Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

[everdrone]

I have had a battle with it before in my fretboard fingers from playing too much/too fast, and want to avoid in the future. Let me know if there are any other tricks you used. I did:

ultrasound&InfernoWrap, massage with rollerball and finger massage, dfx gyroball and flextend, planet waves varigrip, handmaster plus. I just got a Theraband flexbar. I use these gadgets once a week. Ultrasound 3x a week or so.

I weightlift 3 times a week: DAY1 back/biceps DAY2 lower body DAY3 chest/triceps/shoulders. I do at least 15 reps of each set when weightlifting, I am 35 yrs old. I do cardio 3+ times a week. I eat really healthy, lots of meat-protein, nonfat milk and fruits/veggies. I keep my wrist straight when playing guitar and warm up 5-10 minutes before playing. Supplements I take daily consist of: fish oil 1200mg 2x a day, b12 1000mg once a day, vitamin c 500mg 1x a day, centrum multivitamin 1x day, CosaminDS (condroitin400mg/glucosamine500mg) 2x day, Vitamin D 2000iu 1x day, b6 100mg once a day, magnesium citrate 400mg 1x day. I also take 5 butter oil /cod liver pills throughout the day. I drink a lot of water. At work and home I use a freestyle2 keyboard and rollermouse and mousetrapper. I had tendonitis in my left hand fret fingers and tennis elbow from playing guitar really fast sporadically and then typing and weightlifting doing wrist curls. I am glad I don't have it, but this time I am being proactive.

I eat fish 3 times a week, salmon 1-2 times a week, eat green nutribullet smoothies morning and night with lots of blueberries/spinach/dark-greens/berries, I eat minimal grains/nuts/seeds, 10 walnut halves a day for the brain

I am trying to make sure I play guitar/bass an hour a day. Any insights, new suggestions, comments (or jokes heheh) are appreciated :beerchug:

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

thank you for the insights and info, thanks for taking the time to respond

I will have to look into this stuff. I have been taking two fish oil pills morning and night, but the past month I started to also take 5 "green pasture blue ice royal butter oil/fermented cod liver oil blend" pills highly revered by health gurus, so Ill buy more refills of that stuff. Thanks, I did not know it is great for powerlifters. broke and no insurance, so I will save for blood work. no picking hand pain fortunately. I drink a lot of water, maybe Ill drink more; I do respect yngwie's abilities over many years of playing like he does. Thank you for the PM as well, I will have to look into it. I do 15 reps of any weighlifting exercise at least because thats what experts said to do when you are a musician; I am sure there are some experts that say "do not weightlift" which clearly you can I mean John Petrucci is huge.

I weightlift for functionality and health reasons though, not so much for looks though I am going harder when I lift now since I have been lifting for a half a year now and my tendons and body has adjusted and is stronger for that much. I am sedentary my whole life and did not do 2hrs of cardio a week for 15 years minus the last 6 months so that needs some work. I have done 2+hours of cardio walking/stairclimber a week for the last 6 months and plan to keep it up. next week is SXSW music festival so I am just using my bicycle in my living room this week so I am fresh for all the walking/standing next week. I am a beginner though, I do 3 sets of 15+ reps for everything, and do that with 120 pounds for bench press, 65 pound barbell for curls, 70 pounds for triceps extension machine, 300 pounds for leglift/squat machine, and so on.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Keep up on your guitar setups, make sure they're easy to play. Also, don't hamfist it. I tend to do that and it causes issues. If it's really a problem, don't look for advice on a forum, talk to a doc.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

I have been developing tendinitis over the last year or so. Been nursing a bad neck and shoulder injury from repeated violent car accidents over the years too. Three years ago, I woke up and couldn't move my left arm very well and couldn't lay down for a few months (had to sleep in a chair). That was debilitating so I saw a chiropractor for several months to get the scar tissue broken up and everything moved back on the right place.

But a year ago tendinitis set in on the tops of my hands where the tarsals are. It was from mousing in the wrong position. The video editing I do requires TONS of mouse clicks and that is a problem for me.

So, I researched the problem and came up with a solution... the Mobo.

I don't use the keyboard much at all but use the mouse pads that sit on the arms for all of my mousing. The tendinitis has almost completely gone away and even my neck and shoulder are improving as a result of using it for only a few weeks.

