exhausted after practicing 8 hrs:(

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jasminepetrucci · #1 Post by **jasminepetrucci** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:35 am

Hi guys!
any of you experienced the same thing?

i just have to do my 12 hrs practice regimen every day, but i just get so tired after 8 or 10 hrs, although i drink LOTS of energy drinks, try to eat healthy food, sleep enough (7-8 hrs)...

is there any advice you can give me what to do?

i remember a teacher of mine (from GIT) once told me that it's normal to get tired after all those hrs of practice, and he said when that happens just to eat a bag of potato chips.
but i don't eat that kind of food (too many calories and fat)

what do you do when you get tired?

Big Bad Bill · #2 Post by **Big Bad Bill** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:52 am

I get tired after sleeping for 8 hours!

Aspiring classical musicians practice at this rate quite routinely and I'm sure they get tired, its natural since we are biological machines. The trick is to assess when your practice is actually doing some good. Mindless practice isn't going to help at all. I think you'd better off stopping every hour for 20 minutes and talking a walk or something to allow your cerebellum to process the practice you've just done. Also, plenty of sleep is vital too.

theollieb · #3 Post by **theollieb** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:26 am

Big Bad Bill wrote:I get tired after sleeping for 8 hours!

Hahaha BBB Omg

jasminepetrucci · #4 Post by **jasminepetrucci** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:42 am

Thanx Bill!

the thing is i don't get tired MENTALY,because i always practice 1 hr something where i have to think a lot, then i do 2 hrs just working on my speed(and then i don't have to think).
and i do this 4 times a day.
i get tired PHYSICALLY (sometimes i even collapse

), i know it's normal to get tired, but i also know guys who do 12 hrs every single day (and they sleep only 4 hrs

).

even our Mr.Vai had his 12 hrs regimen

guyver_dio · #5 Post by **guyver_dio** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:00 am

I'd stop drinking those energy drinks. Energy drinks and tablets are really only useful for an occasional type scenario, when you have a essay due in or if your going out for the night or something where you need the burst of energy to get you through whatever needs to be done then rest the next day. They totally wipe you out afterwards and doing this daily can start to make you feel constantly sore and lethargic. I thought this would help too with my daily gym regime but found it was gradually wearing me out and my body couldn't take the workload.

It's best to eat foods that releases energy slowly, like rice or fruit. I dunno if you've tried this before you started drinking those energy drinks but I think from my experience, they aren't very effective for daily routines.

Also what BBB said about the breaks in between I think is absolutely necessary.

Just a suggestion

boswell · #6 Post by **boswell** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:30 am

Forget the energy drinks, drink water.

Big Bad Bill · #7 Post by **Big Bad Bill** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:36 am

jasminepetrucci wrote:the thing is i don't get tired MENTALY......
i get tired PHYSICALLY (sometimes i even collapse ), i know it's normal to get tired, but i also know guys who do 12 hrs every single day (and they sleep only 4 hrs ).even our Mr.Vai had his 12 hrs regimen

Well, think about it-practicing guitar isn't like running or playing football or pushing weights. Despite what we may say, it isn't an energetic pastime (just look at my and Johnny Hilland's waistline's as proof positive!). So the fact you're exhausted to the point of collapse suggest that you either have an underlying medical condition that requires you to seek medical advice immediately, or you are in fact getting mentally tired and the collapse is a hysterical symptom of that.

Her Satanic Majesty, Margaret Thatcher, functioned, par demonic excellence, on just four hours sleep every night, some people require 10 hours, most of us, 7-8 hours. We're all different and have differing abilities within which we must operate. If you'e collapsing under your present training regime, change it by building in more breaks (where you could study theory) or devise a split routine where you do various things on alternate days thereby spreading the load.

Also remember it isn't the amount of practice you do, its the quality of that practice that counts.

boswell · #8 Post by **boswell** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:52 am

Big Bad Bill wrote:

Also remember it isn't the amount of practice you do, its the quality of that practice that counts.

a little a lot can be better than 12 hours a day if those 12 hours arnt enjoy and/or productive.

budt · #9 Post by **budt** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:35 am

There's two things to watch out for. Your hands - watch out for things like tendonitis and such. I almost wrecked my hands when I practiced that much (those were the days).

The other thing is, its important to keep on playing with other musicians. If you lock yourself in the woodshed for a year or more, don't think that when you start playing out again that you are just gonna automatically blow everyone away. It doesn't quite work that way.

Not trying to sound preachy here, just sharing some life experiences.

Ooops, a third thing ... love music!

Dyens · #10 Post by **Dyens** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:55 am

There is no reason to practice that much a day. You could probably pack all of what you're doing into 5 hours or less. Aspiring classical musicians don't even practice that much as BBB said. There is simply no reason to and the risk of injury is far too high. Don't practice so damn much. The only reason anyone would do that much practicing is to brag/complain about it later.

DiMarzio · #11 Post by **DiMarzio** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:02 am

Yeah as said before its VERY important to take breaks..
and seriously.. 12 hours? Thats a one way ticket to tendonitis/ carpal tunnel-land..

jasminepetrucci · #12 Post by **jasminepetrucci** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:32 am

thanx guys!

guyver dio, yes i also think i'm getting exhausted because of all those energy drinks.
i'll have to start eating rice and pasta instead (i haven't tried with that, i only ate vegetables and fish).

jasminepetrucci · #13 Post by **jasminepetrucci** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:33 am

DiMarzio wrote:Yeah as said before its VERY important to take breaks..
and seriously.. 12 hours? Thats a one way ticket to tendonitis/ carpal tunnel-land..

i do take breaks

DiMarzio · #14 Post by **DiMarzio** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:31 pm

jasminepetrucci wrote:
DiMarzio wrote:Yeah as said before its VERY important to take breaks..
and seriously.. 12 hours? Thats a one way ticket to tendonitis/ carpal tunnel-land..
i do take breaks

I cant blame you for practising much tho.. had my good 9 hours yesterday

Just while you are taking breaks.. do some stretches and massage your tendons lightly

guitarbonham · #15 Post by **guitarbonham** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:01 pm

I don't practice near that much, but i play with a million different bands. practicing on your own will only get you so far. if you really want to improve in a short amount of time find some people to jam with! I'm not saying practicin a ton is bad lol definatly not true but I think thats one important part that a lot of people skip out on... idk about you... it also keeps you awake a lot more then doing mindless speed exercises or even learning new songs.