Feelin’ Sporty? How about Some Drumming?

Exercise can be fun, or tedious, depending on who you ask, when you ask, or even why you’re asking. Some people exercise because they are inherently physical people with abundant energy, a love of sports or because they like how it feels mid-sprint. Other people exercise because it reduces stress, helps keep weight gain at bay, or because they bought a gym membership on a whim. These same reasons (except the gym membership, of course) are also why people pick up a drum or start hammering away on a drum set. Drumming, like exercise, is good for the mind, body and soul… and, since drumming is exercise, now is the time to get off that treadmill and get behind a drum set… just for sport, of course.

(Marching band drummers, feel free to take a break. You live this every day!)

There is a ton of research that confirms the fact that drumming is just as physically beneficial as other forms of exercise.Drumming burns calories in the same way that running or swimming does. It requires the use of both sides of the body and the coordination of a dancer. But, there is more to drumming than just the physical, cardiovascular, exercise-focused benefits, there’s that whole “sport” of drumming that raises the activity to new heights.

Drumming is to sports as peas are to carrots because:

1. You learn the basics: When you start out drumming, you don’t just sit down and know how to play. There are techniques for drumming that include where to strike the drum, how to hold the sticks, how to count, timing, tone, tempo and a thousand other concepts that work together to enhance your drumming talent and ability.When you start out playing a sport, you don’t just run out on the field and immediately kick a winning goal. You learn how to run, kick, aim, hit, block, etc.. You start at the beginning, learn all of the tricks and tips of the sport that combine together to enhance your sporty talent and ability.

2. You keep learning and building up your repertoire: Each time you get out on that field, or behind the drum set, you are building on skills that you have learned, only to discover you have even more to learn. That process is mentally and physically stimulating as you rise to the challenges you are creating for yourself. You learn exactly what you are capable of... body, mind and soul.

3. Teamwork skills are sick: You learn teamwork as a drummer, despite being the only person with drums (unless, you know, marching band). You learn to keep the beat, supporting the other musicians with a steady rhythm. Your drumming punctuates each phrase of a song and you learn to let others support you as you beat out a drum solo.

Drumming may never be an Olympic event, and for most drummers (the gold medal goes to marching band drummers), that is perfectly okay. Drumming combines the benefits of music education with physical activity, making it an ideal “sport” for anyone who doesn’t fall under the spell of typical physical activity. Drumming is a way to express creativity; it is a sport of artistry and imagination, with considerable physical benefits.

We love sports and exercise as much as the next person, but we might like the considerable validation of drumming as exercise (and a sport) just a bit more. Plus, its drumming and sports that make videos like that possible!