I installed the mouse pads reversed so I can get in and out of the chair more easily (using left for right and right for left). It's genius and the only thing I have to remember is not to break the hinges by putting too much pressure on them when they are extended.

Don't do forearm exercises at the gym... you need those suckers for your everyday life. They will get strong with the rest of your body. You can actually even skip biceps if you train your back and lats hard enough... the biceps are weak as hell compared to the giant muscles of your middle and upper back and you will destroy your biceps just trying to fatigue your lats.

The best supplement for joint health is actually glucosamine chondroitin... fish oil is good but your body but you won't "feel" much benefit from taking a whole lot.

I got my tendinitis taking glucosamine chondroitin and fish oil religiously. I still take them since I have always felt a strong correlation between the glucosamine chondroitin and my rotator cuff (I injured it back when I did bodybuilding contests when I was a teen). Not that fish oil isn't good for your joints but I always felt a connection with my immune system and avoiding type II diabetes the most with it.

Just watch your arm, forearm and shoulder work when you lift weights and do everything you can to protect those delicate joints of upper body motility.

... and get the Mobo, you won't be sorry.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

I used to play guitars with vintage style low frets. My fingers were always touching the wood of the fretboard. It ended up with me developing a very tight grip with my fretting hand and tons of tension. I then picked up a guitar with jumbo frets and had to completely loosen up the way I held the neck in order to keep notes from bending out of pitch. This had the unexpected side effect of teaching me to relax my fretting hand quite a bit when playing any guitar . . . and made the wrist/forearm pains that would occasionally plague me completely go away.

Totally worth trying out. Especially if you want to play fast, a light touch is the only way to go. Heavy handedness leads to pain.




Other things to check would be your wrist angle, and the height of your guitar. A little kink in the wrist can make a lotta discomfort after a few hours on the frets.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

awesome forum, I am lucky to get such great responses! thanks bros :beerchug:

Keep up on your guitar setups, make sure they're easy to play. Also, don't hamfist it. I tend to do that and it causes issues. If it's really a problem, don't look for advice on a forum, talk to a doc.

solid advice! thankyou

I tend to do this too; my thing lately is practicing with my fretlight blues and Slash lessons and wanting to bend notes when I am not at that strength level!

I need to abstain or I will need the doc. thanks. the docs I went to when I had insurance just xrayed my hand and said no surgery and do not play guitar ever and did not help so I would need to find new ones if I am not careful. glad I do not really have a problem right now, but I feel I could have one if I am not careful.

I am gonna stop bending and start playing 40 minutes every other day and be strict about it with a timer / alarm and all.

my frethand is good technique but ya I overdo it

I dig playing guitar every day though and weightlifting, so I wanna keep it that way!!

I have been developing tendinitis over the last year or so. Been nursing a bad neck and shoulder injury from repeated violent car accidents over the years too. Three years ago, I woke up and couldn't move my left arm very well and couldn't lay down for a few months (had to sleep in a chair). That was debilitating so I saw a chiropractor for several months to get the scar tissue broken up and everything moved back on the right place.

But a year ago tendinitis set in on the tops of my hands where the tarsals are. It was from mousing in the wrong position. The video editing I do requires TONS of mouse clicks and that is a problem for me.

So, I researched the problem and came up with a solution... the Mobo.

I don't use the keyboard much at all but use the mouse pads that sit on the arms for all of my mousing. The tendinitis has almost completely gone away and even my neck and shoulder are improving as a result of using it for only a few weeks.

I installed the mouse pads reversed so I can get in and out of the chair more easily (using left for right and right for left). It's genius and the only thing I have to remember is not to break the hinges by putting too much pressure on them when they are extended.

Don't do forearm exercises at the gym... you need those suckers for your everyday life. They will get strong with the rest of your body. You can actually even skip biceps if you train your back and lats hard enough... the biceps are weak as hell compared to the giant muscles of your middle and upper back and you will destroy your biceps just trying to fatigue your lats.

The best supplement for joint health is actually glucosamine chondroitin... fish oil is good but your body but you won't "feel" much benefit from taking a whole lot.

