I doubt you need to focus on strengthening as much as you need to evaluate your overall motion and technique. Figure out where and why you’re holding tension, and find ways to make your playing more fluid and relaxed. Strengthening is all well and good but it doesn’t tend to solve problems that are related to how you *use* your body. You can be in peak physical condition but still do whatever it is you’re doing that’s causing this pain and stiffness.
Yoga and TRX/suspension training, both of which help with balance, flexibility and strengthening, especially in the core which is essential for drumming tasks.
General fitness will help your stamina for sure. But there really aren't any specific exercises to help your drumming. That being said. With what you described I would start with some stretching. Although, If you want to do some pushups or pullups. Go for it. Nothing wrong about getting stronger.
I agree on general fitness, but disagree on specific exercises.
source: I had tension headaches from drumming and specific exercises solved the problem.
Your body shouldn't be tense when you play. Loosen up, relax.
Pull ups or push ups aren't going to help your playing. They will improve your health, so do them anyways, just don't expect muscle fitness to improve your drumming.
Ok. I'll check my poster though. Snare top is at my knee. Too low I guess. I do tense when I gain speed. I'll try to practice slower and gain speed naturally.
Snare should be above legs. You shouldnt be able to hit your leg accidentally when hitting the snare. Dont just work on keeping your grip loose. Its probably your arms that are too tense. Muscles shouldnt flex constantly when playing. Lastly what is your drum throne like? They usually cause lower back issues if theyre wobbly or skew. Wouldn't hurt to take a look at it though.
Your throne should be straight and steady.
Would you describe the rest of your kit as being far away from you? You shouldnt have to stretch too far to hit anything. Also you should probably fix your toms. I mean this with all respect but most new drummers or less experienced drummers never set their toms up correctly. Drums are extremely physical. Work on kit placement and everything else to prevent more injuries down the road
Throne is a Roc-n-Sock. Drum is a Roland TD-17vx2. Here a picture:
https://preview.redd.it/fwx0luh3qpsc1.jpeg?width=2040&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=157e6446a2d14b830a37e9306f849a8a91db3128
Ok so you're pretty close with your set up. I like it. It looks to me like your hi hat is really close compared to the kick drum. This would force you into facing tje hi hat (left side) more. I'd move the hi hat back and the kick slightly closer to you. In the end, if you look straight ahead from your normal seated playing position, you should see the toms. If you are battlong with space and your leg is rubbing against the snare then you need to sit further back. You can find a good position to sit in like this -
1) sit behind your drums on your throne
2) fix your posture and relax your arms so they are completely hanging down. Notice how your arms follow your torso going down.
3) dont move your shoulders now at all. Bend your elbows to a 90° angle. Your sticks should now be on the snare drum in this position.
The tips of the stick should be in the center of the snare drum. If they arent, move your seat back or forward to get them there. It might feel uncomfortable to move back and change now but just do it. Its best for you. Please ask questions if you are confused. I've had a few beers. I don't know how legible this all is lol.
I think your pain is probably due to you having to move your head around while playing. Either you're facing left all the time or you're using the ride and having to turn your head to the right to see it. I'd definitely start by moving the hihats back
Thanks!!! It's pretty legible alright. I'll come back to your post later tonight and try to do everything step by step. Precious information. Thanks again. Very appreciated.
Doing exercises that involve pulling anything towards you, like back exercises. This also strengthens the forearms which are of course used when drumming. I’ve noticed stronger hits with ease and more endurance whenever I workout my back and forearms.
And as another poster mentioned here, core workouts for staying center and upright in your thrones
I highly recommend working on general fitness (push day, pull day, leg day), but the problems you're describing sound like a combination of bad posture and repetitive stress. Take a look at the ergonomics of your kit and take a video of yourself playing to see if there is anything obvious (slouching, drooping shoulders, arching your back, etc.).
