Yesterday on our podcast, Jen and I talked about some exciting things we have coming up! My exciting thing is the Covid Comeback Challenge!
You can secure your spot here, or hit that Contact Me button and tell me what instrument you play. Let’s do this!
You can secure your spot here, or hit that Contact Me button and tell me what instrument you play. Let’s do this!
You may not be performing on stage at the moment but practicing can still wear tear on your body. I’m here to help! In 1.5 hours I’ll will walk you through an instrument specific workout that will keep you strong, healthy and injury free throughout your career as a musician.
What you’ll learn:
Each workout is designed specifically for YOUR instrument and includes:
I will be hosting my Live Workout series most Tuesdays and Thursday at 10 AM CST with bonus “Essential Excercises” workouts on Sundays at 5:00 PM. If you can’t attend the session, not a problem! I will send you a recording following the workout to cover everything you need to know about the strength training you need!
Essential Exercises Workouts:
In these workouts we will go through my book and cover the basics of form and the bare bones exercises you need to be doing in any workout as a musician. These will be based off my book “The Musician’s Essential Exercises” – we will be going through the book, explaining and doing the exercises and also going through and doing the workouts in the back so you can feel competent going forward with any workout you do, knowing what is appropriate for you.
These workout are separate from the instrument specific workouts.
You do not need the book but it is helpful. These workouts are not included in the Buy 5 deal, but 1 workout IS included if you buy all as a package.
Upcoming Live Workshops
All instrument specific workouts are on sale for $49 until 2 days before, then they go up to the full price of $79.
For a limited time only, buy 5 & get 1 FREE! Enter coupon code BUNDLEDEAL at checkout!
All video access: You can get access to all 20 instrument specific workouts plus 1 Essential Exercises video for the discounted rate of $1200, which is 5 free classes and a savings of $400! That’s all 20 classes (both live AND recorded) and 20 instrument specific workout PDFs, plus the Essential Exercises class of your choice. Enter coupon code “ALL” at checkout. And don’t forget, there is the option to pay in installments, so you can space things out as you need to without waiting on the content.
FAQ
Why 1.5 hours?
This gives us the optimal amount of time without being rushed to be able to not just do a workout, but explain the how and why and lead you through it all.
Will we be working out the entire time?
Doing? Yes. Working out like you would normally do in a gym? No!
Do I need any equipment?
These are structured with little to no equipment, but I will definitely show you options if you do have equipment! Foam roller, lacrosse ball, exercise bands, dumbbells are all things I may use.
What if I can’t make the workout time?
All the workouts will be recorded so you can watch and re-watch anytime you want.
Will you see me?
Only if you want me to! You have the option to show your screen or not, totally up to you. If I can see you, I have the opportunity to see you in real time, giving you feedback on how you’re performing the exercise and answering your questions.
What happens after I make my payment?
You’ll be sent an email with the Zoom registration details, Make sure you click on that to register for the class! When you’ve done that, you’ll get the Zoom class link.
What if I have more questions?
Great! Let’s set up a time to talk! Email me at angela@musicstrong.com.
In this mini-episode of the Tuned and Strong, Dr. Jen Kabbas-May discusses her experiences with competition - both past and current - and how you can experience failure in a competition setting regardless of your given results.
Can you "fail" a competition even when you place 1st?
Join Dr. Jen on her journey to unpack the mental and emotional baggage associated with the competition setting and learned behavior, as well as a reframed mindset seeking a healthier approach.
If this resonates with you, leave a comment below and don't forget to our channel!
In this episode, Angela McCuiston of Music Strong & Dr. Jen Kabbas of Tuned and Toned Performance discuss the importance of self-advocacy, considering a practitioner's background, and key considerations for developing a productive professional relationship in a medical, fitness, or educational setting.
We also keep you updated on some things that we are offering - we'd love for you to be a part of!
Jen and Angela talks about the difference between what they do for for solo vs. shows/pit performance vs. orchestral playing vs. auditions and what we do to before, during and after playing as well as how we alter our regular workout routine before a performance.
If you'd like a specific pre-performance workout, Check out "The Musician's Essential Exercises" available on the website, Amazon or Google Books.
In this episode, we delved into psychology, habits, compensatory behavior and nutrition and more.
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: Ep. 11 Healthy Habits Part 1: Nutrition
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.
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!
