Weight Lifting vs. Martial Arts for Cellists
WEIGHT LIFTING FOR STRENGTH?
Below is the attached file Steve mentions in his message to me.

"I lift weights about 5 times a week and can honestly say it does not help my playing. Sometimes after a heavy workout, bench pressing in the 300 pound range, I do have to make extra effort to relax my muscles. Don`t get me wrong. I do believe that playing the cello requires quite a bit of strength. It just requires different muscles. But they do have to be strong. I got alot out of that article about stretching and so forth. The other day at my last lesson I was playing a Duport etude in g minor. You might know it better as #159 in the Schroeder book. After playing it my teacher said " how`s the arm?" I felt like I had just bench pressed 400 pounds!!! There is a ton of extended first postition in it. You know, like a g minor chord in first position with 4th finger on g and 1st finger on b flat. Comments??"


ANSWER:

Lifting heavy weights is not recommended for musicians, though some recommend lifting small weights to maintain muscle tone. Another recommended activity is swimming, which builds up your overall body conditioning and endurance. Tennis is considered a "no-no" too, much to my dismay.

Strength should not be a focus in playing the cello. As Paul Katz, Cleveland Quartet cellist, says in Victor Sazer`s book, `New Directions in Cello Playing:`

"It is far better for cellists to learn from the martial arts of the Far East, which focus on balancing the body, loosening joints, relaxing muscles, using body weight rather than flexed muscles for strength, and breathing in ways to promote balance and ease." Somewhat paradoxically, strength can be achieved with a degree of looseness, balance, and ease of motion.

Since you are experiencing pain, I would say you REALLY need to buy this book. You don`t want to cause yourself permanent injury. This book has a number of great tips on how to play more healthily.

Interestingly, you freely admit that you start playing before warming up. Naughty, naughty For some good warm techniques, see the last Tutti Celli, where our own Linda Hickey has an article called, "Stretching is the Key to a Long Life of Playing."

Tim Janof

funny huh! :-)
Personally, I do weight lifting, and I`m a very good cello player, and I hope to be like strong like Arnold Shwartzenneggar when I`m older, ha ha ha :-)

But now I`m only 5`10" and a skinny 165 pounds

How can u be skinny and be 165 pounds i mean youd be as round as an apple?

What do you mean, I should be fat at 165? Well at my height 5`10" I should weigh about 200 pounds, and I mean I should gain about 35 pounds of muscle. For how strong I am and how much I weigh, for my max; I can bench press 215Ib, leg press about 900Ib, squat around 250Ib, curl 55Ib and military press 135Ib. I am almost 21 years old my birthday is 07/27/82, for my age I should be stronger because I am skinny.

Oh and curl 55 pounds in one hand.

Well anybody?

Is every man in a professional orchestra skinny, I hope not?

Better than fat

Dude! You talk WAAAAAAY to much. I almost fell asleep in the middle of that SPEECH in the beginning! SHEESH!




~LUCIE~

I didn`t write it, just found it off the internet.

Do any of you have teachers that tell you not to do heavy weight lifting?

Yea, weight lifting is a BIG no-no according to my teacher. All hope was lost. Then I discovered Pilates - think your skinny 165lb 5`10" frame can handle that? :-)

Pilates, huh???? Well now actually, I`m 5`9.5" and 170Ib`s.

Hi

Was just wondering I`m rather knew to weight lifting just started actually, and I`m experiencing enormous pain afetr a session, is this normal.