I got my tendinitis taking glucosamine chondroitin and fish oil religiously. I still take them since I have always felt a strong correlation between the glucosamine chondroitin and my rotator cuff (I injured it back when I did bodybuilding contests when I was a teen). Not that fish oil isn't good for your joints but I always felt a connection with my immune system and avoiding type II diabetes the most with it.

Just watch your arm, forearm and shoulder work when you lift weights and do everything you can to protect those delicate joints of upper body motility.

... and get the Mobo, you won't be sorry.

cool brutha, I am glad you dig the Mobo, that looks killer! thanks for the sage advice.

I dig my freestyle2 keyboard and rollermouse and mousetrapper, I have not had any issues with typing or wieghtlifting (fingers crossed) but I will keep an eye on them. I watched the mobo video, cool! my Biceps ARE alot weaker than my triceps! hmm... I need to save up for a chiro and trainer and maybe acupuncture again... I think the forearm curls I was doing contributed to it in the first place. bodybuilding contests! whoa that is extreme;

Ill start taking the gluco-condrotion pills twice a day instead of once a day. I take cosaminDS and there seems to be consensus this stuff really works on the forums. thank you, glad the mobo is working

here is a pic of my rollermouse I use at home:



I will watch it with delicate finger stuff, I am trying to avoid the "pulling" exercises, maybe I should do less pulling type exercises? hmm... I think you are right about skipping biceps, that exercise seems to be the worst for playing guitar for me thank you

Friday is 1) lateral pulldowns 2) lateral rows, 3) reverse pectoral deck flies for the back 4) bicep curls 5) preacher curls

Saturday is lower body lifting only

Sunday is 1) bench press 2) incline bench press 3) pectoral deck flies for chest 4) tricep extensions 5) preacher tricep extensions 6) military press 7) butterfly shoulder extension machine

I used to play guitars with vintage style low frets. My fingers were always touching the wood of the fretboard. It ended up with me developing a very tight grip with my fretting hand and tons of tension. I then picked up a guitar with jumbo frets and had to completely loosen up the way I held the neck in order to keep notes from bending out of pitch. This had the unexpected side effect of teaching me to relax my fretting hand quite a bit when playing any guitar . . . and made the wrist/forearm pains that would occasionally plague me completely go away.

Totally worth trying out. Especially if you want to play fast, a light touch is the only way to go. Heavy handedness leads to pain. Other things to check would be your wrist angle, and the height of your guitar. A little kink in the wrist can make a lotta discomfort after a few hours on the frets.

cool man thank you :beerchug:

I have been playing with the lightest super slinky strings, I think 8s for guitar. wear on my frets is not an issue, I am not hitting the wood at all. no denting either. recently been playing a fretlight a lot in standard tuning that has not had a set up so that cant be helping; it is due for one!

my number one SG Standard is tuned to C# with those strings so my guitar tech wont even accept my money for a setup since it is so light; I prolly should play this guitar more again in that case.

Ill keep an eye on the wrist bending and finger angling, I do dig the fretlight since the lights come on right where the best lightest way to place your fingers are.

Yeah fish oil is amazing for soreness and inflammation.

I have eczema and I've haven't had a big flare up all winter. I've laid off the water intake and haven't stayed really loyal like I should and I have the makings of a flair up... but they haven't fully happened yet.

I used to have it really bad.

glad its working for ya hope you stay on track! thanks for the words of wisdom, I will buy some today, I take cheaper stuff twice a day but...

also I am a sucker for paying extra for "miracle cures" every now and then, I have been buying this $50 bottle supposed to help your teeth of all things: butter oil cod liver http://www.codliveroilshop.com/

Ramiel Nagel, Cure Tooth Decay author recommends it

https://www.google.com/search?q=cod...j4&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Rest and passive stretching were the only things that helped mine out. I had it pretty bad at the base of my 1st finger, it was excruciating and I couldn't even play.

I forced myself to take a bit of a break, and slowly, lightly stretched it.... it hasn't come back in a long time now.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Friday is 1) lateral pulldowns 2) lateral rows, 3) reverse pectoral deck flies for the back 4) bicep curls 5) preacher curls * I would skip the preacher curls and reverse pec deck. Between the rows and pulldowns, you have it all. Actually... the rows engage more of your back than do pulldowns. Something about putting the hands together parallel to each other, reaching with your upper body and pulling tight to the midsection that lights up every part of your upper back.

