Wrist fatigue

[matthew62593]

Hi all,

Lately I've been working my wrists a lot more in an attempt to gain strength in them (and thus gain speed in rolls, etc., and to make my left wrist as strong as my right). Well just yesterday and today I noticed that my wrists are tired even when I first start playing. I am assuming that it is because I have working them really hard. My question is what should I do next? I have a few options:

a) Stop practicing so much/so vigorously and take it easy so the muscles in the wrist can "repair"
b) Continue pushing the limits of my wrist muscles to gain endurance, and relax when not playing to gain strength back.
c) Stop practicing all together for a couple days (I'd really rather not do this, but if it's absolutely necessary, I will).

What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

PS: I am not too new to drumming (1.5 years), my wrists are used to doing lots of work, but I have been REALLY pushing them lately, just wanted to point that out before any answers were made.

[pastor_bob]

Matthew, I think you can feel what needs to be done, because your wrists are talking to you. If you keep pushing the muscles hard with wrist workouts, then you will have to back off on the drumming while you are building endurance in your wrists, because your wrists are telling you that you can't do both.

The other thing you could do is to back off on some of the workouts, and use the drumming as part of the workout. Let your wrists be your guide as to how far you can push the workouts, and still continue your drumming.

[PHROGGE]

Relax Man Relax....
If Yer Wrists Are "Talkin To Ya"
For God's Sake Listen...
A Day Or 2 Of Rest Is Worth More Than A Lifetime Of Pain....
I Been There And Done That So Take My Advice...
Relax....Take It Easy...Keep Playin But R E L A X....
Ya Gottas Be Smarter Than Da Drums....
You'll Be Glad You Did...

[gonefishin]

I agree with PB and PH........ease up to give your wrist a break until it feels better .

[limzz]

I would say keep going unless it hurts, hard practice like you're doing pays off. Another thing to note is don't always try to play your fastest when you practice. I used to do this and would get really discouraged because I couldn't play cleanly that fast, so I thought I was just bad.

[matthew62593]

I apologize if I didn't make it clear enough before, but the feeling I'm getting is not a pain, it is more like the feeling you get when you just lifted weights. The only difference between now and before is that the feeling has been coming on much quicker lately due to how much more I've been doing.

Thanks for the answers anyway guys. I think I'm gonna just take practice slightly lighter than I have in recent weeks, but not too much as to keep up the improvement unless other people have more opinions to offer.

[topdog63]

matthew I would just try to get everything nice and smooth at a slower speed. Remember slow is smooth and smooth is fast

[matthew62593]

matthew I would just try to get everything nice and smooth at a slower speed. Remember slow is smooth and smooth is fast

I understand what you're saying and totally agree, however, the reason I'm pushing the limits of my endurance and finesse is because I feel that I've reached proficiency at the things I need to know for right now at slower to medium speeds. Plus, I am reaching somewhat consistency with higher speed stuff now. But I do get what you're saying, and perhaps I will slow things down again for my muscles to recover. Thanks for the input.

[Larrysperf]

Eas up and rest. If you over do it it will hurt as I have had to get steriod injections in my shoulder and the pain of the needle and it going in is more pain than one can imagine so rest when the body says please no more. Even pro athletes rest

[fiacovaz]

1.5 years is nothing in terms of life time playing. If you truly want to last and continue to play drums throughout your life, take it easy and quit being in such a hurry. When your body hurts, it's telling you to "Back off." There is no contest, there is no race to gain speed and stamina. It comes naturally, so let it. Enjoy your practices, enjoy your journey and take the time to explore other aspects of drumming while you relax. I've started playing when I was 13. I am 62 now and I still play...drum with and direct 18 pc. contemporary Big Band.

[Northern Redneck]

Take a couple of days off.

[matthew62593]

fiacovaz, it's not that I'm in a hurry, but that's just how I like to learn things. I push myself pretty far. I do enjoy myself, but I do agree that I should take it easy a bit too, and I'd probably enjoy myself even more. Thanks for the input!

And thanks to all others who added their opinions to the discussion.