Welcome to FitDrummers’ Do Anywhere Warm Ups!
We’re so happy you’re here with us. This video will tell you a bit about our mission and about me, the founder of FitDrummers, Rich Knox.
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Download the FitDrummers app from the App Store or Google Play Store and access all of these training videos on the go!
Why bother warming up?
While we’re musicians, not athletes, as drummers we are doing something athletic when we play the drums. Drumming requires a lot of repetitive motion, endurance, strength, focus, skill and concentration, among other things, and just like with athletes, warming up helps you stay limber, play at your best, and it can help prevent injuries.
Take advantage of this free mini-course on warming up your body, mind, and mind-body connection so you can begin tapping into your greatest potential, as well as stay healthier and feel better on the road and at home.
One more thing before we start…
This is for those who might like/need to be yelled at a bit, or might just need to hear this.
And I say this with love — warming up really is crucial for playing at your best, and avoiding drumming-related injuries over time.
Let’s do it!
PREP YOUR BODY:
Controlled Articular Rotations Follow Along
Controlled Articular Rotations are a great way to keep your joints healthy, maintain or expand your range of motion, avoid injury and even experience greater connection between your brain and your limbs so you can play better!
In this video, follow along as I run you through a quick CARs routine. You can and should do this every single day - your body will thank you!
IMPORTANT: If you ever feel pain as you move in a direction, ease up, make the rotation more shallow and regain maximum range of motion further in the circle. We do not want to push through pain!
PREP YOUR BODY:
Drummer’s Daily Movement Explained
This is an explanation of the aerobic/anaerobic warm up to do before your show or practice sessions — these are pretty simple exercises that you can do anywhere with NO EQUIPMENT!
You can really push it as you get further along in the sets. I recommend starting more gently during the first set, and if you feel at all tighter than usual, don’t push it. Go hard if it feels good, and hit the stage with a little sweat on, feeling alert, and primed to rock. We’re here to play a show, not injure ourselves by CRUSHING our warm up!
PREP YOUR BODY:
Pre-Show Physical Warm Up
Download the FitDrummers mobile app to get a guided Pre-Show Physical Warm Up routine you can follow along with to get the blood pumping and your body ready to rock the stage.
PREP YOUR MIND:
Grounding Meditation
This is a focusing meditation to prepare yourself for the stage and also will employ some visualization techniques.
We will begin by grounding ourselves and then begin visualizing making our way confidently to the stage, imaging how we’d like to feel, even playing through the set, the big moments, the way the crowd responds, how the band plays, and anything else that would be helpful for you to visualize before you go on.
If you are at the practice space, we can do the same thing, but imagine how relaxed and focused we are going to be as we practice, and how loving and patient we will be with ourselves as we push our comfort zone and learn and deepen new skills.
PREP YOUR MIND:
Breath Work Explanation
Breath work is a tool that we can use to regulate our nervous system. We can up-regulate or down-regulate depending on our goal.
In this video, you will learn about a 4:4 balancing breath that you can use to bring yourself back to centre if you’re feeling overly scattered or a little low energy before a show or a practice session.
PREP YOUR MIND:
Guided 4:4 Balancing Breath
Breathe along with this guided exercise, and feel free to repeat. This is a breath that can calm you when you’re nervous, and can make you more alert and primed to go when you’re a little out of it.
It’s fairly simple — Find a comfortable place to sit, on the floor, on a chair, or even stand, if you have to. We want our chin to be parallel to the floor, relax our stomachs and shoulders, neck and face, and close your eyes.
Inhale through your nose for a count of 4. Pause at the top for a count of 4.. Exhale through your nose for a count of 4. Pause at the bottom for a count of 4.
Allow your stomach to expand as you breathe IN, and to deflate as you breathe OUT.
PREP YOUR DRUMMING:
Bounce the Basketball
In this warm up, we are getting the laws of physics to help us out.
For this exercise you only worry about making the downstroke. It’s a little flick of the wrist and that’s it. Let the stick do the rest.
What we’re focusing on here is staying super relaxed especially in the hands and forearms between strokes. So, there is only a moment of effort, the rest of the time, we relax.
Breathe! Relax and Play.
PREP YOUR DRUMMING:
Fun with Off-Beats
This exercise has a way of getting your brain/hand connection tight! Now we’re starting to bring a bit more brain power into this, a bit more focus is needed.
By doing this exercise slowly, and maintaining that relax/effort relationship and focus from the previous exercise, you can find yourself in a zone of deep concentration, and having your body really respond more accurately to what you’re playing, and even hearing the subdivisions more clearly in your mind’s ear.
This exercise can not only help calm you, but it can make your first notes of the show feel so confident and incredible that you’ll be on Cloud 9 - and experiencing the BIG FUN of drumming.
YOUR DRUMMING WELLNESS COACH:
What to do next?
Thank you for taking a chance on this app, and for joining us in Do Anywhere Warm Ups.
If you’re ready to go deeper and take your body, your mind, and your drumming techniques to the next level so you can become even more healthier, happier, and find more joy in your drumming and quality of life, I encourage you to check out my FitDrummers 6 Week Tour Challenge where we will build even more on the areas of fitness, mobility, mindfulness, breath work, mindful drumming techniques, and more so that you can feel the most fit and healthy you’ve ever been in your drumming career.