Everyone wants stronger better hands and there are lots of threads here to prove that. There are also lots of threads with players in pain and having problems.
Exercising your hands is exercising your forearms as well.
The muscle groups in your forearms along with the groups in your hands are the main areas of training. MUSCLES ONLY PULL, to this end there has to be two sets opposite each other. The muscles on the back of your forearm/hand pull your fingers open, the muscles on the opposite side pull them closed.
What we desire from training and exercise is the muscles to be strong and dextrous..like a gymnast, sprinter, racehorse, not like a weight lifter, lumberjack or a contestent in World Strongest Man. Exercises that just have squeezing as the main part will give you the muscle group of the second catagory, lots of power but not much dexterity. Exercises that combine squeezing with gentle stretching, dexterity, independent finger control, touch, stamina and good technique will bring you reward. Exercise should be PAIN AND STRESS FREE, IF IT HURTS STOP.
The purpose of exercise is to build stamina and dexterity.
Try these simple tests.
With your palm face up move your forefinger and touch the pad under your thumb. Then repeat with each finger in turn trying to touch the same part of the pad.
Did each of your fingers succeed? Did you thumb move to meet your ring and little finger?
Did your ring finger piggy back or pile up on top of your little finger.
Now try this, with all your fingers together close them in to the palm of your hand. Did they all stay side by side or did any try and sit on top of the others?
Did the ring finger and little finger try and go for the pad under the thumb and get in the way?
The fingers and the thumb are linked in this way that the way your hand is designed is for the all fingers to be able to contact the thumb when used individualy for dexterity, and spread across the palm for strength when together. It is these two areas we must address and seperate to a point, in order to exercise. As what we want is not natural to us there will be a price to pay at some point along the way, if not in later life.
A few good exercises in this area use squash balls, but not as you may think. squash balls come in different hardness so pick a soft set then move on to harder if you so wish.
1/ Roll the squash ball around in your finger tips. When you master this add another. The idea with two balls is NOT TO LET THEM TOUCH THE PALMS OF YOUR HANDS. In other word control and support them with your fingers only, a bit like Chinesse Stress balls, the principal is the same relaxing and stress free exercise.
2/ Squeeze the ball with your finger tips only is so simple its understated. When use squeeze with your fingertips only you exercise every muscle behind it back to the source..your forearm.
3/ Hold the ball in your palm with enough pressure from all your fingers and thumb. Now lift all your fingers away and stretch them gentley supporting the ball with just your thumb, repeat as desired. Using the same principal hold it now with just your forefinger and repeat. Once you master it repeat it with all fingers on your hand, giving each one a chance to hold the ball while the others gentley stretch.
The action you need to develop is one of lifting the fingers away from the neck, as holding it is natural and easy. Its is the hands ability to open and the fingers ability to move away from the fretboard that needs developing not its ability to return and press down, that will happen as a matter of course.
If you were just to squeeze the ball in the palm of your hand you are building a power grip, a grip that is able to hold and hang on, not one of dexterity. If you have weak hands to start with then this is a good exercise to combine with others.
As each set of exercises have different functions you should concentrate on your weakness and build it up to a level that you can then balance out with the other exercises you do. As i have stated before to students there is no point in a steel hammer head if the shaft is weak, so target your exercises then balance them out.
Physical strength in your fingers has little to do with effective bass playing.
Has i have stated you want stamina and dexterity exercises, whose side effect if you will is strength/power in your hands/fingers if you will. Another side effect of stamina and dexterity exercises is speed and fluincy, i know something many would like in there playing.
Some exercises have the negitive effect you desire.
As i have stated some exercises just build muscle power not dexterity. These exersices put stress and strain on your muscles causing damage so therfore pain. The old addage of "no pain, no gain" has no use here. Playing bass guitar is a physical exercise in itself, the muscles work hard and as a result the waste product of all the muscles energy is Lactic Acid. Problems occur when the Lactic Acid production is more than the removel, ie that burning sensation you get, pain or crap. Cramp is your muscles way of making you stop what your doing as it does not like it. Cramp is like a fuse in your amp, it is a tempory warning to make you stop before something major is damaged, as is pain. But if pain stays with you, you have done damage and need profesional help..seek it.
