yea i think it helps

i think it helps, just because when you are active and working out and stuff then you are just happier in general, wanting to play guitar more follows naturally.

Uh oh Fred getting ripped man? XD Ya know I think yall are right, but then again I do see all these drugged out, drunken musicians, and what not and think how the hell??

But looking back when they were younger, stronger, cleaner, determined,hungry etc........ thats where alot of it came from IMO not saying that because your old that you cant rock anymore but its just a thought or they eventually get clean and back on their feet

Not to mention is 40 or 50 really that old now a days?

I think it's just the opposite actually. Most of the people I listen to spent 13 hours locked in a room during their formative years, and then pumped massive amounts of heroin into their veins during the periods when they were recording and playing live their best music. That obviously isn't a healthy lifestyle. IMO, they were the best musicians ever, and barely any of them lived past age 50.

I think leading a healthy lifestyle has all sorts of benefits in almost everything you do in life. At any rate, I can't see how it would hurt playing guitar at all. The only thing you should be careful of is joint injury while lifting...John Petrucci had to cancel a few shows once because of a wrist injury he received during weight training.

Of course I am in the Army and am required to maintain a certain level of fitness, so I don't know if I count. I'm also not an incredible guitarist, so again...I'm not sure I'm a good example. But, I do know that after all this time of steadily doing my morning exercises, I feel more confident, less depressed, less stressed, and have way more energy. Plus, it makes me eat an actual healthy breakfast which is another key to being a generally healthy person. I do know that I am better now at guitar than when I signed up, but how much of that is attributed to training vs practice is a vague concept.

As far as the martial arts thing, I agree. I used to be in a tae kwon do class, and of course in the Army we do hand-to-hand combat training sometimes. Knowing that you actually can make someone unconscious and/or dead within 6-10 seconds is a great feeling and gives you an insane confidence level. Of course, so is never having to use that knowledge...

As far as the drug-riddled musicians being better, I don't entirely agree. There are several examples of some who cleaned up their act and were IMO much better than they were before. Stevie Ray Vaughan is a perfect example. Compare his early work with his later, and you'll notice a difference. There's a reason why "In Step" has arguably his biggest hits, and his only album with a song that really topped the charts (Crossfire).

I say at the least, it can't hurt. So go for it!

"As far as the drug-riddled musicians being better, I don't entirely agree. There are several examples of some who cleaned up their act and were IMO much better than they were before. Stevie Ray Vaughan is a perfect example. Compare his early work with his later, and you'll notice a difference. There's a reason why "In Step" has arguably his biggest hits, and his only album with a song that really topped the charts (Crossfire)."

Not to say drugs make you a better musician, just that its part of the lifestyle. But I do think being a musician is conducive to an unhealthy lifestyle in general. As a guitarist, you are spending hours sitting in a chair, maybe with poor posture, moving your hands in positions that aren't really natural to the human body. I can recall times where I've sat and played the guitar all day and I feel like my body needs to be cracked in 10 different places.

I'll tell you one thing, that yoga stuff is like tying yourself up in a pretzel, then doing push ups sideways with one arm..oh and don't forget to breath deep! I will say this, afterward you are incredibly limber. My knees are really bad from years of jogging, The constant pounding really tore them up. But after I stretch everything else out around those knees they feel so much better. I think martial arts does the same thing because you have to stretch everything out plus you get a really good cardio workout. You need to stay loose but focused. Tension is a killer when it comes to playing the guitar. It's the same thing. You need to stay loose but focused in order to play your best.

Let's see...

I seriously think regular workout gives you more appetite for anything. You eat better, you sleep better, you think clearer and faster, you have more energy, so yes as a consequence I'd expect you to practice guitar with greater interest.
Case in point: I have been skipping martial arts class for the past 5 months. My guitar practice has also dropped a lot. Well, you can blame a lot on the unbearable summer weather and my addiction to the computer, but even so, workout is an excuse to get off the screen and it makes it easier to get off the screen to practice guitar too.

Drugs... Excess usually doesn't get you far. You become sloppy and lose contact with what it is you're playing.

Having read a few rock 'n' roll autobiogs and biogs it seems to me that taking drugs wasn't only 'part of the scene' back in the day but it was also a way of surviving the boredom of touring countries like the US by bus.

I think it was more of a case where drugs were/are extremely abundant. If they had to shoot smack in order to survive the boredom of touring countries like the US, (oh the horror), then perhaps they should of stayed home and not made all that money from that awful touring.

Being stuck in a bus for months must be terrible. Especially a few decades back where a lot of the technologies/luxuries (sat tv, sat internet, computers in general) were unavailable.