The link between music and exercise

It no secret that I love music and it has played a massive role in my life. I thank my parents for that. But I never really realised until recently how similar music and exercise are.

I had a teacher when I was studying my diploma. He wasn't the greatest teacher by any means, incredibly talented musician but didn't capture the students the way other teachers did. However he said something that stayed with me, adn is so relatable to exercise.

We were chatting about solo’s and improvisation, and he asked ‘whats the most important note in the solo?’, we were all a bit like what? Then he followed up with ‘the silence’ and we honestly were thinking what the fuck is he on about. But what he meant was that if you don’t have space and moments when you don’t play notes, then the notes you do play just don’t have as much effect. The more rest you give the more the times you play will stand out. It took me a while to understand but he was totally right.

And this translates to exercise. Without rest, and adequate rest depending on the exercise prescription the reps you do aren’t as effective. If you’re power lifting and hitting 2-3 reps at a time with really almost maximal weight, you absolutely need to be taking 2-5mins of rest.

If you’re trying to build up your work capacity then you might be playing with shorter rest periods, and if you want to keep all those gains from the gym then you absolutely need to be resting adequately at night.

Try to work on that sleep hygiene if you can.