Pounding the pounds off

I thought this was an interesting take on excercise, considering I am a drummer!

If you’re looking for a way to burn off excess calories in large numbers, but conventional exercises bore you to tears, you hate cycling, and your neighborhood and/or climate is unsuitable for jogging, here’s one more option to consider: become the drummer for a rock band.

Or just pretend to be one, by buying a complete set of drums, setting up down in the basement or garage or spare room, and getting down to it.

This suggestion is inspired by the news that researchers at the University of Gloucestershire have found, after extensive study and monitoring, that Clem Burke, drummer for Blondie, burns 400 to 600 calories per hour when performing onstage. This is a caloric tear on the order of running 10,000 meters or playing a pro soccer game.

Of course, the study involved concert-level exertion; rehearsals may not be as effective. And the genre would be important; there’s probably a considerable gap in energy expenditure between heavy metal and lounge jazz. Nevertheless, as physical exertion goes, banging the skins and cymbals is impressively efficient and could be a lot of fun in the bargain. Not to mention that it’s a great way to break a lease.