Tuned & Strong

“No one is coming to save you.”   

How much do you know about YOUR body and movement mechanics? How much do you rely on a single person to know these things for you? 

In this episode, we unpack the tendency of relying excessively on a single expert to tell you about your own body, and why it’s important to know yourself and communicate with your practitioners. Because a brace won’t fix it!!

“That concert was a workout!”

Ever wondered how true that statement is? In this episode, we chat with Dr. Nadia Azar, Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Windsor and head of Drummer Lab!

As a researcher, Dr. Azar studies drummer mechanics and ergonomics. Join us as she shares her current research, projects, findings, and an exciting upcoming grant project that looks into wellness work inside the private studio!

You can find more about Dr. Azar here!

Social Media (all): @DrNadiaAzar

Garrett Hope is a composer, podcaster, coach and one of the founders of  The Ultimate Music Business Summit.  This episode is packed with  positivity around money, mindset, business, self-worth and opportunity  among others.  It’s a podcast you don’t want to miss!

Dr. Garrett Hope’s purpose is to use his God-given creativity and  communication skills to entertain and enlighten, draw people together  for a common cause, and to coach others to see new opportunities.

An award-winning composer of film and concert music, Garrett engages  with performers and audiences to tell stories and create life-changing  experiences. He loves working with educational ensembles, and especially  values his work with students.    As a coach and public speaker, Garrett empowers people to see new  opportunities and take courageous action. He does this by helping them  identify and break through the beliefs that they hold about themselves  that are preventing them from achieving their potential. He helps  creatives build networks and make strategic business decisions so they  can make a living doing what they love.

Garrett holds degrees from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the  University of Northern Colorado, and Colorado Christian University. He  is a native of Colorado, but currently lives in Nebraska with his wife  and daughter.

Garrett’s Podcast: The Portfolio Composer 

The Ultimate Music Business Summit, January 6-8 2022 

Dr. Allyson Royal is a violist and educator active in the Tallahassee and surrounding areas. In her past life as an athlete chasing down the title of "Superwoman," she faced a massive injury in the form of multiple herniated discs, pinched nerves, and degenerative disc disease. After years of being told to "stop moving," Allyson is back to working with her body again and finding new ways in which it is, in fact, capable! Join us as we discuss her process of growing from athlete to resting, and once again back to aspiring mover!

Find Allyson online!

Whew...this can be a touchy subject among any group, musicians or not,  and in this episode of the Tuned and Strong podcast we get raw and real  about our own different experiences with it.

Many times, eating disorders can find their roots in emotional trauma. Angela's experience with binge eating disorder boiled down to feeling  trapped in her circumstances -  Both Jen and Angela can relate their  circumstances to feeling a lack of control and a lack of structure.   These things can manifest as eating disorders because we are seeking to  either find control through controlling weight or that lack of control  can manifest as a binge. We also cover how we got out of it: being  present, giving yourself permission and sitting with reality, among  other things.

If you have other resources you can add to this, please share!

Resources we mentioned:

Counseling/therapy - finding a counselor who specializes in EMDR

Books by Geneen Roth:

Veronika Klírová is a flute player at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a yoga teacher for musicians and a passionate performance wellbeing advocate. She completed her first yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, India in 2018 and has been teaching and further educating herself on this subject ever since. Through her business Musicians’ Yoga with Veronika she helps professional musicians avoid injury and burnout so that they can enjoy sustainable careers staying connected to their love of music. She’s delivered Musicians’ Yoga sessions for the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Roy Agee It's one of the biggest names In the Nashville session and touring scene. The trombonist for Prince from 2012 to 2016, he has toured and played with and for just about everyone but success isn't all it looks like from the outside, being your authentic self, as Roy explains to us, is what is the utmost importance. From discussing some childhood trauma that triggered his weight gain and other struggles to finding his voice in music and learning to play for himself instead of for others, Roy teaches us what is possible when you get out of your own way.

McKenzie Cooper is a flutist/piccoloist with a love of powerlifting and  Olympic weightlifting (Power-building-olympic-weightlifting) talking  about navigating the world of cubital tunnel syndrome. We talk about  different modalities relating to nerve issues as well as navigating the  world after college, getting bulky as a female, worried about injury  during weightlifting as a musicians, endometriosis (and navigating the  practitioner landscape) and business.  If you're looking for a podcast that that addresses your concern as a  young musician (what you wish you knew), gym intimidation, how fitness  can enhance your musical career and also, what to to do after  school....this is it.

To find more about McKenzie:

References: 

Do we have a treat for you today!  Vinnie Ciesielski is a trumpet player with an incredible story!  Having performed on over 6,000 recordings he has toured/performed/recorded with such artists as Keb Mo, Martina McBride, Stephen Tyler, Kirk Franklin and Carmen....just to name a few.

Vinnie takes us on his personal journey of "finding his groove" after doctors told him if he didn't loose weight he would die, to finding cycling, healthy habits, positive outlook in the face of tragedy, going from broke to successful (and letting other musicians know it's OK to be successful and no you DON"T have to be broke your entire life) and most importantly, besides discipline to get there?  Don't be a jerk!

You can find more about Vinnie at:

Successful music studio business owner, violist, strongman competitor and recent mom, Ashley Hagadon joins us for a conversation you can lump under "things I didn't learn in music school but should have". We cover how to go from traveling teacher to owning your own studio, taxes, marketing/branding, logo design (remember this: people don't read!), contracts, getting paid and how to put more responsibility on your students/clients so you aren't doing EVERYTHING.