Saturday is lower body lifting only

Sunday is 1) bench press 2) incline bench press 3) pectoral deck flies for chest 4) tricep extensions 5) preacher tricep extensions 6) military press 7) butterfly shoulder extension machine *I'd cut out the pec deck, preacher tricep extensions and butterfly shoulder machine. The Incline or bench press will work by themselves. You can't engage your lower pecs with declines, your middle with bench presses and upper chest with inclines... that's a fallacy. The 30 degree Incline Press happens to put your body at the angle which engages the most pectoral fibers per rep and that's what you want.

Bodybuilders do that pec deck stuff when they get so flipping huge that it's difficult to exhaust every muscle fiber from one or two angles... they also do more of that stuff when they are in a cutting phase because the lack of calories makes them too weak to do most of their usual power workout... it's not something that people talk about enough in gyms.

The pec deck can screw up your rotator cuff something horrible... most humans would do better sticking to one or two compound movements per muscle group and cable crossovers and pec deck stuff is for the bodybuilders who are getting ready for a contest or the beach or whatever. lolz

Like legs... people only need to do squats. Leg presses, hack squats, extensions and curls are just an utter waste of time and put too much stress on the joints with engaging the least amount of muscle fibers.

Lifting weights and building muscle is anaerobic in nature. Anaerobic activity is the physical fitness equivalent of striking a few nails in a piece of wood. One can putz around and hit the nails from a few different directions and with less force than they probably should... and the results will be a long experience with lots of swinging the hammer. The nails get beat up, the wood holes enlarged and you increase the risk of injury with excessive hammer swinging and striking.

The best thing to do is strike the nail straight on and with sufficient force where you only need two or three strikes after it's set. Which means using compound movements which engage the most fibers and spending the least time at the gym that you can. This will result in the most muscle growth and strength gains you can get naturally.

i am talking about the "hardgainer" workout which should be familiar to us older guys who did this stuff in the 80's and 90's. It was made popular by Larry Scott but has it's roots in the unorthodox and revolutionary training techniques of Vince Gironda.

Of course, this would have nothing to do with your tendinitis. I wouldn't steer you wrong bro. : )

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Rest and passive stretching were the only things that helped mine out. I had it pretty bad at the base of my 1st finger, it was excruciating and I couldn't even play.

I forced myself to take a bit of a break, and slowly, lightly stretched it.... it hasn't come back in a long time now.

thanks brutha, glad you beat tendonitis in your first finger, I take breaks and stretch I hope it does not come back extensively like that, but ya I am not at 100% so I better slow down a bit and not overdo it

Friday is 1) lateral pulldowns 2) lateral rows, 3) reverse pectoral deck flies for the back 4) bicep curls 5) preacher curls * I would skip the preacher curls and reverse pec deck. Between the rows and pulldowns, you have it all. Actually... the rows engage more of your back than do pulldowns. Something about putting the hands together parallel to each other, reaching with your upper body and pulling tight to the midsection that lights up every part of your upper back.

Saturday is lower body lifting only

Sunday is 1) bench press 2) incline bench press 3) pectoral deck flies for chest 4) tricep extensions 5) preacher tricep extensions 6) military press 7) butterfly shoulder extension machine *I'd cut out the pec deck, preacher tricep extensions and butterfly shoulder machine. T

Of course, this would have nothing to do with your tendinitis. I wouldn't steer you wrong bro. : )

wow I will have to look into this more extensively; I know you are doing the best you can to help me in this context thank you for taking the time to write this response, I really do not know that much about it compared to pros that study this stuff.

eliminating these exercises would cut my workouts in half, I see your advice is geared toward spending the least time at the gym as well, I will have to look into this, I must admit I have not put a ton of thought or research into my workout regiment which seems pretty standard but a lot of times "the standard" truly does not make much sense. I do very extensive stretching before and after my workout.

this intermediate hypertrophy workout is similar to mine: http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/strength/trainingplans/3_Day_Int_Psh-Lwr-Pull.pdf

it might be a bit more bro-science but this one is similar to mine too:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw21.htm