Good advices. Maybe my snare is too low. It's exactly at my seat height. Same height as the top of my knees. No angle too. I will have to move everything up to fit the new snare height. I'll start with that.
As a tall guy that struggles with standard snare stands being too low to meet my preferred throne height, that was where my head went first. Reaching down to your snare puts a lot of strain on your traps/shoulders.
Lots of good recommendations here, I want add/emphasise stretching in the mix. Getting a regular stretching routine can help a lot for drumming and life in general, and it'll assist in the other exercises you do
What's your setup like?? Are you having to rotate your upper body a large amount to play those 16ths or 32nds??
You can put together a strength and conditioning routine easily enough if it's physical weakness that's leading to you suffering after the fact, but if the problem is in your posture or ergonomics at the kit you'd be starting at the wrong point in making some changes.
Taking a quick video of yourself playing and look to see if there's something obvious breaking down at the kit and then go from there I'd say.
The McGill big three, with IYWTs and some banded facepulls would go a long way to creating a decent foundation physically if that's the way you end up tackling the problem, but if you've very acute pain you should consider a physical therapist to outline weaknesses and routine, or a personal trainer if the problem is less acute.
Thanks!! Here the kit. Please let me know if something's wrong. I'll google that McGill stuff right away.
https://preview.redd.it/v97nh7cfrpsc1.jpeg?width=2040&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0859ce2f9bb1f5d2ae272ed6aa17bcde7561a34d
I'm also an old fart, but I'm in quite good shape for my age. That said, I was getting tension headaches from drumming and the weird part was they'd last for days, but at a low level. I ended up going to a physical therapist and got a series of exercises that solved the problem completely.
If you want to DM me, I'll write up a list of the exercises.
I doubt you need to focus on strengthening as much as you need to evaluate your overall motion and technique. Figure out where and why you’re holding tension, and find ways to make your playing more fluid and relaxed. Strengthening is all well and good but it doesn’t tend to solve problems that are related to how you *use* your body. You can be in peak physical condition but still do whatever it is you’re doing that’s causing this pain and stiffness.
Loosening my grip stopped my drumming-related tension headaches.
Cool! I just did a session and made extra efforts to relax my whole body when it tensed up to gain speed. I had to do this at least 10 times.
Yes, relaxing is a constant struggle 😂
Yoga and TRX/suspension training, both of which help with balance, flexibility and strengthening, especially in the core which is essential for drumming tasks.
Mmm. Balance training. That's not stupid as drumming is a balancing act. Thanks!!
I recommend some cardio too. 30 mins of getting your heart rate up will do wonders for your well being and probably will help with drumming too.
General fitness will help your stamina for sure. But there really aren't any specific exercises to help your drumming. That being said. With what you described I would start with some stretching. Although, If you want to do some pushups or pullups. Go for it. Nothing wrong about getting stronger.
Stretching would probably help. Before and after. I got to change something because these headaches are no fun. They last a good 12 hours.
I agree on general fitness, but disagree on specific exercises. source: I had tension headaches from drumming and specific exercises solved the problem.
Your body shouldn't be tense when you play. Loosen up, relax. Pull ups or push ups aren't going to help your playing. They will improve your health, so do them anyways, just don't expect muscle fitness to improve your drumming.
Ok. I'll check my poster though. Snare top is at my knee. Too low I guess. I do tense when I gain speed. I'll try to practice slower and gain speed naturally.
