Do you burn calories when you play? If so, how much?

[tizzdizz]

I'm trying to get more healthy in my eating habits and physical activities. I was just curious if anyone has tried to quantify what kind of exercise you get from playing drums. I suppose it would depend on how you play, but anyone got any ideas?

[GRUNTERSDAD]

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/burned/calories_burned_Drums.html



2nd Entry

Calories Burned for Activity: Drums

272 calories per hour

Assuming a body weight of: 150 lbs
This is equivalent to eating any of the lines of the following table


Google is your friend

[Royal]

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/burned/calories_burned_Drums.html
2nd Entry
Calories Burned for Activity: Drums
272 calories per hour
Assuming a body weight of: 150 lbs
This is equivalent to eating any of the lines of the following table
Google is your friend


198.......Is that all?
That is so wrong:-))

I must be playing an hour long Stevie Ray Vaughan set, minus my B/Drum pedals.



.

[Ben Tormey]

An excellent site for information about nutrition and exercise is http://exrx.net

[PinkZepplin]

I'm sittin at 207calories/hour. But I think it's more then that in reality. This thing doesn't know how i drum. haha

[Class A Drummer]

I forget the numbers but i know you burn a surprising amount of calories while making out with someone.

[PinkZepplin]

I forget the numbers but i know you burn a surprising amount of calories while making out with someone.

that's only if your doing it right

[balboa]

i would imagine its very subjective and possibly inaccurate. Im sure lars ulrich burns more than bill bruford. would it be safe to say that the better the technique, the less calories burned?

[voldak]

I forget the numbers but i know you burn a surprising amount of calories while making out with someone.

Kissing can burn up to 150 calories per hour. It looks like that chart on that website is pretty modest. It depends on how you play. I've seen some dudes just sit there not hardly moving at all and play. While others, you know...go nuts.

[oops]

I chatted to my mum about this (she's a GP (general/family doctor)). I was trying to justify not having regular exercise by the fact that I play drums for 3 hours a day.

She didn't take any of it.

You DO burn calories when you drum, but unless you're physically sweating from the exercise, and your heart is racing, it's not really helping you.

You should be getting your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes a day. If drumming does that, good on you, but I'd be relying more on going for a run.

[PQleyR]

i would imagine its very subjective and possibly inaccurate. Im sure lars ulrich burns more than bill bruford. would it be safe to say that the better the technique, the less calories burned?

Maybe it depends how much fun you're having!

[GRUNTERSDAD]

To make it simple, the more you move, the more you burn. To make anything more of it would be silly.

[blade123]

Calories Burned: 266 calories per hour

[Ironcobra]

It's impossible to say, obviously Travis Barker will burn more then a jazz drummer, factor in gigging and how much you've had to drink and you will have huge variations.

[foursticks]

It's impossible to say, obviously Travis Barker will burn more then a jazz drummer, factor in gigging and how much you've had to drink and you will have huge variations.

I suggest you watch Elvin Jones play, then say that Travis Barker burns more calories than a jazz drummer :-)

[tomgrosset]

To make it simple, the more you move, the more you burn. To make anything more of it would be silly.

I agree with this statement.

[danander11]

I will usually place 4 to 5 calories in a small metal dish, and burn them like incense when I play.. it adds to the atmosphere.

They kinda smell like sage and patchouli mixed.... Go figure.

[NUTHA JASON]

what about factoring in carrying gear setting up tearing down etc?

[GRUNTERSDAD]

what about factoring in carrying gear setting up tearing down etc?

That is another thread, "Do you burn calories while being a Roadie?"

[balboa]

Maybe it depends how much fun you're having!

are you saying that lars has more fun than bill bruford

[rendezvous_drummer]

Just do interval training if you want to burn the calories and get healthy. It's the fastest, most effective way.

[Royal]

That is another thread, "Do you burn calories while being a Roadie?"

Sack your roadie....burn more calories.

[PQleyR]

are you saying that lars has more fun than bill bruford

I don't know. Am I?

No, I'm not. I meant people with good technique who have more fun. Lars plays like he's been playing for about 6 months.




(Ah, NOW I understand why people go 20202020202020!)

[balboa]

I don't know. Am I?

No, I'm not. I meant people with good technique who have more fun. Lars plays like he's been playing for about 6 months.




(Ah, NOW I understand why people go 20202020202020!)

as long as your sure that your not saying that, ok then. Lars does look horrible when he plays. 2020202020202020202020!)

[PQleyR]

as long as your sure that your not saying that, ok then. Lars does look horrible when he plays. 2020202020202020202020!)

He looks pretty horrible whatever he's doing. What a loss to the world of tennis.

[Tutin]

Ha, 272.

I've thought about this before. I've concentrated on good technique for a few years now but I've found that since I have I've gotten increasingly less fit. I play a lot of metal, so I decided to just use whole leg motion for double bass. Not only am I able to move away from triggers now, I also get a great work out from drums again. So although I think that being able to play without as much effort is a good thing, in my veiw exerting yourself always gets you fitter, at least to an extent. I'm a bit worried in case I give myself back pain but if I do then I'll revert back.

