Well, Isabelle,
I run regularily and have started to alternate my runs with swimming.
I've set myself the goal of completing a marathon this year: how is all
this is likely to affect my singing? You Vocalisters will be among the
first to know!
So far I note that my voice is more relaxed and free after a long run -
provided that I hydrate properly; running and singing have also made me
more aware of breathing (not to mention poking around in a couple of
cadavers as part of our vocal pedagogy class) - and tentatively I think
that though each requires a different kind of breath, each activity helps
to strengthen the other, and to increase positive (as opposed to fussy -)
awareness of the breath.
But - provided that no vocally deleterious effects become manifest -
running is *good* for me, improving my general fitness and my mood. Watch
out: I could easily turn into a running-nazi!
john
At 11:55 AM 2/6/01 -0800, you wrote:
...
>No, I more wanted to start a discussion about how
>*fit* a singer should get... how much time and energy
>we should be putting into the cardio and the weights,
>and whether that time spent getting fit is worth the
>time it pulls away from singing and studying. There
>is also a constant rumor that singers *shouldn't*
>weight train -- that it makes them musclebound and
>tightens up the wrong things (same goes for singers
>not doing crunches or situps, too). I know there are
>some iron-pumpers on the list -- has it made a
>difference, making the extra effort to get into really
>good shape?
>
>Or, another tack: How do singers with careers remain
>fit, or at least avoid sliding into out-of-shape?
>It's commonly said that singers have the worst
>lifestyles in terms of health -- always travelling,
>usually not eating right before a show and then being
>famished and having a big dinner (usually at a
>restaurant, with food whose fat/calorie levels you
>can't control, especially outside the US), then going
>to sleep. Even if you don't eat late at night, you
>still can't control how healthy your food is. I read
>an article that said Rodney Gilfrey takes a jump rope
>with him and works out in his hotel rooms, but I would
>be that he's in the minority. How do singers manage
>to keep themselves as healthy as they can, when 90% of
>the time you are away from home with bad eating
>habits?
>
>Back into the land of singing...
>
>Isabelle B.
...
John Blyth
Baritono robusto e lirico
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
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