I’m currently on week 6 of Insanity, which is the most ridiculous work out routine I’ve ever attempted. It’s a 9 week course, consisting of 6 days a week of grueling torture for about 1 hour (and sometimes more). To be honest, I’ll bet that it’s no more difficult than, say, high-school sports conditioning or any kind of team-sport practice. However, being that I’ve never done ANY of those things EVER (my mom didn’t let me play sports cuz you can’t play bass with broken fingers, haha) this has become the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Ever. And not only am I impressed with the results thus far (I’ve dropped almost 15 pounds and the beer-gut is on its way out!), I’ve never felt better in my life. It’s not even funny how big of a difference physical fitness makes in your daily life. I go to sleep easy, wake up easy, have plenty of energy throughout the day and I am much more focused, and besides the physical results I’m much more stable mentally and am therefore capable of accomplishing more throughout the day. I know I’ve blogged on this before, talking about how important your health is, so I’m not going to beat a dead horse here. Truth is, if you’re not taking care of your body, START TODAY! I can’t recommend it enough.

But that’s not really what I want to talk about today. Like I said before, I’m pretty sure I’ve already blogged on this subject before, and there’s nothing new here that you don’t know already. What I want to do, however, is apply this level of intense focus on my bass playing. Because I’ll be honest; I haven’t been practicing much lately, and I can tell. I mean, I play all the time, maybe about 6 gigs a week and I’ve been hitting the studio really hard this past month (I’m excited to release some more info on those projects soon!), but I don’t really PLAY, you know what I mean? Lately I’ve mostly going through the motions, executing the lines, and feeling like I have my head above water… But nothing more than that. I haven’t been progressing, learning new things, and advancing the way that I have in the past. I feel very lethargic in my playing at the moment, and I want that to change. It’s not really a problem yet, because even though I can tell, the band can’t yet. But they will soon, if I continue on long enough. And pretty soon the audience will be able to tell too. When those two start noticing, you know you’re in trouble!

Much like I was feeling physically before beginning the Insanity program, I now feel in my musical fitness: lethargic, tired, lazy, under-whelmed, and feeling the need of “getting into shape.” I’m being very honest of open here: I want to feel the way I felt 2 months ago about my bass playing. I want to get back into the game! I want to feel alive again! It’s time for some Bass Insanity.

The best part about Insanity is its level of organization. I pop on this video and I go until it’s done. I eat what it tells me to eat when it tells me to eat it. It takes a lot of extra time and preparation (and frankly, money, as well) but it’s worth it. My method of practice has always been through this same level of organization. I try to cover six key areas of practice that will ensure that I am getting the level of “fitness” that my musicianship requires and NOT just over-exercising one area of playing. In other words, I don’t just practice a technique or a song; I work on timing also, and improvisation, and theory, and reading, and… Just like I wouldn’t go to the gym and do bicep curls for 2 hours either; I’d make sure there’s a healthy balance or core, cardio, back, chest, arms, legs… You get the point.

Besides organization, in order to see results we need diligence and discipline. I wake up at 5 am to do my Insanity workout and prepare my meals for the day. I have done this every day of every week for the past 5 weeks and the results I see are directly related to this level of dedication. When you’re constructing your practice routine, you need to make sure that you STICK TO IT! Don’t make excuses, don’t let things get in the way, and make it a priority.

I’m speaking for myself here when I say that I NEED TO GET BACK INTO MUSICAL SHAPE. And the keys to getting there are organization and discipline. And maybe you’re feeling the same way too. If so, I advise you to structure a practice routine for yourself. If you don’t know how, check out this video I did a few years back about how to create your own practice routine so that you’re covering all the bases (pun intended).

I also advise you to seek coaching. There are plenty of online resources, both free and premium, books, videos and teachers in your area that can help you get to where you want to be. Remember that nothing happens overnight, but about 5 weeks from now you’ll look back (or, I guess “listen back”) and be glad that you made the decision TODAY to make your practice routine a priority.