Day 1 - Chest, Triceps, Delts:

2 x 10 Bench press
2 x 10 Close-grip bench press
2 x 10 Incline bench press
2 x 8 Dumbbell flyes
2 x 8 Skull crushers
2 x 10 Tricep extensions
2 x 15 Front dumbbell raise
2 x 15 Side dumbbell raise

Day 3 - Biceps, Back, Traps, Forearms:

3 x 10 Barbell curls (try wide and close grips too)
2 x 10 Concentration curls
2 sets of pullups to failure (if you can do them)
2 x 10 Lat pulls
2 x 10 Bent-over Rows
3 x 10 Wrist curls
2 x 10 Barbell shrugs
2 x 10 Calf raise machine shrugs

Day 5 - Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings & Calves:

3 x 10 Squats
2 x 10 Barbell deadlifts
3 x 10 Leg press
2 x 10 Leg extensions
3 x 10 Calf raises
2 x 10 Barbell lunges
2 sets Farmer's walk

NY Times article citing many doctors regarding the equal importance of strength training, flexibility, and aerobics:

http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/physical-activity/print.html

Strength-training exercises provide the following benefits:

Build muscle strength while burning fat
Help maintain bone density
It is also associated with a lower risk for heart disease, possibly because it lowers LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) levels.

Strength exercise is beneficial for everyone, even people in their 90s. It is the only form of exercise that can slow and even reverse the decline in muscle mass, bone density, and strength that occur with aging.

Lifting weights builds muscle, which burns calories more efficiently than other body tissues.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

If we're giving out workout advice, I'd seriously consider buying the Starting Strength book by Rippetoe and attempting the program. Not only will you get much stronger in a short period, but you'll waste much less time at the gym. Big compound movements are the most efficient way that I've found to train strength. If you match your diet properly to your workout you will also gain a fair amount of muscle.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

lol thanks for the warning guys, I need to look into your great recommendations, cheers :beerchug:

I admit I am using bro-science for my weightlifting, so I will need to look into modifying my workout , this is on the TO-DO list for next week since next week I am taking a vacation partially for the south by southwest music festival

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

One thing I've learned over the years of advice that is given by docs, gym staff, and pretty much everyone else who "knows about these things" is that their advice is generally directly related to what they do:

Gym staff work at the gym because that is their hobby, and their focus is on a specific vision of physical appearance. Whatever else you're interested in (i.e. serious guitar playing and not just acoustic strumming by the campfire on the weekends) goes right over or through their heads, because it's not what they do. Their focus is only on nutrition and physique for narcissistic purposes.

Medical Professionals tend to focus on the concept of "the ideal human condition", which does not reflect the entire population. They study what in their minds are the "ideal specimens", and so base their recommendations with the assumption that you conform to that clinical ideal. They do not consider that you've lived with your body for however many years before going to them, and thus cannot comprehend the idea that the human body will adapt to its environment. No, you can't grow up on McD's and frozen pizza, but the 3 meals a day, brush your teeth 5 times a day, drink a gallon of purified water every hour, and whatever other "ideals" their textbooks and schooling taught them are not the "do or die" ultimatum they profess.

As with Medical Professionals, Nutritionists look at the "ideal specimens" described by Medical Schooling as the only possibility, and thus look at numbers. LDL, HDL, Blood Sugar, etc etc etc. They attempt to force a functional body to conform to those ideals through more numbers (x milligrams/ounces/etc of this or that), and generally insist that if the math isn't realigning you to the textbook ideal, you're doing something wrong. It completely escapes them that the "ideal" they worship is representative of a very small fraction of the total human population. It's a standard they go by, but it is not the standard of the human race.

It's about like buying shoes:
-"I'm looking for a pair of sneakers."
-"Do you want walking, running, hiking, biking, boating, mountain-climbing, BASE jumping, free-running, basketball, or cross-trainers?"
-"I just want a pair of comfortable shoes that are not slippers, loafers, boots, sandals, crocs, or shiny, preferably with unwaxed cotton laces, that do not have a Converse logo or otherwise do not look like Bugs Bunny feet or that I'm trying out for Gilligan's Isle."