Your nervous system is part of you training.
All muscle activity is started by nerve impulse, there are two main groups of action, voluntary and involuntary. Involuntary muscles we have no control over like digetion, and heartbeat, but sometimes our voluntary muscles get them as in a spasm, usually in repsonse to pain or stress. If your nervous system cannot sent the messages your muscles will not respond. nerve ends are responsible for the last part of that message. Pain in your fingers is not neccesary where the damage is, its just where your feeling it. For instace a thin strap that cuts in to you neck and shoulder can give you problems in your fingers, a bit like standing on the middle of a long hose, you see the effect because the water flow is slow at the end, but it is not the end that is the problem, thats far away, because that where your appling the pressure.
Alcohol and drugs suppress the nervous system, as does stress in certain cases like worry. You can convince yourself you have a problem when you don't, your brain is only too happy to do as you want and release chemicals in to your system to achieve what you your thinking and worring about.
These are just a few of the main points an some exercise examples to consider, i'm sure you will find more and there will no doubt be more will be posted in reply to this thread.
In the end it is what you are capable of acheiving and being honest with your abilities. There is no guarantee to success of stress free better playing, i could mirror the training practices of top sportsman and not get the same results. The sports world is full of people who did not make it for one reason or another physicaly, weakness that was observed early on in there career and saw them by passed for others, or careers ended due to and injury that could not let them preform to the standard required. Illness, accident, inhereted there are many reasons why we all have different capabilites we can achieve. But we are bass players with different standards, music, techniques and goals all of which can be achieved in some form if we are honest in our abilities. A BASS PLAYER IS DEFINED BY THE WAY HE THINKS AND THE CHOICES HE MAKES IN HIS PLAYING.
Exercising your hands is exercising your forearms as well.
The muscle groups in your forearms along with the groups in your hands are the main areas of training. MUSCLES ONLY PULL, to this end there has to be two sets opposite each other. The muscles on the back of your forearm/hand pull your fingers open, the muscles on the opposite side pull them closed.
What we desire from training and exercise is the muscles to be strong and dextrous..like a gymnast, sprinter, racehorse, not like a weight lifter, lumberjack or a contestent in World Strongest Man. Exercises that just have squeezing as the main part will give you the muscle group of the second catagory, lots of power but not much dexterity. Exercises that combine squeezing with gentle stretching, dexterity, independent finger control, touch, stamina and good technique will bring you reward. Exercise should be PAIN AND STRESS FREE, IF IT HURTS STOP.
The purpose of exercise is to build stamina and dexterity.
Try these simple tests.
With your palm face up move your forefinger and touch the pad under your thumb. Then repeat with each finger in turn trying to touch the same part of the pad.
Did each of your fingers succeed? Did you thumb move to meet your ring and little finger?
Did your ring finger piggy back or pile up on top of your little finger.
Now try this, with all your fingers together close them in to the palm of your hand. Did they all stay side by side or did any try and sit on top of the others?
Did the ring finger and little finger try and go for the pad under the thumb and get in the way?
The fingers and the thumb are linked in this way that the way your hand is designed is for the all fingers to be able to contact the thumb when used individualy for dexterity, and spread across the palm for strength when together. It is these two areas we must address and seperate to a point, in order to exercise. As what we want is not natural to us there will be a price to pay at some point along the way, if not in later life.
A few good exercises in this area use squash balls, but not as you may think. squash balls come in different hardness so pick a soft set then move on to harder if you so wish.