Also covered - get a CPA!

We also delve into how to she went from cardio bunny to Crossfit to finding her way into loving Strongman lifts and more importantly, how it has helped her as a musician!

Takeaways:

 • get a CPA  (they aren't as expensive as you think) 

• Keep logo simple and marketing pretty- people look at pictures, they don't read 

• Lifting for strength and lifting for size are completely different - if you want to get strong you won't automatically look like a bodybuilder.

References from today: 

Austin Pancer, known as The Functional Musician is a bass trombonist ad  Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist with the  National Academy of Sports Medicine. After blowing out his forearm and  then shoulder through overuse on the trombone and being told by multiple  doctors that "maybe you should consider a career change" he did...and  then decided to fix him self which transitioned into helping other  musicians.

We had SUCH a good conversation with Austin, we decided that we needed to continue it!

Check him out on IG at:

Christine Clancy had a myriad of interests that didn't seem to go together: a flutist who got her bachelor's degree in neuroscience, she is the first American to be certified in Timani - where it all made sense.   In this episode, we go deep, uncovering how much isn't your fault as a musician when it comes to the learning process (especially how it relates to the  body and phsyical learning) as well as some pedagogical techniques and changing language to learn that tension isn't all bad.

If you've been looking for that bridge between anatomy, nerdy science, pedagogy and music, this is it!

Tuned and Strong has a candid conversation with composer, Hillary Lester. We cover how type A personalities don't always transfer so well to the fitness scene, how to find your space in the fitness world, the benefits (especially elevated mood and increased confidence) and then have a much needed conversation about the state of mental health among musicians.

You can find Hillary at:

What does Corpsonore mean and  what do they do? Hannah Murray and  Madeline  Stewart usually do the interviewing but today we flipped the  tables and got to ask them about how they got stared, their mission,  their pocasts and guests and upcoming exciting projects!

In this episode, Dr. Jen and Angela, together with Chase Akers, talks  about how life with a disability is not a hindrance to rebuilding ability through fitness.

Find more about Chase Akers:

In this episode, Dr. Jen and Angela talk about their own personal struggles with imposter syndrome, and how to overcome it.

For more information, please visit our websites!

Yannick Tinguely is a musician and strength coach living in Berlin, Germany. As a bassist, producer, DJ and jazzer, his career has spanned the gamut from Techno to Classical, Jazz to pub music.  Join us in this conversation about how everything is connected when it comes to your health as a musician.

Find Coach Yannick on Instagram:

Mental Fitness, resiliency, positivity, embracing discomfort - all things   Dr. Rusty Holmes is more than happy to preach about! From completing  his doctorate in a pandemic, playing neighborhood concerts and  organizing  a 20 stop virtual lecture tour, to taking cold showers and  "doing hard stuff" we talk about how growth happens outside our comfort  zone and building resiliency and mental fitness both on and off the  stage!

Find more about Dr. Holmes:

In this short episode Jen gets it off her chest about how programs and certain pieces of equipment can trick people into buying them (and then buying more stuff when that stuff doesn't work) instead of helping people meet their goals.  Advertising isn't inherently misleading, but we delve into how things have to be difficult to make a change....which will segue perfectly into our next episode with our first guest Rusty Holmes!

For more information, please visit our websites!

In the final part of four series we talk about giving yourself permission to move in ways that feel good to you, recognizing burnout, getting rid of "shoulds" and negotiation tactics.

For more information, please visit our websites!

In continuing our conversation about the science and motivation behind exercise (going off the book "No Sweat" by Michelle Segar) we delve into topics like: 

1) The Wrong Why's - your motivation (or lack) is tied to your meaning  

2) The Cycle of Failure (and how to get out of it) 

3) Making exercise a gift instead of a chore 

4) autonomy and owning exercise the way that YOU want 

5) becoming aware of how your body wants to move instead of how you think it "should"  

And many other aspects of motivation!  There are several aspects of this episode we would really love your input on - drop a message in the comments when you hear them and let us know!  We'd love to see a full message board of people sharing similar experiences (you're not alone!)

For more information, please visit our websites!

How do you know if you're working out TOO much or too hard or a combination of those for too long? What about playing? What signs and symptoms should you be aware of to prevent burnout, injury or other underlying health problems you might not know about getting worse?  If "I'm tired"s are becoming a daily norm, more than just not getting enough sleep, there might be other things you should look at.

For more information, please visit our websites! 

We WERE going to be talking about the exercise psychology using the book "No Sweat" by Michelle Segar - but Angela's library audio book had to be returned and she only got the paper book a day or so before the podcast so she didn't have  time to read it!  That means we'll be covering it next week.

This week we talk about the different types of coaching, exercise programs and how to find the one that suits you best!

A recap of last week and the resources we mentioned (on the blog, check out the book for yourself!)

Ooooo we cover quite a bit here - delving into psychology, habits, compensatory behavior and nutrition - we share some vulnerable things and we'd love to hear from you.

More show notes here:

https://musicstrong.com/healthyhabits1/

Interested about the 10 week challenge? List is here: https://musicstrong.com/2021/01/top10/

(with last post being here: https://musicstrong.com/2013/06/10-2/)

In Episode 2 we're dealing with several weeks into the pandemic and the "safer at home" mandate from us as musicians and fitness professionals, and cover: 

Our first-ever crossover video between Tuned and Toned Performance and Music Strong! Join us as two sister businesses discuss overall elements of music, performance, and strength training!