Warm up exercises

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Warm up exercises

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mrMagenta

Posts: 942
Joined: Oct. 25 2006
From: Sweden

Warm up exercises

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but since the search function is acting up I might as well ask you. What do you do to warm up before playing?

My hands are always cold, because i have low blood circulation. So before I play I try make my hands warm. Sometimes I put on the hot water and let it run until the metal hose thing (faucet?) gets hot, then I hold on to it until my hands get warm. Sometimes I put my hands in hot water, but avoid soaking the tips of the fingers. Other than that i usually shake the hands, or clasp them, like in prayer, and rotate the wrists.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 3 2009 2:26:59

henrym3483

Posts: 1584
Joined: Nov. 13 2005
From: Limerick,Ireland

RE: Warm up exercises (in reply to mrMagenta)

for 5 mins i do the following

shoulder stretch
deltoid strech
tricep stretch
wrist circles
forward and back wrist extensions
and finger stretches (careful not to strech too hard but gently stretch)

then shake the wrists lightly.

this warmup was recommended to me by my teacher if you intend to play for more than an hour and take breaks to do arms strecthes if you feel fatigued.this will allow better blood flow.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 3 2009 4:10:04

kozz

Posts: 1766
Joined: Feb. 26 2009
From: Eindhoven NL

RE: Warm up exercises (in reply to mrMagenta)

You can also check Payo Humberto's video:

Don't forget to check out his other video's, very funny and informative!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 3 2009 11:58:28

srshea

Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest

RE: Warm up exercises (in reply to mrMagenta)

Mister Mag,

Have you ever tried actual exercising, as in a regular full-body workout? I’ve found that a light to moderate workout is really good before a long practice session. Definitely not something that’s so strenuous that that I’m worn out afterwards, but just 20-30 minutes of moderate calisthenics, push ups, a quick jog around the neighborhood- just enough to get the heart pumping and the blood flowing a bit. It’s actually not all that often that my schedule allows be to do this before I play, but whenever I am able to do it I really notice the difference; I feel overall good and “shored-up”, my posture is straight and strong, I feel more mentally alert and focused, I can go longer with out starting to feel tired, etc. It really does have a positive effect on a lot of different levels.

So, it might be helpful to try some kind of whole-body approach to get your hands warmed up, rather than just focusing on the hands themselves. Some jumping jacks, couple pushups, some knee bends….

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 8 2009 17:44:24

mrMagenta

Posts: 942
Joined: Oct. 25 2006
From: Sweden

RE: Warm up exercises (in reply to mrMagenta)

Kozz,
I've seen that one, I forgot about it, but that's a good video. What a guy, Humberto.. :D

Srshea,
Sounds like an obvious thing to do to get the blood circulating, but I've never done regular full body exercises for a guitar warm up, thanks for lifting my perspective.

In general I don't get nearly as much exercise as I should. I think my hands would warm up if my body would realize that I'm not in hibernation. :-|

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 9 2009 1:10:05

srshea

Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest

RE: Warm up exercises (in reply to mrMagenta)

Yeah, it's kind of one of those things that's so obvious that it doesn't occur to you. I only stumbled across the idea when I just happened to get get some exercise before a practice one evening and was surprised by how good I felt...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 9 2009 1:39:46