it, but it seems like weighing more I have indeed sounded better.

That being said, I'm heavy because of my powerlifting regime, jimmy johns sub sandwiches, bad cafeteria food, and Thunderhead Brewery. NOT because I think it makes me sound better.

thedeep42 · Post by **thedeep42** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:15 pm

iiipopes wrote:Stay obese, drink red wine like the obese lab rats who, after imbibing all the good anti-oxidant extracts of the red wine fed to them, showed none of the supposed negative health effects of being obese, and developed none thereafter, and so enjoy life a long time!

haha, i heard about this too. when asked how much red wine a human would have to drink in order to get the amount of that handly little chemical the mice did in a concentrated formula, they replied that it was like over a hundred bottles a day. But i'm sure noone really sees a problem with that. hah. Bottoms up! I'm betting it would really help my chances of getting into grad school.

punk_tuba · Post by **punk_tuba** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:22 pm

i'd like to comment on this issue with all seriousness.

i was an obsese child and had some difficult weight issues during my transition to college.

a year ago i began to exercise for an hour to hour 1/4 everyday. i'm 5'9 and i went from 200 lbs to 170 and gained alot of muscle mass.

has it improved my playing? i'd say so....we all can take bigger breaths and i'm working on that and i still am a relatively tense player.

however, we're not "tuba players", we're musicians.
and about a year i began to become a new person. i feel wonderful all of the time, i'm tired less, more able bodied and have a stronger mental focus. being a good person and musician will create a better tuba player so i would advocate for progression of one's physical capabilities.

i'm not saying to start down creatine and lifting til you bleed, just be active. it's made me a better person and tuba player.

sloan · Post by **sloan** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:45 pm

thedeep42 wrote:

haha, i heard about this too. when asked how much red wine a human would have to drink in order to get the amount of that handly little chemical the mice did in a concentrated formula, they replied that it was like over a hundred bottles a day.

I'm game!

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:16 pm

Yeah, what's new in the world. Cyclamates were banned as a sweetener in the 60's because it caused cancer in lab rats. Only years later did anybody figure out that the amount in question was the equivalent of drinking multiple cases of original Fresca at one sitting every day over the course of several years. And Fresca has never tasted as good to me since. And neither has root beer since real sassafras extract ws banned for the same reason. At least in the woods around here you can still get sassafras if you're a mind to go root harvesting.

SplatterTone · Post by **SplatterTone** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:16 am

You can be assured that: It ain't over 'til the fat tuba player plays.
(while the skinny lady sings.)

oldbandnerd · Post by **oldbandnerd** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:44 am

I'am a big'un too . According to my ENT guy ( Ear,nose and throat) when you are fat you are fat everywhere !! There are folds of skin in your throat that will grow fat as the rest of you does and it will restrict airflow . This condition contributes to Sleep Apnea . It only makes sense it will make it harder to play a wind instrument .

Living life LARGE !!! 6' and 300 + pounds

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:53 am

I porked out since I quit smoking but January 2nd I start on the five weeks of Nutrisystem food stacked up in my music room that I paid over $300 for.
I am so cheap that spending that much loot on weight loss will have to be successful because I cannot stand wasting that much money on a failed effort.
I also told all my family and friends about the diet so I will have lots of folks checking on me.
I figure that five weeks on that food will give me an idea of proportions and how and what to cook.
Unfortunately I am so old that nothing will make me look good but I won't have to lug around all this food that I have already eaten.

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:37 am

sloan wrote:
thedeep42 wrote:
haha, i heard about this too. when asked how much red wine a human would have to drink in order to get the amount of that handly little chemical the mice did in a concentrated formula, they replied that it was like over a hundred bottles a day.
I'm game!

Well, at least this verifies that you are a tuba player.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 7:25 am

At my biggest I was 360 lbs.

Now 110 lbs lighter, I can say, ya, it is easier. ANYTHING physical is easier.

On a sorta-relevant aside--have you guys seen the Japanese guy who has won the Nathan's hot-dog eating contest for the last several years in a row?? He is a super-skinny guy. Anyway, I saw a special on him on TV once (funny that this has become a mainstream-popular sport eh?)--when he is training, he often gains about 30 lbs of fat--who wouldn't when they are shoving hot dogs down their throat?

But, before the competitions, he loses it all and gets very lean--the theory is that the excess fat around his tummy will hinder his stomach's ability to expand. When he gets lean, he can shove a few more hot dogs down...

Not necessarily a related theory, but it could be.

oldbandnerd · Post by **oldbandnerd** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 7:27 am

How about this for timing ? ..... My company just bought me several hundreds of dollars of logoed work shirts . Although I ordered the correct size (3x large ) they don't fit . It seems the shirts are " fitted". They fit in the shoulders but not around my lard *** belly/waist . They were made for a thin person not a fat one . My company said if I want to re-order I would have to pay for them . Beinging the cheapskate I am I have decided to lose the 30 or so pounds it will take to make the shirts fit ...I am too fat anyway !!

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:02 pm

Congrats on the weight loss!

bort · Post by **bort** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:13 pm

tubatooter1940 wrote:I porked out since I quit smoking...

Congratulations on quitting smoking. Now THAT will definitely help you play easier!

Tubaryan12 · Post by **Tubaryan12** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:13 pm

Well, we now have a more important reason to loose weight (I start tomorrow).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16158399/

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:42 pm

bort wrote:
tubatooter1940 wrote:I porked out since I quit smoking...
Congratulations on quitting smoking. Now THAT will definitely help you play easier!

Thank you , sir.
I could use more air but I hate to contemplate going through all that pain and hunger just to wind up a butt-ugly skinny guy.
Tubaryan, you starting a diet between now and New Years?
I put mine off to be more fun to be with during the Holidays.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:01 pm

tubatooter1940 wrote:I hate to contemplate going through all that pain and hunger just to wind up a butt-ugly skinny guy.

Well, you could just stay an obese guy that's bu%#&@.... carrier lost

jk

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Weight vs. playing

Weight vs. Playing