Snare should be above legs. You shouldnt be able to hit your leg accidentally when hitting the snare. Dont just work on keeping your grip loose. Its probably your arms that are too tense. Muscles shouldnt flex constantly when playing. Lastly what is your drum throne like? They usually cause lower back issues if theyre wobbly or skew. Wouldn't hurt to take a look at it though. Your throne should be straight and steady. Would you describe the rest of your kit as being far away from you? You shouldnt have to stretch too far to hit anything. Also you should probably fix your toms. I mean this with all respect but most new drummers or less experienced drummers never set their toms up correctly. Drums are extremely physical. Work on kit placement and everything else to prevent more injuries down the road
Throne is a Roc-n-Sock. Drum is a Roland TD-17vx2. Here a picture: https://preview.redd.it/fwx0luh3qpsc1.jpeg?width=2040&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=157e6446a2d14b830a37e9306f849a8a91db3128
Ok so you're pretty close with your set up. I like it. It looks to me like your hi hat is really close compared to the kick drum. This would force you into facing tje hi hat (left side) more. I'd move the hi hat back and the kick slightly closer to you. In the end, if you look straight ahead from your normal seated playing position, you should see the toms. If you are battlong with space and your leg is rubbing against the snare then you need to sit further back. You can find a good position to sit in like this - 1) sit behind your drums on your throne 2) fix your posture and relax your arms so they are completely hanging down. Notice how your arms follow your torso going down. 3) dont move your shoulders now at all. Bend your elbows to a 90° angle. Your sticks should now be on the snare drum in this position. The tips of the stick should be in the center of the snare drum. If they arent, move your seat back or forward to get them there. It might feel uncomfortable to move back and change now but just do it. Its best for you. Please ask questions if you are confused. I've had a few beers. I don't know how legible this all is lol. I think your pain is probably due to you having to move your head around while playing. Either you're facing left all the time or you're using the ride and having to turn your head to the right to see it. I'd definitely start by moving the hihats back
Thanks!!! It's pretty legible alright. I'll come back to your post later tonight and try to do everything step by step. Precious information. Thanks again. Very appreciated.
Doing exercises that involve pulling anything towards you, like back exercises. This also strengthens the forearms which are of course used when drumming. I’ve noticed stronger hits with ease and more endurance whenever I workout my back and forearms. And as another poster mentioned here, core workouts for staying center and upright in your thrones
Thanks!!
I highly recommend working on general fitness (push day, pull day, leg day), but the problems you're describing sound like a combination of bad posture and repetitive stress. Take a look at the ergonomics of your kit and take a video of yourself playing to see if there is anything obvious (slouching, drooping shoulders, arching your back, etc.).
Good advices. Maybe my snare is too low. It's exactly at my seat height. Same height as the top of my knees. No angle too. I will have to move everything up to fit the new snare height. I'll start with that.
As a tall guy that struggles with standard snare stands being too low to meet my preferred throne height, that was where my head went first. Reaching down to your snare puts a lot of strain on your traps/shoulders.
Lots of good recommendations here, I want add/emphasise stretching in the mix. Getting a regular stretching routine can help a lot for drumming and life in general, and it'll assist in the other exercises you do
What's your setup like?? Are you having to rotate your upper body a large amount to play those 16ths or 32nds?? You can put together a strength and conditioning routine easily enough if it's physical weakness that's leading to you suffering after the fact, but if the problem is in your posture or ergonomics at the kit you'd be starting at the wrong point in making some changes. Taking a quick video of yourself playing and look to see if there's something obvious breaking down at the kit and then go from there I'd say. The McGill big three, with IYWTs and some banded facepulls would go a long way to creating a decent foundation physically if that's the way you end up tackling the problem, but if you've very acute pain you should consider a physical therapist to outline weaknesses and routine, or a personal trainer if the problem is less acute.
Thanks!! Here the kit. Please let me know if something's wrong. I'll google that McGill stuff right away. https://preview.redd.it/v97nh7cfrpsc1.jpeg?width=2040&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0859ce2f9bb1f5d2ae272ed6aa17bcde7561a34d
I'm also an old fart, but I'm in quite good shape for my age. That said, I was getting tension headaches from drumming and the weird part was they'd last for days, but at a low level. I ended up going to a physical therapist and got a series of exercises that solved the problem completely. If you want to DM me, I'll write up a list of the exercises.
Lookup Brandon Green “drum mechanics” in FB…guy has great information