Musicians on the importance of a fitness routine

M Shawn Crahan

You might not have realised this, but being a musician can be hard work, quite literally. Some genres are so physically demanding when played live that it takes a serious toll on the artiste's health. Take M Shawn Crahan. The percussionist for American heavy metal giants Slipknot recently tore his bicep tendon in the middle of a gig (a bizarre video of the exact moment when it happens shows Crahan hammering a metal trash can with a baseball bat like an incensed man taking all his frustrations out on an inanimate object). But it's not just metal music. Even punk or hard rock has the musicians jumping and prancing around on stage, head-banging like there's no tomorrow, and screaming their lungs out so much that it's a wonder how their vocal chords aren't torn to shreds.

Arun S Ravi

Long-term problems

This sort of physical expenditure can lead to serious ailments in the long run if treated in a cavalier manner, warns Dr Sudipta Kumar Sen, an internal medicine specialist. He says that it can cause spinal problems, lower-back pain, tennis elbow, frozen shoulders and all kinds of other issues. "[The musicians] have to have tremendous flexibility because if you or I head-bang the way they do, we won't be able to move our necks the next day. That's why a routine of exercises is necessary to give the body that required fitness," Sen explains, adding, "Some of them also take energy-boosting or illegal stimulants, which ultimately harm the body. That's why when you play a competitive sport, you are checked for any artificial stimulants that can enhance stamina. But there is no such regulation for musicians, so they have to be careful that they don't resort to that kind of stuff."

Asxem Dlean

But what is it about these genres that make them so brutal on the system? Arun S Ravi, guitarist-cum-vocalist for city-based punk act The Riot Peddlers, reasons that the musicians don't have any clue what might transpire on stage when they have a live gig. The 35-year-old shares, "Say you have a certain amount of energy when you practise in the jam room. Multiply that 200 times when you get up on stage, because you don't follow what you had planned earlier - you follow the energy of the audience."

Dr Sudipta Kumar Sen

A load off the back

Asxem Dlean, bassist of another city-based outfit, Zygnema, adds that another concern is that such bands often go on exhausting tours, giving his own example of a 16-day, nine-country European trip that metal monsters Zygnema had undertaken. "I was driving, and it was a different city and country almost every day. We had to load and unload all our instruments ourselves, and the main concern was for the drummer, who had to lug his kit all the way to the basement since that's where most of the venues were located. My neck was really sore after the first two shows, and I remember my fingers getting so immobile towards the end of one gig that I had to finish it by slamming the guitar with my hand," he tells us, adding that that's the reason why he has a specific exercise routine before each time he gets up on stage. Dlean, 33, reveals, "I rotate each wrist 20 times and fold it up and down so that I can feel the pressure through my veins all the way up to my elbow. I also rotate my shoulders and neck, and do a bit of stretching."

Metal musician Sujan Sengupta has a regular fitness routine to keep in shape. Pic/Satej Shinde

Breaking it down

He adds that a long-standing general fitness routine - which involves swimming, yoga, tai chi and callisthenics - has also had a positive impact on his music. It helps him maintain optimal energy on stage, something that's important because, as Sujan Sengupta, guitarist for prog metal act Almonds for Clarity, puts it, "No one pays to watch a tired musician." The 29-year-old echoes Ravi in saying that the stage act involved in these genres demands that the musicians get the crowd into a certain zone and then resonate that same energy back to them. He gives the example of breakdowns, the part where a solo instrument takes precedence. "Breakdowns are present in all forms of metal music. They are the part of the song with the biggest release, the part where you head-bang the most. And head-banging is not just about your neck; it's about your entire body being synced in a consistent manner," Sengupta says.

He, too, has a regular health routine like Ravi and Dlean that entails running and exercising at home, and does stretches before getting up on stage. All these steps are essentially defence mechanisms that these musicians employ to remain in prime physical shape. Some other artistes - singer-songwriters who sit on stage with just a guitar, for example - might afford to take it easier. But for these performers, it's a whole different ball game. Don't believe us? Just ask M Shawn Crahan.