Playing guitar vs. Working out.

[chrisgUK]

Over the last year or so I have had to step up excersise and Im worried its having a negative effect on my guitar playing and I was wondering if anyone has felt anything similar.
Basically I row at university. Sometimes my hands get ripped to shreds which makes it very hard to hold the guitar in the first place after a hard session. But the main thing is problems from lifting heavy weights and other stuff in the gym. I think its having an adverse affect on the speed and suppleness of my fingers, hands and wrists because my fretting work has become very sloppy. After the gym my hands and fingers can be very shaky aswell.
Maybe im looking for excuses for being a poor guitarist.. but I once had a mate who was going to be a pro pianist and was told to stop lifitng weights so he doesnt strain his fingers so maybe im not going mad...
The only good thing is from strengthening forearms /wrists i feel like i have much more stamina for fast picking palm mute galloping type stuff (e.g. ICed earth)
Any thoughts / advice?

sorry if this is in the wrong section, wasnt sure where to put this thread!

[StukaJU87]

Talk to JGcable. He lifts and shreds. He knows what he is talking about. We also have another fella that does those strong man competitions(can't remember his name) where they carry and lift all those heavy stones and stuff.

[Endrik]

Travis is the strong man dude

[1trussell]

Yep, I compete in strongman. I'll do a lot of heavy grip work, such as farmers' carry, static holds, hercules holds, as well as odd object lifting, loading and carrying etc. Just last week I did a heavy static hold where I held 300 pounds in each hand. I lasted for 38 seconds. My hands were quite bruised that day. I also do a lot of lifting in the gym. I always use chalk to get a better grip on the barbells and dumbbells and never wear gloves. My hands are callused about as much as they possible can be. With all that, I can still play pretty fast. The only drawback is, I can't play all that great after a morning of heavy grip work. But by the next day, I'm just fine.

It's just a matter of adapting to the new stress your muscles, tendons and ligaments are getting. The human body is incredibly adaptable, and given enough time, will allow you to lift as heavy and as often as you like without having a negative impact on your playing. My best advice is this: give your hands some time to adapt. You'll find out that your training won't get in the way of your guitar playing as much, if at all.

[chrisgUK]

Cheers for the advice. Mainly wanted to check that I wasnt doing any long term damage so seems i should be fine. Generally by the next day im ok, i guess its optimistic to be able to come back from the gym and start shredding!

[FusionFarmer]

The thing that messes my playing up is doing a lot of physical work, such as carpentry where you're swinging a hammer all day, or wrenching on a car, anything where my hands get a work out for an extended time, might be cuz I am getting a little older but my hands get so tired I don't feel much like playing.

[horns666]

Travis goes nuts!

he'd know..

I used to work out and play..never notice any harm..

[jjw]

Lynch works out too,mind you his playing nowdays

[horns666]

Lynch works out too,mind you his playing nowdays

I was trying not to go there..ya blew it..now Chris will never get in shape!!