Music

New Year's Resolution Workout Tips from Musicians

by Sarah Kurchak

2012 is finally upon us, which means, among other things, that it’s New Year’s resolution time again. And, if you’re like at least half of the population, that means that you’re probably looking to get fit. Maybe you want to lose X number of pounds or inches. Maybe you want to be able to bench your body weight. Or maybe you just want to get into fighting shape for the zombie apocalypse.

But being a music lover/geek and embarking on a new workout program comes with its own unique challenges. In my 10 years as a music writer and five years as a personal trainer, I’ve come to realize that the fitness and rock ’n’ roll lifestyles often go together about as well as Lou Reed and Metallica. There’s nothing punk rock about a perky trainer encouraging you to do one more rep. Bootcamp and Spinning instructors often have abysmal taste in music (the good ones get told to stop playing the Cancer Bats because “they sound like demons screaming”) and it’s not always easy to get motivated when you’re working out to cheesily remixed drivel. It’s really, really hard to watch your diet when the temptation of sweet booze is lurking at every show and every party.

It’s definitely not easy to develop rock hard abs while staying true to the rock, but it is possible, and many musically-minded people have found their own balance between physical and creative fitness. To help you find yours, here are five common tips for maintaining fitness goals – and real world applications care of Bob Mould, LMFAO, Amanda Palmer, Patrick Stump and Hawksley Workman.

1. Strop Your Crying And Be Responsible Like Bob Mould

You’ve got a new workout plan. You’re excited and you want to jump right in and lift all the things right away. But overdoing it in the short term can easily destroy long terms goals thanks to an unholy mix of injuries, burn out and the potential for overtraining syndrome. Start with a manageable workout plan and gradually increase the challenges involved. Make sure to get plenty of rest. And, whatever you do, don’t throw yourself into any exercise when you’re exhausted or ill-prepared for it.

Before alternative music godfather Bob Mould went on the road in support of his 2005 album, Body of Sound, he discovered a particularly bad ass bodyweight training circuit that involved a lot of handstand push-ups. He was so excited about the whole thing that he even blogged about it, saying that he was going to try it out on the road. When I interviewed him part way into that tour, he hadn’t done a single push-up yet. “Yesterday we drove 700 miles. Today we’re in the middle of a 250 drive. We have to play a show and the drive another 350 at the end of that show, and then another 350 when we wake up to play tomorrow. So, days like that, not so easy to get a workout in,” he confessed.

As frustrating as it can be when life gets in the way of a workout, sometimes it’s wise to step back and give yourself a break. Training when you’re tired leads to all sorts of sloppiness, which leads to injuries that will keep you away from exercise a lot longer than a few busy days. Besides, if Mould had attempted such a complicated move after so many hours on the road, he could have easily fallen on his head, and then that Hüsker Dü reunion I’ve been fantasizing about since puberty would have become even more unrealistic.

2. Working Out With Friends Can Make You Sexy (And You Know It) Like LMFAO

Sadly, I didn’t have a chance to get electro/pop/rap goofballs LMFAO to expound upon their “Sexy And I Know It” assertion that they work out when I interviewed them this past summer. I was inspired by their performance of the song on their current tour, though, which features the duo, their cast of dancers and their cardboard-headed robot engaging in a bunch of random exercises and showing off. Finding a workout buddy or a like-minded group is a great way to stay motivated and keep you from bailing on a training session or class. Whether it’s moral support or a friendly push-up competition with your backup dancers, knowing that someone else is in the same boat is a great way to keep you on the path to a speedo-worthy body. Just don’t ask LMFAO’s robot for push-up tips. He has terrible form.

3. Gyms Aren’t The Only Perfect Fit For Workouts, Just Ask Amanda Palmer

You don’t need the time, money, or even the inclination to go to a gym to get fit. At the height of Dresden Dolls-mania, singer Amanda Palmer told me that she had gotten into the habit of doing yoga (of the Ashtanga, or power, variety to give her those mighty biceps) in airports. While that might be a bit public and embarrassing for those of us who aren’t performance artists used to removing our underpants on red carpets, there are plenty of more subtle ways to exercise on the go. Offices and living rooms usually have enough space for a quick bout of yoga or bodyweight exercises, and even something as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator can sneak a little more activity into your life.

4. Patrick Stump Doesn’t Eat Till He Feels Like His Stomach’s Gonna Explode

Unless you have a will of steel, extreme diets and quitting all of your favourite foods cold turkey is setting yourself up for failure. Instead of jumping into anything too strict, try cutting down on the amount of the current foods you’re eating.

Focusing on how much he ate, as opposed to what he ate, was a huge part of once (and future?) Fall Out Boy frontman’s Patrick Stump’s transformation into svelte Soul Punk pop star. “Portion control is the buzz word right now, but it’s just not overeating. It’s not any more complicated than that,” he says.

Touring the world really opened his eyes to how large his portions were back home. “I was at a fast food restaurant in Japan. I looked around and everyone was in really good shape, and I was standing there and I was fat. I was the fattest guy in there. I ordered a large, and it came out and the large was the size of a tea glass. In The States, it’s like two litres, or something. I was like, that’s it! After that, I reasoned that I’m 5’4”, my stomach’s probably not much bigger than my fist. At any given meal, I don’t eat more than that.”

5. Love Your Workouts And You Won’t Fight Them, Hawksley Workman-Style

I’m not going to judge anyone who works out for their own personal vanity. I’ve done it many times, and it is satisfying to flex in the mirror and admire your developing muscles every once in a while. But my most successful clients and training partners who have always been the ones who are more interested in generally feeling better than simply looking better.

Singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman is actually a proponent of expanding waistlines in rock. “I like seeing Morrissey with a gut and, when he takes his shirt off, his gut’s hanging out,” he told me in 2008. “Robert Smith is twice the size he used to be. I like all this. It feels like the permission to be human.”

But he’s also a fan of running. In the blowout that followed Workman’s period of Lover/Fighter excess and eventually lead to the stripped-down Treeful Of Starling, the singer started going out for jogs to clear his head. He quickly became hooked on the positive influence that running had on his mental state. “It’s like guaranteed sanity in thirty-five minutes.”