Practicing Should Be Like Working Out

[bobc]

I think practicing guitar should be like working out.

You should do 3 sets of each exercise until muscular failure. This will insure improvement of muscular performance.

What do you think?

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by bobc

...What do you think?

Hi Bob…
I don't probably think that strategically nor implement that kind of control over my practice...and don't I evered push till muscular failure...could you please define muscular failure for us?

I have a set of routines for working through new techniques, but prefer to use them with some rhyme-n-reason combined with plenty of variety (I get bored easily).

I do have a quiz or test that I apply to what I've learned (new techniques, scales, etudes etc)...if I can play it 10 times perfectly while watching TV or listening to my wife, and keep track of what the show is doing (or my wife is saying), then I've probably ''got it''.

[Glennwillow]

Repetitive stress injuries can shorten a person's lifetime on the guitar, that's for sure.

I can't think of a time when I played a guitar long enough to have any kind of muscular failure -- mental failure, yeah, maybe... and vocal failure because I wore out my voice.

Bob, are you doing some seriously hard playing???

Regards, Glenn

[Allman_Fan]

Totally agree, bobc.

That way, I can get some wicked speed on my pentatonic scale that I play on every solo because the chicks really eat that stuff up.

BTW, my amp goes to 11.

[devellis]

If trying to achieve a specific goal, working out may be desirable. If you want to complete a marathon, get recruited to a team in a competitive sporting context, or reach a new personal best for the standing press, working out with some regularity and discipline is probably the way to go. But not everyone has these goals and merely living a balanced, active life is probably easier, more enjoyable, less prone to discontinuation, and better suited to personal goals for many -- perhaps most -- people. (As an aside, I think some of the most damaging recommendations concerning exercise are those that recommend some minimal level of time and effort. People just say, "well, that's not gonna happen," and decide not to exercise at all. All of the evidence I've seen suggests that doing more than what you're doing now is the best way to improve physical fitness. If the choice is between actually doing a teeny bit more and giving up on doing substantially more, the former will win every time.)

By analogy, how to practice guitar should probably match your goals and resources. For someone with a big concert coming up, routine practice is probably critical. Trying to keep up with band mates? Better work as hard as they do. On the other hand, for a hobbyist whose goal is maximizing enjoyment and for whom slow progress is sufficient, too structured a regimen may be boring, unnecessary, or all but impossible to sustain. Nothing wrong with pushing hard to improve and pushing hard will probably move you the fastest. But it's not for everyone. I play for pleasure and relaxation. Making it too much of a chore would defeat that purpose.

I'll get bursts of inspiration and opportunity from time to time and I'll work harder and more systematically at improving. At other times, I'll coast. While that might not make me the best possible player, it works well in the broader scheme of things, allowing me to enjoy playing while neither having it become another job or neglecting it to the point of being too inept to derive pleasure from it. YMMV, but I suspect there are others whose goals are not too different from mine.

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

I do have a quiz or test that I apply to what I've learned (new techniques, scales, etudes etc)...if I can play it 10 times perfectly while watching TV or listening to my wife, and keep track of what the show is doing (or my wife is saying), then I've probably ''got it''.

And how does your wife react to your playing the guitar while she's talking to you, Larry? Mine would probably preface her loving message with something like, "Will you put that ##@@!! thing down while I'm speaking to you!"

[river_rat]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"][SIZE="2"]Hi Bob…
I don't probably think that strategically nor implement that kind of control over my practice...and don't I evered push till muscular failure...could you please define muscular failure for us?

I'll give that a shot .... some days when we do an especially long set (P&W at church) involving several relatively fast, rambunctious songs, My left hand will just clamp onto the neck, and I have to grab my thumb to get it off. After holding the thumb back and separating my fingers for a few minutes, I can usually get back in the game. My right hand will develop a "charley horse" sometimes too, and clamp down on the pick; usually when that happens, I'm done for the night.
Oh, and did I mention that after several fast songs in a row, my wrist stops moving as it should, and I hafta swing from the elbow? That makes fast songs really difficult! Surely none of that would have anything to do with age, would it? ROFL

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by ewalling

And how does your wife react to your playing the guitar while she's talking to you, Larry? Mine would probably preface her loving message with something like, "Will you put that ##@@!! thing down while I'm speaking to you!"

Hi ew…
Cute, but after 40 years of marriage, she has learned that she can talk and I can play, listen and comprehend...

Of note...if it's super important or critical info, she asks me to stop for a minute...and I do!

We are going on a day-trip for Thanksgiving and she's driving while I'm plinking in the passenger seat part of the way each direction.

[fttfbass]

Originally Posted by bobc

I think practicing guitar should be like working out.

You should do 3 sets of each exercise until muscular failure. This will insure improvement of muscular performance.

What do you think?

I don't even recommend going to muscular failure when you work out............you would burn yourself out real fast. It's ok to do it occasionally, but you'd get better strength gains if you avoid failure by a rep or 2.

[TedShred]

I totally agree with the thread title. It's not how much time you spend in the gym, it's the quality of your focus/movement while you're there

[patticake]

i think that this might be very good for some, but most of the people i know would lose interest and stop playing the guitar. also it would take me hours to reach muscle failure, and i have no interest in playing the same thing for hours. i play to make myself feel good, and i became an extremely fast bass player without doing this. and then there's that question of possible injury - this seems like a great way to achieve repetitive stress disorder or carpal tunnel because you'd be holding your left hand in the same position and doing the same thing over and over and over and over and...

Originally Posted by bobc

I think practicing guitar should be like working out.

You should do 3 sets of each exercise until muscular failure. This will insure improvement of muscular performance.

What do you think?

[rick-slo]

Actually I wish it was more like learning to ride a bike. Once learned...

[patticake]

i think it is - good ol' muscle memory

i didn't play for years but when i picked up a guitar finally, i could still play everything i had ever played. a bit rusty at first, but then so was my bike riding

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Actually I wish it was more like learning to ride a bike. Once learned...

[Acoustic Rick]

My practice time is not so humdrum as that. Somedays I get in excess of 5 hours practice time. I've got a set of maybe 15 songs I'm working on right now. And I pretty much just play what I want over leads and fills. I'm from Amazing Grace to Melissa (Allman Bros.) in range so I don't get a chance to really get too bored. Once I do get tired of the set I'm working on now I'll toss in a couple new ones and drop some old ones. That helps to keep it fresh.

[min7b5]

Originally Posted by bobc

I think practicing guitar should be like working out.

You should do 3 sets of each exercise until muscular failure. This will insure improvement of muscular performance.

What do you think?

A few quick thoughts: I think practicing should be more like making art than sport. If you want to equate it with sports, I’d say focus on the game it’s self, not exercises. Practice making music, not drills

I would not do it until muscular failure They are tiny muscles. History is littered with great musicians that over did it and could then no longer play. Ever.