Training Question

Steveperrywriter · Jul 21, 2014

Usually, I play about an hour-ninety minutes a day. Sometimes at a single sitting, sometimes in a couple of sessions, and so I'm comfortable with that much. No problems with hands or fingers.

Yesterday, I was at an acoustic jam that ran for three hours, we played pretty steadily, just pausing to swap leaders and write chords on the white board, and at the end of the jam, my fingers were sore and my first couple of fingernails worn a little ragged.

When I was a runner, back in the day and training for a marathon, the rule of thumb was, you could keep going in a race about twice your training distance. To run a marathon, you needed to do 14-15 miles regularly.

Anybody notice any kind of similar relationship to playing? Or is it more like one-to-one? You want to be able to do three hours comfortably, you need to practice that long?

itsme · Jul 21, 2014

Steveperrywriter said:
Usually, I play about an hour-ninety minutes a day. Sometimes at a single sitting, sometimes in a couple of sessions, and so I'm comfortable with that much. No problems with hands or fingers.

Yesterday, I was at an acoustic jam that ran for three hours, we played pretty steadily, just pausing to swap leaders and write chords on the white board, and at the end of the jam, my fingers were sore and my first couple of fingernails worn a little ragged.

I attend meetups that run several hours maybe 2-3 times a month... pretty much as often as they're offered and available!

And I'll be honest, sometimes I go a week or more without practicing at all. So my fingers will get sore after a real workout at a jam.

Steve, I don't know how old you are, but if the pic in your profile is really you, I'd hazard a guess it's been a few years since anyone carded you for buying beer.

I'm old enough to know the pains of carpal tunnel, tendinitis and arthritis. Our bodies do start to deteriorate with time.

Even if you practice 1.5 hrs/day, three hours without a real break is a long time.

Most of the jams I've been to have at least a mid-point break so people can stretch, hit the loo, share snacks they brought, and just generally socialize. Some like to try out each others ukes.

So maybe you should suggest a break. If your hands get sore, I'm sure others' do, too. 15 minutes would help everyone to relax and refresh for the second half!

sukie · Jul 21, 2014

I spent the last 6 months practicing a minimum for 2 hours a day. Yet when I performed my 4 1/2 minute song at UWC I was exhausted at the end.

Steveperrywriter · Jul 21, 2014

itsme said:
I attend meetups that run several hours maybe 2-3 times a month... pretty much as often as they're offered and available!

And I'll be honest, sometimes I go a week or more without practicing at all. So my fingers will get sore after a real workout at a jam.

Steve, I don't know how old you are, but if the pic in your profile is really you, I'd hazard a guess it's been a few years since anyone carded you for buying beer.

I'm old enough to know the pains of carpal tunnel, tendinitis and arthritis. Our bodies do start to deteriorate with time.

Even if you practice 1.5 hrs/day, three hours without a real break is a long time.

Most of the jams I've been to have at least a mid-point break so people can stretch, hit the loo, share snacks they brought, and just generally socialize. Some like to try out each others ukes.

So maybe you should suggest a break. If your hands get sore, I'm sure others' do, too. 15 minutes would help everyone to relax and refresh for the second half!

Age is only a number, though in my case, it's a large number, couple past retirement ... But I try to stay in shape, so I don't use that as an excuse. Still I was running the jam, and maybe there was some added stress from that. Never run one before ...

PhilUSAFRet · Jul 21, 2014

Even though I know better, sometimes I get caught up when playing with a group and "over jam" to be heard. When that happens, I sometimes press too hard on the strings. I just pay closer attention, lighten up my touch, and the sore fingertips usually stop hurting.....at least to the point that I can easily live with it while continuing to play.

moetrout · Jul 22, 2014

sukie said:
I spent the last 6 months practicing a minimum for 2 hours a day. Yet when I performed my 4 1/2 minute song at UWC I was exhausted at the end.

That's the price of STARDOM!

Icelander53 · Jul 22, 2014

moetrout said:
That's the price of STARDOM!

Amen. I can't even remember my name let alone the chords when playing in front of people I'm trying to impress. What a joke, even my best playing won't impress anyone so I'm getting all junior high for nothing.

sukie · Jul 23, 2014

moetrout said:
That's the price of STARDOM!

I wish.

But....back on topic -- our jams are 2 hours. I get up a take a break after about an hour. Both for finger fatigue and mental health. I finally got the group to take the break with me. I don't enjoy the jams if we don't get to know each other. What fun is sitting for 2 solid hours just playing?

Doc_J · Jul 23, 2014

One of the first things I read on UU about 5 years ago was " Play as long as it doesn't hurt. " When I started that would be 15 minutes. Now I can play an hour or more, with no issues. The important thing to me is to play everyday, if at all possible.

itsme · Jul 23, 2014

sukie said:
But....back on topic -- our jams are 2 hours. I get up a take a break after about an hour. Both for finger fatigue and mental health. I finally got the group to take the break with me. I don't enjoy the jams if we don't get to know each other. What fun is sitting for 2 solid hours just playing?

That was exactly the point I was trying to make!

To me, the social aspect is important. After I lost my husband last year, I knew I had to make an effort to get out more, and started going to uke meets I found on meetup.com.

Getting to know fellow ukers is fun, and it's comforting to know when I go to a meetup that I'll usually know a bunch of people there.

If it's at someone's back yard, we encourage people to bring a snack to share. Not a requirement, but we always seem to have enough for a nice noshing.

When it's at the coffee shop in Montrose, bringing food to an establishment that sells food would be rude. Everyone's encouraged to buy something to help the host.

But at any rate, a break to stretch and mingle is important in my book.

UkerDanno · Jul 24, 2014

try this...:shaka:
http://www.amazon.com/Ukulele-Aerob...cp_2_QYMQ?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TM0D8V46VAMD3P4B29J

Training Question

Steveperrywriter

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sukie

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PhilUSAFRet

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