Anyway, I went on about that for far too long.

T

[gmrakich]

As a diabetic, it was necessary for me to figure out how many calories I burn in an hour so I could adjust my insulin and what I ate. In thee one hour set I burn approx 1200 calories or 400 per hour. That is a bunch.

[aaajn]

Kissing can burn up to 150 calories per hour. It looks like that chart on that website is pretty modest. It depends on how you play. I've seen some dudes just sit there not hardly moving at all and play. While others, you know...go nuts.



Does it matter who? I will need to talk to my wife about this. One thing I can say is YES, it does burn calories, don't know how much but I doubt you will lose weight. What is cool is my kit is the the garage. It is frequently 55 to 60 F down there. I will go in with a T Shirt and think I have to put another layer on and 15 minutes later, I am toasty warm. When you generate heat, you burn calories.

john

[Class A Drummer]

Does stick weight effect it possibly?

Using marching sticks must burn more calories than 7A regal tips or Steve Gadd Sigs (for those who havent used them, they are the 2 lightest pairs of sticks ive ever used).

[balboa]

it does matter who!! heavier people burn more calories in a shorter time. if your looking for something to keep you fit, exercise then. you could create a new type of drumming!!! you could call it sport drumming.

[Ironcobra]

If drumming is your only form of exercise you have other things to worry about.

[Fur drummer]

I remember seeing an interview with Butch Miles, the former Count Basie drummer and he said that he lost 10 to 12 pounds a performance. Drumming is a good form of exercise, I usually exercise so I don't pull something when I'm drumming, yea I get a little wild plus I'm getting older.

[blade123]

I remember seeing an interview with Butch Miles, the former Count Basie drummer and he said that he lost 10 to 12 pounds a performance. Drumming is a good form of exercise, I usually exercise so I don't pull something when I'm drumming, yea I get a little wild plus I'm getting older.

The "10-12" pounds was just water...
Burning a pound is burning 3500 calories.
Burning 10 pounds is burning 35,000 calories.
I'll give you an idea of what that looks like.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c21J0.html
140 donuts!

A full chocolate cake is around 2000 calories
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c21H6.html
So that means that he would have to eat about 17 cakes before a show, just to brake even?

It's all water weight, he should have just brought a few water bottles up on stage...

[balboa]

i absolutely agree. and if someone were to lose 10lbs of water weight in several hours, they would be dangerously dehydrated. thats 160 oz of water!!!!

[JimFiore]

Besides drumming, I'm a serious distance runner and I've done a lot of reading on physiology. First, let me say that someone could lose 10 lbs. of water during a session but they'd have to be playing furiously and for a very long time while not taking in anything. In general I'd say it's doubtful, more of a tall tale. By comparison, I've lost maybe a couple pounds racing half marathons (13.1 miles). That's some serious aerobic output for about 75 to 80 minutes.

A decent measure for your metabolic rate during exercise is your heart rate relative to your maximum heart rate. An easy distance run is maybe 75% of HRmax. Those half marathons I mentioned were probably pushing 90%. Several years ago I strapped on my HR monitor while playing my kit, and even when thrashing like a crazy man it would barely get into the low 70%s. My normal playing was so far below an aerobic exercise zone that I'd guess it wouldn't register as vigorous as a calm stroll down the road.

Generally, you can estimate calories burned while running as .7 times your weight in pounds per mile, or about 100 cals/mile for a 140 lb person. The speed doesn't matter too much (if you run faster you'll be finished sooner, so the total expenditure is about the same). Now ask yourself if you work as hard drumming as you would if you were running for the same amount of time. Drumming may burn more calories than sitting on the sofa watching TV, but it's certainly not an efficient path to burn calories if you're trying to watch your weight!

[Big_Philly]

301 per hour... not bad but I was hoping for more.

[Fur drummer]

Exercise, swimming or running is still the best way to burn calories. Drumming is not a substitute for those.

[JimFiore]

So here's a related question:

Does anybody have a particular exercise regimen to stay in shape for drumming? Or even in general? I mentioned that I'm a runner. I also do some light weight-lifting, swimming, biking, etc. It certainly makes drumming easy by comparison.

[MnM]

I reckon there's more to it than mere calories. If you're concerned about calories then you're concerned about weight (I think), and the way to tackle that is to burn more calories than you take in. Stop smoking, eat less and go for a run. One day, that's what I'll do.

But sitting up well on a drum throne (you can't slouch), moving around the kit, rotating from left to right, keeping balance, making precision movements - and doing it frequently - surely has to be good for you.

MnM (breaking his duck!)

[rendezvous_drummer]

eat less and go for a run. One day, that's what I'll do.


If you're eating over 2,500 calories a day, depending on your height and BMI, then yes, eat a bit less, BUT, do not crash diet, meaning do not stop eating. You should be eating 5-6 meals every day. 9 AM breakfast, 11 AM snack, 1 PM lunch, 3 PM snack, 7 PM Dinner and if you're still hungry, have a snack at 8. Workout 3 times a week and do interval training 4-5 days a week with sunday as you rest day. But you have to eat healthy. One cheat meal a week. Diet is the most important aspect of weight loss.