1/ Roll the squash ball around in your finger tips. When you master this add another. The idea with two balls is NOT TO LET THEM TOUCH THE PALMS OF YOUR HANDS. In other word control and support them with your fingers only, a bit like Chinesse Stress balls, the principal is the same relaxing and stress free exercise.
2/ Squeeze the ball with your finger tips only is so simple its understated. When use squeeze with your fingertips only you exercise every muscle behind it back to the source..your forearm.
3/ Hold the ball in your palm with enough pressure from all your fingers and thumb. Now lift all your fingers away and stretch them gentley supporting the ball with just your thumb, repeat as desired. Using the same principal hold it now with just your forefinger and repeat. Once you master it repeat it with all fingers on your hand, giving each one a chance to hold the ball while the others gentley stretch.
The action you need to develop is one of lifting the fingers away from the neck, as holding it is natural and easy. Its is the hands ability to open and the fingers ability to move away from the fretboard that needs developing not its ability to return and press down, that will happen as a matter of course.
If you were just to squeeze the ball in the palm of your hand you are building a power grip, a grip that is able to hold and hang on, not one of dexterity. If you have weak hands to start with then this is a good exercise to combine with others.
As each set of exercises have different functions you should concentrate on your weakness and build it up to a level that you can then balance out with the other exercises you do. As i have stated before to students there is no point in a steel hammer head if the shaft is weak, so target your exercises then balance them out.
Physical strength in your fingers has little to do with effective bass playing.
Has i have stated you want stamina and dexterity exercises, whose side effect if you will is strength/power in your hands/fingers if you will. Another side effect of stamina and dexterity exercises is speed and fluincy, i know something many would like in there playing.
Some exercises have the negitive effect you desire.
As i have stated some exercises just build muscle power not dexterity. These exersices put stress and strain on your muscles causing damage so therfore pain. The old addage of "no pain, no gain" has no use here. Playing bass guitar is a physical exercise in itself, the muscles work hard and as a result the waste product of all the muscles energy is Lactic Acid. Problems occur when the Lactic Acid production is more than the removel, ie that burning sensation you get, pain or crap. Cramp is your muscles way of making you stop what your doing as it does not like it. Cramp is like a fuse in your amp, it is a tempory warning to make you stop before something major is damaged, as is pain. But if pain stays with you, you have done damage and need profesional help..seek it.
Your nervous system is part of you training.
All muscle activity is started by nerve impulse, there are two main groups of action, voluntary and involuntary. Involuntary muscles we have no control over like digetion, and heartbeat, but sometimes our voluntary muscles get them as in a spasm, usually in repsonse to pain or stress. If your nervous system cannot sent the messages your muscles will not respond. nerve ends are responsible for the last part of that message. Pain in your fingers is not neccesary where the damage is, its just where your feeling it. For instace a thin strap that cuts in to you neck and shoulder can give you problems in your fingers, a bit like standing on the middle of a long hose, you see the effect because the water flow is slow at the end, but it is not the end that is the problem, thats far away, because that where your appling the pressure.
Alcohol and drugs suppress the nervous system, as does stress in certain cases like worry. You can convince yourself you have a problem when you don't, your brain is only too happy to do as you want and release chemicals in to your system to achieve what you your thinking and worring about.
These are just a few of the main points an some exercise examples to consider, i'm sure you will find more and there will no doubt be more will be posted in reply to this thread.
In the end it is what you are capable of acheiving and being honest with your abilities. There is no guarantee to success of stress free better playing, i could mirror the training practices of top sportsman and not get the same results. The sports world is full of people who did not make it for one reason or another physicaly, weakness that was observed early on in there career and saw them by passed for others, or careers ended due to and injury that could not let them preform to the standard required. Illness, accident, inhereted there are many reasons why we all have different capabilites we can achieve. But we are bass players with different standards, music, techniques and goals all of which can be achieved in some form if we are honest in our abilities. A BASS PLAYER IS DEFINED BY THE WAY HE THINKS AND THE CHOICES HE MAKES IN HIS PLAYING.