It is assumed that if you're wearing sneakers/tennis shoes, you're engaged in the associated athletic activity (they're called "tennis" shoes for a reason), and when not engaged in that activity, you're wearing an appropriate shoe (loafers for loafing/casual attire, boots for cowboy/biker/military/Go-Go/Disco/Native American Ritual/Skiing and other boot-specific activities). It boggles their minds that you may only have one pair of everyday/everywhere-but-work-or-weddings sneakers, since that goes against their beliefs of an "ideal". They expect you to have a shoe for all seasons because they are in the business of selling you those shoes, and it's an ideal they actively subscribe to.


None of this is intended to dissuade you from your pursuits. It's merely thrown out there for your consideration when seeking advice from a Dr, Nutritionist, or Professional Gym Employee, especially those available at discount prices.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks Dr. N

I ONLY weightlift for functionality/health and for guitar playing

I do not want to be a ripped bodybuilding competitor or any type of athelete at all.

I have had tendinitis in my fingers and am still not at 100%

I appreciate ALL the suggestions (thanks much forum buddies) and will also need to consider getting a personal trainer; I bought a book by an expert for musician health in the past, and this doc online say 15 reps minimum: http://www.musicianshealth.com/weight.htm

"While weight training, musicians should concentrate on high repetition, low to medium weight exercises. Each set of exercises should consist of 15 repetitions. If you feel that you cannot attain 15 “reps” then you are working with too much weight. "

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks Dr. N

I ONLY weightlift for functionality/health and for guitar playing

I do not want to be a ripped bodybuilding competitor or any type of athelete at all.

I have had tendinitis in my fingers and am still not at 100%

I appreciate ALL the suggestions (thanks much forum buddies) and will also need to consider getting a personal trainer; I bought a book by an expert for musician health in the past, and this doc online say 15 reps minimum: http://www.musicianshealth.com/weight.htm

"While weight training, musicians should concentrate on high repetition, low to medium weight exercises. Each set of exercises should consist of 15 repetitions. If you feel that you cannot attain 15 “reps” then you are working with too much weight. "

That's one of the silliest quotes I've ever read about weight lifting. Are musicians a different species than other humans? No? Then maybe they should follow the same training methods that other humans do. If you're interested in developing strength, this means low high weight, low rep (in the 1-5 range). If you're interested in bodybuilding, a base of strength is important to have before you start attempting the high rep endurance lifting routines commonly recommended. If you don't want to develop strength, you shouldn't be lifting weight. If you do want to develop strength why would you not use the most efficient was to do so?

It's also difficult to take anyone seriously when they recommend an exercise program without some of the biggest compound joint motions available. Squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, cleans, pull-ups, and bench press . . . These should form the core of any strength training program, with accessory lifts added based on goals and weak points.

I am at a loss to understand the reasoning that higher reps are somehow supposed to be more 'functional'. When I deadlift 400 lbs for a couple reps that seems pretty functional to me. That article also says that all musicians are professional athletes. Lol. I guess there's no need to work out then since you're all ripped from sitting on the couch strumming the guitar. Must be why you never see a fat guy with a guitar. Bahahahaha . . .

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

hey uh....
not to question the high-fiving muscle stuff going on in here, but are you playing with really heavy gauge strings? Is your guitar set up for them? Are you warming up your hands before you play? Are you playing with your wrist angled or your fret hand tense?

Here's my suggestion. Cut down on your practice time, and practice on a light gauge string guitar for half the time. If you're doing all this lifting, the tool at the end of your arm is factored into all of it and is working through the whole process. I know when I get back into lifting randomly my hands start bugging me.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

That's one of the silliest quotes I've ever read about weight lifting. Are musicians a different species than other humans? No? Then maybe they should follow the same training methods that other humans do. If you're interested in developing strength, this means low high weight, low rep (in the 1-5 range). If you're interested in bodybuilding, a base of strength is important to have before you start attempting the high rep endurance lifting routines commonly recommended. If you don't want to develop strength, you shouldn't be lifting weight. If you do want to develop strength why would you not use the most efficient was to do so?

It's also difficult to take anyone seriously when they recommend an exercise program without some of the biggest compound joint motions available. Squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, cleans, pull-ups, and bench press . . . These should form the core of any strength training program, with accessory lifts added based on goals and weak points.

