RE: Hand warmup without the guitar

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akatune

Posts: 188
Joined: Mar. 28 2008

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to Grisha)

This is great info that I will use. I'll play a bit first, to relax myself and reassure myself that I can actually play. then the excercises. thank you.

Re: Wine. I have found it unreliable. In some instances it helps, other times it has ruined a performance. lately I play regularly at a Spanish restaurant to overcome stagefright. Now that I have become relaxed from playing there regularly I start with a "Turkish Coffee." It gets me fired up and relaxed. But I would never recommend it before playing on a stage or before something really serious.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 31 2010 2:59:50

bullo

Posts: 1
Joined: Dec. 9 2010

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to akatune)

Grisha! Thank you so much!!! I have a few questions if you don’t mind.
I've been trying to ‘invent’ these kind of exercises for years. And nothing really worked out. This is the main problem I have:
As happen with 'regular gym workout' there are different parameters to achieve different results. For example:

-Number of repetitions
-Speed of repetitions
-Force used in every repetition (same as weight used).

I find that when working out with my hands it is VERY easy to overdo it. First day feels great, but latter has a negative effect. So the idea here is to get Speed, Accuracy, and Dexterity of fine muscles, and not Volume, Weight and Mass (as weight lifters), correct?

So a vital question is How to work out here? You mention number of repetitions. But…do you use a lot of force? Do you do it until your muscles ‘burn’? Should we do it with NO force but many repetitions until muscles burn (because of number of reps., not because of force used).
I guess stretching is also vital. How hard to do it?

My GOAL: work out in a way that, from the muscles point of view, would be like playing guitar for hours. Only for muscles. I’m not trying to replace playing for workout. This HAS to be possible.
Ideas?

Thank you all!

Danny Bullo

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 9 2010 13:47:35

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to bullo)

quote:

How to work out here? You mention number of repetitions. But…do you use a lot of force? Do you do it until your muscles ‘burn’? Should we do it with NO force but many repetitions until muscles burn (because of number of reps., not because of force used).

many people will disagree with this, mostly without really understanding it, and i'm not sure i could explain it myself, though i understood it when it was explained to me - the advice i was given for any kind of physical training or development was "low weight, low reps, perfect form"

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 9 2010 16:37:46

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to akatune)

To be honest. Grishas hand-warmup is something u dont need IMO. This video is of course a very nice demonstration of Grishas lower arm muscles in shade light. hmm. ..I felt a little bit weird while watching that..

Well,.. at least I never do such things but also get warm hands in the winter. But the people are different.. so I see no problem there for others. Just try it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 9 2010 17:19:31

cRobson12

Posts: 288
Joined: Dec. 8 2010

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to Grisha)

This has helped me so much, it usually takes me about an hour to warm up... Doing this for 5 minutes made me feel amazing even when I first picked up my guitar

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 9 2010 23:10:00

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to Grisha)

I'm so glad someone found this again - I missed it first time round, and it's really useful. I do quite a few student performance evenings, and you can't warm up because other people are performing so it would be just plain rude!

I can't drink alcohol before I play either or my fingers go to mush!!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grisha
there is absolutely no need to apologize for anything at all, I don't dwell on such things

That's very wise Grisha. I've seen people be really upset by comments on youtube and the like, and you just can't let it get to you. Anyway most professionals I've met are their own worst critics - really ruthless in analysing their own playing!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 10 2010 7:22:03

Chilli Fingers

Posts: 79
Joined: Sep. 21 2010

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to Doitsujin)

quote:

hmm. ..I felt a little bit weird while watching that..

bwaaahahahahah hah ah haaha

.. i thought it was just me.

Having said that i will use these to warm up for sure (for playing guitar), i can see the value in it. Thanks for taking the time Grisha.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 10 2010 8:24:00

Grisha

Posts: 1263
Joined: Mar. 17 2005

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to akatune)

Sorry for the lighting, I thought it would show the movements better.

