Even if you practice 4 hours a day, if you are prone to playing-related injury, you will never have a long term performing career.

I'm a certified personal trainer, have professionally worked in the wellness industry for over 8 years, and have played violin for 22 years (without ever having any form of injury.)

What I've found is that weight training is the single most underutilized and underestimated form of injury prevention for string players, as it corrects instrument-related imbalances, strengthens key muscle groups, and fixes poor posture.

Here are the 7 movements I recommend all string players do if you have a history of playing-related injuries, or want ensure longevity in your performing career.

Note: Instructions for proper form will not be given in this article but a quick google or youtube search of the exercise will show you how to perform each movement. I would also recommend you seek the guidance of a credible personal trainer to learn how to execute each movement safely, before doing it on your own.

CORE

After warming up and foam rolling / stretching, I always recommend starting with 1 - 2 exercises that target your abdomen.

This enables you to get in the habit of using your core throughout the rest of your workout. Additionally, it gives you the ability to feel and activate your core while playing, which is very helpful for producing a deep, yet unforced tone.

My go-to core exercises are: plank / side plank, captain's chair leg raise, ab roller.

VERTICAL PULL

A vertical pulling movement means you are vertically pulling yourself up, or pulling weight down towards you (think pull up.)

Playing stringed instruments tends to put us into positions that cause us to round our backs, shoulders, and neck inwards, which if done chronically, will inevitably lead to injury.

Pulling movements counteract this tendency, by strengthening the muscles in our back and shoulders. I always recommend doing at least 2 pulling movements for every pushing movement.

My go-to vertical pull exercises are: wide or narrow grip lat pulldown, chin up, and pull ups.

HORIZONTAL PULL

A horizontal pulling movement means you are horizontally pulling yourself forward, or pulling weight backwards towards you (like a rower rows a boat.)

This is again to correct string players tendency to have weak back muscles and round our spine and neck forwards.

My go-to's are: Single arm dumbbell row, seated cable row, bent over dumbbell or barbell rows.

REVERSE FLYS

While vertical and horizontal pulling movements are great at strengthening the larger muscles of the back (lats and rhomboids,) reverse flys are particularly helpful for strengthening the posterior (back) muscles in the shoulders and smaller muscles in the upper back.

This is especially important for violinists and violists to help them maintain upright and neutral posture while playing, but I'm sure has benefits for cellists and bass players as well.

My go-to's are: incline bench dumbbell reverse fly, cable face pull, bent over cable reverse fly.

SINGLE ARM MOVEMENTS

Because playing a stringed instrument is far from a symmetrical movement, most string players have large muscle imbalances from one side to the other.

Muscle imbalances cause us to perform everyday movements improperly, force us to favor different sides of our bodies, and over time lead to injury.

In addition to static and dynamic stretching and foam rolling, the best way to correct these imbalances is through single arm or single leg movements, so that each side and muscle can be isolated and strengthened individually.

My go-to single arm movements are: single arm dumbbell or cable rows, single arm cable pull down, single arm reverse fly.

Note: For single arm / leg movements, always start with your weaker arm or leg and only do the max number of repetitions that you were able to do with your weaker side. For example, if your right arm is stronger, start by doing the exercise with your left arm, do as many reps as you can before proper form breaks down, and do not exceed that rep number with your right arm.

SINGLE LEG MOVEMENTS

You can also solve muscle imbalances by training each leg at a time.

This can be particularly important for bass or cello players, who are often leaning more heavily on one leg or may have hip imbalances due to sitting improperly, etc.

My go-to single leg exercises are: bulgarian split squat, reverse lunge, lateral lunge.

HIP HINGE

A hip hinge movement is where the back and stomach stay in a neutral position, while you bend forward. The power for this movement comes primarily from the hips and glutes, rather than the back.

I include this because any movement that strengthens the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, back) will help string players correct hip tightness that happens from hours of sitting in a chair, and improve posture.

My go-to hip hinge movements are: glute bridges (double or single leg,) deadlift, romanian deadlift.

Take one exercise from each of these fundamental movement patterns and make that into a gym routine of 7 total movements.

If you do that 2 - 3 days a week, I guarantee it will 10x your chance of preventing playing related injury, allow you to play with better posture, and make you feel strong and confident!