I am at a loss to understand the reasoning that higher reps are somehow supposed to be more 'functional'. When I deadlift 400 lbs for a couple reps that seems pretty functional to me. That article also says that all musicians are professional athletes. Lol. I guess there's no need to work out then since you're all ripped from sitting on the couch strumming the guitar. Must be why you never see a fat guy with a guitar. Bahahahaha . . .

Thanks much for your evaluation; I definitely have not studied this stuff that much so I do need to revise my workout. The doctor that did the hand xrays was saying stay away from anything that "pulls" on your fingers such as lateral rows, lateral pulldowns, handling heavy barbells and dumbells because of the pull on the fingers. This doc then recommended my dynaflex gyroball that I do really like using once a week. but I have religiously worked out for 6 months and have made gains and my fingers are good. As for the "pulling" weightlifting movements I am doing lateral pulldowns of 15-20 reps at 80-90 pounds, and lateral rows at 80 pounds 15-20repsx3sets, curls 65 pound dumbell at 15-20x3sets.

So I appreciate your feedback and wisdom here. deadlift 400 lbs for a couple reps is functional! I wish I could do that and reach my practicing/playing guitar goals, that is truly the dream, I am glad you realized yours! cheers :beerchug: that is really incredible.

hey uh....
not to question the high-fiving muscle stuff going on in here, but are you playing with really heavy gauge strings? Is your guitar set up for them? Are you warming up your hands before you play? Are you playing with your wrist angled or your fret hand tense?

Here's my suggestion. Cut down on your practice time, and practice on a light gauge string guitar for half the time. If you're doing all this lifting, the tool at the end of your arm is factored into all of it and is working through the whole process. I know when I get back into lifting randomly my hands start bugging me.

Thanks brutha, solid advice here, I play with the lightest possible gauge, my fretlight guitar needs a setup and is standard tuned, and my number one Gibson SG Standard is no issue here as it has the lightest possible gauge and is tuned to C# standard and has no fret issues.

I constantly monitor my warmups/stretching/playing, but I overdo it and ya I need to revise things here, thank you!!! :beerchug: I try to put my fingers very close to the fret and keep my wrist straight and play sitting down in a classical style of guitar playing and when standing I make sure to keep my wrist straight. I do need guidance on warmups, I start slow but then end up playing fast guitar soloing which I need to stop.

I have been looking at buying this book on it; I just need to buy it on Alexander Technique of playing light and effortlessly: http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Tec...1-6&keywords=an+alexander+technique+to+guitar I am gonna buy it and read it next week

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

there are some musician gurus here in Austin maybe I will schedule a session with this p.h.d. that helps musicians with the alexander technique that I just googled up: http://integratedmotionstudio.com/

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Proper weight lifting doesn't involve the delicate muscles of the hands, wrists and elbows to the extent that most people think it does. The problem is when you move those tendons and muscles individually and repetitively. Like when you do bench presses for example. The tendons and muscles of the hands, wrists and elbow are all working together simultaneously. The problem with guitar playing is that you are moving things individually and in isolation from the other muscle groups.... that is what leads to injury.

This is also why I suggested compound movements at the gym... that way you aren't moving anything individually and everything operates in a "team" effort.

And overtraining leads to elevated cortisol levels... elevated cortisol levels due to overtraining lead to excess and chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to tendinitis.

Sometimes we have tight and neatly planned areas around joints... bursa sacs exist to reduce friction between the joints.

Inflammation can INCREASE the friction between joints and IRRITATE the bursa and delicate soft tissues surrounding the joint(s).

In fact, inflamed and irritated soft tissue around a joint is the definition of tendinitis.

So, my advice of using sound and proven methods to avoid overtraining is to help you. No "bro-science" here... just actual science.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you zenmindbeginner and GuitarStv, I sent you each a PM, thank you so much for your time and help; I did not know what was out there as I was being ignorant about workouts, now I am researching, cheers

 

[Progbusters]

Re: Tendonits??? Any advice is appreciated.

I've had tendinitis in bothe hands. I've done the physical therapy and all the gizmo things. The only thing that works is to stop playing guitar for while and rest the tendinitis.