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Posted by: guitarguy93 Aug 26 2012, 06:25 PM

Title say's part of it. When I finish up practicing, I can throw out runs at 120+ BPM using 16th notes. When I stop and come back later, be it an hour later or a week later, I have to start at 70-80 BPM and work my way back up again. Obviously, it's because my muscles have to warm up, but this can take hours to achieve. How can I cut the time it takes to get from A to B so I can have more time to jam and practice?

Posted by: jstcrsn Aug 27 2012, 02:22 AM

this happens to me almost exactly as you describe
to get warmed up ,I think is going to be individual to you so you might have to experiment- but , tips can always help
mine are, coffee(warms up from the inside as well)
I start with triplets at 120(pentatonic runs covering all strings)and maybe some different positions on the neck
I usually do this and slight variations for about half an hour(this is about how long it takes me to warm up now)

Posted by: Slavenko Erazer Aug 27 2012, 10:50 AM

-The same happens to me! I just can't come around and blast over fretboard without pre-playing. Btw, i don't meen hours ,but i need some 10-15 mins to warm up on lower speeds (80-100 BPM) untill i can play 16th notes on 120+ BPM.
Maybe i just need to spend more then 1 hour/a day playing guitar, and less be on forum.

Posted by: Marcus Siepen Aug 27 2012, 11:52 AM

This happens to any player out there, no matter if it is you, me, John Petrucci or whoever else we might be talking about. You have to be warmed up to be able to play fast and reach your limits, when you are cold this is not possible. You have to find a nice routine for yourself about how to warm up properly. You won't have to warm up for an hour to be able to play properly, but you should at least plan on warming up for lets say 15-20 minutes. This should warm and relax your muscles, it should also be enough time to get your hands in sync. When I play here at home I usually warm up for about 20 minutes, this can be some chromatic runs, it can be going through certain scales, it can be just a couple of licks or riffs, that depends on my mood, but without warming up I won't be playing at my usual level. Before gigs I normally warm up for about one hour, cause here I have to be at 100% right from the start, I don't want to struggle my way through the first couple of songs. So warming up definitely important!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Aug 29 2012, 07:23 AM

This is quite common actually The good news is, once you find some good warm up workouts that mesh with where you are right now as a player, you cut the time from cold to shred down quite a bit. I"ve got several to suggest actually. Pretty much any of the first 10 lessons in the "Shred Journey" will do it

http://bit.ly/twtgmc

Posted by: guitarguy93 Sep 1 2012, 06:22 PM

Much thanks for the tips! Hours might've been a little bit of an exaggeration, but sadly, it was just that; Only a little bit. It can take upwards of 1 1/2 hours for me to warm up sometimes and on a good day, it's 45 minutes. What I was noticing was this:

When I finish practicing, my technique is beautiful at the speeds that I'm playing. When I start practicing, however, my technique is horrid. I was never quite able to put my finger on this until just recently, but maybe I just need to focus a little more on my technique while I warm up to cut some time.

Again, much thanks. I'll be trying these tips.

Much thanks for the tips! Hours might've been a little bit of an exaggeration, but sadly, it was just that; Only a little bit. It can take upwards of 1 1/2 hours for me to warm up sometimes and on a good day, it's 45 minutes. What I was noticing was this:

When I finish practicing, my technique is beautiful at the speeds that I'm playing. When I start practicing, however, my technique is horrid. I was never quite able to put my finger on this until just recently, but maybe I just need to focus a little more on my technique while I warm up to cut some time.

Again, much thanks. I'll be trying these tips.