You can find more about McKenzie at:
In this blog, we discussed “DRY NEEDLING” with Peak Tempo PT Dr. Abby Daunis. She is a physical therapist here in Nashville, Tennessee specializing in athletes especially triathletes and runners.
Abby is a physical therapist who specializes in orthopedics. She earned her doctorate from Texas Woman’s University, School of Physical Therapy in 2013. She has worked as an outpatient physical therapist since that time. Abby is certified in dry needling, Kinesiotaping, SFMA level 1, and USATF level 1.
Abby is a lover of endurance sports. She is a runner and triathlete. She has completed three marathons and multiple half-marathons, 10Ks, and 5Ks. She competes in triathlons ranging from sprint distance to Half Iron Man distance. She thoroughly enjoys treating endurance athletes and helping people return to sport and recreation.
We will cover all kinds of things from nerve entrapment to what numbness and tingling means, who to see, how PT and training work together and how strength training benefits musicians.
She’s been helping me, as a musician, I’ve been going through some cervical radiculopathy. It has something to do with, some compression here in my neck from too many car accidents. And I’m calling it the fourth injury I’ve had from playing the flute. It started with the car accidents, but then after that, being a hyper mobile person, it all happened when I was carrying a heavy backpack through the Atlanta Airport, like 50 pound backpack for two days.
I was cramming for a recital on alto flute and I was trying to get started in doing push ups and preparing for my army physical fitness test. It was going okay, but it was just too much too soon and something had to give and I already had some issues with my neck. So what happened was that I had some compression in the discs and now I can’t feel my fingers but it’s getting better and that’s the situation that Abby’s gonna talk about:
Today I am talking to flautist Angela McCuiston. In our chat Angela passionately shares her story of how a series of playing-related injuries have caused her to become a Fitness Trainer for Musicians.
Angela McCuiston is a NASM-CPT, CES, SFS and CETI-CES (Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist, Senior Fitness Specialist and Cancer Exercise Specialist) and owner of Music Strong, a business that specializes in personal fitness training for musicians.
Winner of the 2007 NFA Piccolo Master class, Angela received her Master of Music in Flute Performance from Florida State University and her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Tennessee Technological University. An avid performer, Angela is Assistant Principal/Piccolo of Sinfonia Gulf Coast of Destin, Nashville Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony and Nashville Flute Choir. Joining the military soon after 9/11 she recently became a member of the 313th Army Band in Huntsville, AL, after completing a 16-year tenure in the 129th Army Band in Nashville, TN. In addition to her solo performances, she has performed with such celebrities as Kristen Chenowith, Pink Martini, Jamie Bernstein, Morgan James, Chris Mann, Nancy Griffith and Mary Wilson of the Supremes.
As a trainer, Angela maintains several training locations in Nashville and also travels to give her workshops and presentations, most notably presenting at the National Flute Association Conventions in Salt Lake City, UT; Las Vegas, NV, Washington, D.C. and Orlando, FL. Among her recent workshops, she has travelled to present at Arizona State University, Florida State University, Stephen F. Austin University, Ft. Lewis University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga among others.
Recently she was sought out by the Old Guard, Army Fife and Drum Corps as a special consultant to prevent playing related injuries. She has since taken up residence on the faculty of the Stetson University flute camp and has been sought out for numerous other positions including her recent appointment Fall of 2018 as Chair of the National Flute Association Performance Health Committee and adjunct flute professor at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN in August 2020.
In February 2019 she published her first book: The Musician’s Essential Exercises, with plans to branch out into instrument-specific volumes in the near future. During the pandemic of 2020 she recorded over 20 instrument specific workouts available for download.
When she is not performing or training, Angela can be found riding her Trek road bike as many hours as there are sunshine. She recently completed her 4th century ride (100+ miles) and has a goal to ride between 5-12 centuries and log 5,000 miles.
Angela is constantly on the search for new research and her studies include Aexander Technique, Barbara Conable’s “What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body” Body Mapping Class and Eva Amsler’s classes in Dynamic Integration in addition to live workshops with NASM, most recently traveling to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to complete coursework in Neurokinetic Therapy.
Angela’s book
In print: https://musicstrong.com/meeprint/
eBook: https://musicstrong.com/ebook/
On Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vyZhsv
Other Activities
Instrument Specific workouts: (free short ones are on her YouTube channel, these are longer and better done)
Covid Comeback Challenge
