Double Bass Amount of Stretching

[Manticore Guy]

Before and after a practice session or a gig, how much stretching do you guys do?

For the past year I've been doing various stretches each for 30 seconds 4times a piece and I'm not really sure that it done that much to help me prevent injury.

I'm especially interested on what forearm/wrist/elbow stretches people have had success with and the amount of time they use.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Zero.

 

[standupright]

i do wrist and finger stretches every day. nothing extreme. prob about 15 minutes worth a day.

 

[standupright]

i do wrist and finger stretches every day. nothing extreme. prob about 15 minutes worth a day.

these stretches are based on aikido arts stretches.

 

[standupright]

one of the things to remember that most are not educated about, stretching should be slow and deliberate, not quick and bouncy.

 

[Paul Warburton]

Something new?
I've never met a bass player who did any stretches before or after playing.

 

[standupright]

Something new?
I've never met a bass player who did any stretches before or after playing.

been stretching for 25 some years. just good for your ligaments, tendons, and muscles overall.

 

[Elmo Oxygen]

I don't have an amount of time that I stretch, I do wrist down/wrist up - arm extended - each arm for the durration of 3 deep breaths for each position. As Standupright knows, my deep breaths are very long (Hapkido) but these stretches are not from the arts, just for playing bass. I always do them before playing and do them after if I feel the need to.

 

[Nathan Parker]

I started doing some stretching after I developed some wrist pain. I just get a few regular sized rubber bands, put all my fingers in the middle of them, and then collapse and open my fingers. It doesn't seem like much, but the little bit of resistance it adds helps with my wrist. I also try and do some light yoga once or twice a week. I'm not super religious about practicing either of these activities, but I sure notice when I haven't done them in a while.

 

[Chris Symer]

Zero.

I'd say plus one to that Marcus, but I want it to still equal zero...

 

[ctxbass]

Zero.

I'd say plus one to that Marcus, but I want it to still equal zero...

X2

(Too long of a stretch without posting)

 

[Paul Warburton]

I'd say plus one to that Marcus, but I want it to still equal zero...

You can't do that.....unless one of the Moderators is a Buddhist

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Zero.

+1 (=0)

Except when my hamstrings or back are tight after a long day of sitting on my tuckus, in which case I may do some body stretches before a concert.

I'd say plus one to that Marcus, but I want it to still equal zero...

You can't do that.....unless one of the Moderators is a Buddhist

I'd say it's OK to do that. I'm "close enough for jazz" when it comes to Buddhism.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

I've been doing wrist and finger stretches daily, and often between sets and even during sets. I find stretching helpful since my RSI of a few years ago.

 

[Manticore Guy]

how often do you do the stretches? An approximate second or minute time is what i am looking for. I am also a sufferer of an RSI

 

[Paul Warburton]

You didn't state in the OP that you were suffering an RSI.
I had no intention of making light of this.

 

[mr mastodon]

every bassist has different stretches. it's crazy.

my favorites are the ones in this video:



the one where you make fists wrapped around your thumbs and slightly angle your wrists is killer.

a good one for my problem zones is to fold my hands, palm to palm, finger to finger, like i'm praying. hold them in front of your chest. then slowly, keeping them together, move them down gradually toward your waist.

 

[Gawd]

Those stretches are great. I've been having a lot of problems with wrist pain since 2009, trying those stretches gave instant relief.

I've been trying to get into doing yoga regularly. Not specifically for bass playing, just for general health reasons. Definitely the best system for stretching, and helps build strength too.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

I've been trying to get into doing yoga regularly.

Be careful of the wrist extensions, can be very stressful.

 

[mtto]

Michael Manring has some stretches on an instructional video I have. They're good. Basically just slowly, gently stretching each finger. I do those sometimes. Plus yoga for the whole body.