Drum Corps and P90X

[ouooga]

A friend and I were at the gym the other day, and we were talking about drum corps. We both agreed that we wished we had creatine and protein powder when we were marching. You get a ton of great exercise on tour, but there just isn't enough food (protein) involved to really build a ton of muscle. With those two supplements, we could have come out of the season looking a lot better than just "really skinny", which is how I looked by finals.

That got me thinking about actually doing a fitness program, like P90X, over the summer. Many corps spend an hour or two per morning doing some sort of physical conditioning. Bluecoats even have a very talented personal trainer on their staff this year, and I'd venture to guess that that's helped them this season with their amazing scores and placements. So what would happen if a corps actually did P90X while on tour? Spend an hour a day doing a series of workouts designed to get you ripped. Then throw in some protein powder so members can actually build muscle, and boom, by the end of the season you'd have an entire corps of completely ripped members. Aside from the obvious benefits of fitness, they'd look and feel better too, which would increase confidence and that confidence would transfer to the show.

What are your thoughts?

[Lynsew]

Some type of exercise program is great. Getting the corps in shape and maintaining it will only help them.

But I have to say: I'm not in favor of using protein powders, or drinks. Feed them complete balanced meals daily, this should provide all nutrition they need. Remember that at least in some of these corps (remember age to march is 14-21) have teens marching. As a parent, I would not approve of my kids being fed with powders and or pills to build muscle. That seems like a pretty touchy subject. But this is just my opinion.

[soccerguy315]

it's hard to build muscle on tour because you are doing cardio basically 8-12 hours a day.

edit: and I don't think being ripped would make the show better. Huge biceps do not help you look or sound better in uniform.

Edited July 21, 2010 by soccerguy315

[DCImonkey]

it's hard to build muscle on tour because you are doing cardio basically 8-12 hours a day.

edit: and I don't think being ripped would make the show better. Huge biceps do not help you look or sound better in uniform.

I dunno would BD 92 been half as sexy if when they ripped their shirts off, they were a bunch of fattys? Heck no....we loved those washboards!

[Captncontra]

P90X is amazing btw. I'm recovering from back surgery and my surgeon 'suggested' I try it out once the fusion set in. Doc told me a lot of his patients use it post-surgery with great results in losing weight and regaining core strength.

... I'm down 45lbs in the past 3 months with limited movement.

[crazymello]

I'd suggest crossfit. It's all about personal preference though. If you feel like you cant do any more, then you have to do more anyways, and contemplate your existence, per haps thinking you'd rather be dead than where you are during the workout, it's doing its job.

[Krista]

I always took a performance multi vitamin on tour. but you know, working out the way I do now (with protein powder) I would have LOVED them for tour. not b/c of the muscle building, I just think they enhance your overall performance and mental focus.

[atlvalet]

it's hard to build muscle on tour because you are doing cardio basically 8-12 hours a day.

+ 1,000,000

You're doing so much cardio, it's hard to keep muscle on. I didn't even weigh that much before tour (152) and I weighed 139 at the end of tour (I'm 5' 10"). That's 13 pounds from May to August. That's a lot. Granted, I had like an 8 pack at the end of tour. But still.

Now, there is nothing wrong with a quality protein shake once a day. But even then, it may not be enough to add any weight....just keep what you have. Also, a corps would have to dedicate time to something like P90X. We did a ton of running when I marched 'Coats, and EVERYONE lost weight (that was marching).

[dbc03]

Some type of exercise program is great. Getting the corps in shape and maintaining it will only help them.

But I have to say: I'm not in favor of using protein powders, or drinks. Feed them complete balanced meals daily, this should provide all nutrition they need. Remember that at least in some of these corps (remember age to march is 14-21) have teens marching. As a parent, I would not approve of my kids being fed with powders and or pills to build muscle. That seems like a pretty touchy subject. But this is just my opinion.

Protein powder is just protein. It's not a drug or anything. It is made from milk.

This is like saying you wouldn't want your kid eating eggs.

[2000Cadet]

Protein powder is just protein. It's not a drug or anything. It is made from milk.

This is like saying you wouldn't want your kid eating eggs.

I agree with this and your opening post.

I wish I had taken some sort of protien while I was on tour. At the end of tour, I was extremely cut up, but I would have liked more muscle on that skinny frame. I would have been a BEAST come finals night lol...I guess I made up for that now since I eat like six times a day (including protien shakes) and my body filled out quite nicely. But I can only image what I would look like now if I had started taking that stuff back then.