Bad circulation?

[JacksonWarrior]

Man, I dont know about any one else, but when winter comes here in Illinois, my hands/wrists go to shit. I think I just have bad circulation, but once my hands and wrists get cold(which is very easily), they tend to stay that way until I go to great lengths to warm them up again. I dont give a damn until I need to do something articulate, like I dunno, play guitar and when I do I have to either do push-ups, jog for a bit, take a hot shower/run hot water over my hands/wrists. Im in good shape, dont smoke(did for about 5 years)...but I drink a fair amount. Ive found that wearing wrist bands helps when I play, but even after all this it takes a long time to warm up when I play and here lately Ive just been getting frustrated and pissed before that happens and Ill stop. Any tips on this?

Gas bills are expensive as hell and I keep my house between around 65 when Im home so thats part of the problem.

[Argos]

Happens to me as well over here in CO. I go through about twenty minutes of stretching and warming up my hands and forearms before I play, first thing I do is run my hands under hot water for a few minutes.

[seafoamer]

My hands are always freezin' in the winter. I just play through that shyt.
Maybe try wearin' gloves indoors before u play?

[jcm800x]

Yeah I get it here in NE. The cold makes my hands slow down so much I can't even play. Gloves are good but as a skier I would recommend a nice pair of mittens. The fingers are not isolated and they get quite toasty! I wear them in the winter if I know I am going to be playing. Hand washing is good too just before playing.

[Ace]

Even out here in CA we get cold hands! Before shows and practice I wear an excesive amount of clothing to keep warm and take extra time to warm up before digging in full speed. Also I've noticed that it's better to get your whole body warmed up and not just your hands. I stretch my body, jump up and down, move gear, whatever it takes to get the blood flowing through my whole body.

[adoxtater]

This might sound crazy, but do you smoke? Smoking tends to thin your blood and make your extremities get colder faster. I used to have that problem when I smoked, but since I quit I don't have the issue any more... at least not as bad. I lived in NY many years through the coldest of cold and smoking definitely made it worse.

Just a thought of course, but might play a part

[demeyes]

The place where my band practices has very little heating so we tend to get quite cold during prac, It is the worst. Playing with cold hands makes your playing sloppy and afterwards your hands feel like shit. I'm thinking about getting a hair dryer for when it gets cold as if heard that this is a good quick way to heat your hands up.

[leftyguitarjoe]

dude, i feel ya.
my band practices in a garage, and we had to go a while without heat.
Our soloing was horrible during that time, but then we got a massive heater. Its all good now.

[omwdc]

run hot water over your hands for a few minutes - warms the whole hand inside and out like boiling a lobster

[Cinder]

I dont like the warming hands in water method, it usually softens my fingertips so I will rip them to shreds when I play lol... Suggestions? heh

[Soap]

You young guns think to much just learn to play the following tunes.
Great tunes to warm up with and definitely gets the blood flowing.
Iron Maiden's - Genghis Khan
MSG - Into The Arena
Rush - YYZ
VH - Spanish Fly

[Rich#6]

run hot water over your hands for a few minutes - warms the whole hand inside and out like boiling a lobster

Try not to piss yourself!