I am doing about 20 repetitions of each exercise, and repeat the whole sequence another couple of times as needed. Take rests in between and never continue if you feel too much muscle fatigue or pain. Use your own judgment.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 13 2010 6:52:15

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to akatune)

Thanks for the video, grisha!
i tried this today and it worked great!

it made me a bit worried though. my left hand is slower than my right hand, especially when extending the fingers.

does anyone else have the same problem?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 19 2010 20:55:52

xirdneH_imiJ

Posts: 1891
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to at_leo_87)

same here...you should practice rasgueados with your left hand so it can catch up

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 19 2010 21:08:10

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to akatune)

ok, i was worried i had an injury or something. it feels really sluggish when compared to the right hand.

now back to the days of flicking my fingers against my thigh while i eat,watch movies,talk on phone, sleep,etc.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 19 2010 21:10:56

xirdneH_imiJ

Posts: 1891
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to at_leo_87)

hehe
it's only logical, you trained your hands for two different things...the left fingers are all around the fretboard, they need to reach certain points quickly, and they need to think differently...your right hand on the other hand, it's all about total control, all your fingers relate to each other in movement...if you do the exercises you can also see that your right hand fingers stay together throughout and your left fingers tend to move unequally...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 19 2010 21:27:42

Leendert

Posts: 153
Joined: May 27 2010
From: WI, USA

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to Grisha)

quote:

ouch! my arm is burning now!!

I know, right?...It's crazy to see Grisha's hand not only move so fast with his playing guitar, but this is crazy! :)...I cant even move my hands that fast!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 20 2010 0:17:55

DoctorX2k2

Posts: 211
Joined: Jun. 14 2006
From: Quebec City, Canada

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to jg7238)

Alcohol, in moderation, relaxes muscles and diminishes the co-contractions. It helps increasing precision.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 20 2010 4:00:54

jaggedsphere

Posts: 146
Joined: Feb. 6 2010
From: Ottawa/Toronto

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to akatune)

Seems like a solid routine. I have been considering how one would devise a routine for increasing the quality of the muscles used for guitar and more specifically flamenco guitar. And I like this one.

Grisha, it LOOKS like you work out but you say you do not. Interesting. You must have developed the muscle strictly through your exercises and your practice. But the reasons you give for not wanting to work out I would argue against.
I remember an anecdote from an book on the subject of muscle building and performance increasing.
It went something like this:
During the 50s or 60s bodybuilding was shunned by coaches because they felt that it would make their athletes slow and heavy. Over time it was proved that with proper methodology any athlete could benefit from weight training.
(I'd like to cite a reference here but I cannot find anything solid. Anyone?)

So what I'm saying is that I am unsure whether I believe that lifting weights can actually hinder ones speed and accuracy. Would anyone care to counter or support?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 23 2011 16:56:34

rombsix

Posts: 7813
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
From: Beirut, Lebanon

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to jaggedsphere)

quote:

Grisha, it LOOKS like you work out but you say you do not. Interesting. You must have developed the muscle strictly through your exercises and your practice.

He used to do bodybuilding in the past, so he didn't acquire his mass just by playing guitar and doing technique exercises / hand stretches.

I don't think he said that bodybuilding hinders one' speed and accuracy, but rather one's musicality.

Cheers!

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Ramzi

http://www.youtube.com/rombsix

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 23 2011 17:49:27

jaggedsphere

Posts: 146
Joined: Feb. 6 2010
From: Ottawa/Toronto

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to rombsix)

quote:

He used to do bodybuilding in the past, so he didn't acquire his mass just by playing guitar and doing technique exercises / hand stretches.

I don't think he said that bodybuilding hinders one' speed and accuracy, but rather one's musicality.

Cheers!

Oooh. well then that's a whole 'nother thing. I'll admit that gym culture can be a little un-artful...I wonder what he means.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 23 2011 18:28:41

kudo

Posts: 2064
Joined: Sep. 3 2009

RE: Hand warmup without the guitar (in reply to akatune)

2 weeks ago I had stiff RH forearm muscles after playing for a few minutes and it remained stiff and irritating until yesterday, now its gone and Im considering this warm up stuff

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 15 2012 18:47:26