Singers Are Vocal Athletes

Singers are athletes. Ever since I started singing and experiencing firsthand the physical demands singing places on the body, I’ve believed that singers are athletes of the voice.

So I was super excited when I heard others in the singing community use terms like Vocal or Voice Athlete!

But my excitement fizzled out quickly because it became apparent that a lot of singing professionals use the term Vocal Athlete simply to acknowledge that singing is an active endeavour, that it is physically demanding, that it is athletic as in you are not just taking a nap.

But there is so much more to it than that!

Singing is certainly a dynamic and physically demanding activity, but that is only half the story.

The other half that I wholeheartedly believe in is that singers are literally athletes and therefore CAN and SHOULD train like athletes.

This means adopting the same scientific principles sports people use for priming, conditioning, recovery, load management, hydration and nutrition, sleep, sports psychology for singing.

Singing with good vocal technique is very important, absolutely, but without a strong, fit and limber body, singers can struggle with a lot of non-vocal technique related issues. The most blatant example is your Breath Support.

Your Breath Support comes from your Core, your core is a group of muscles, so naturally if you want efficient and reliable breath support, you MUST Strengthen your Core.

Also, your voice is not just in your larynx, your voice is literally a musculoskeletal instrument in the centre of your body, there is myofascial connections that connect your voice from your head to toe, this is what I call your Myofascial Voice™.

As a physiotherapist, I believe it is essential for singers to strengthen their core and Integrate their Myofascial Voice™ with specifically designed exercises so the entirety of your voice works as one harmonious whole when you sing, like a well-rehearsed band.

Apart from core strength and Integration, your Cardiovascular fitness is key for Breath Management and not running out of breath when you sing.

A solid recovery routine is important for vocal, physical and mental recovery.

Good mobility is vital for efficient breathing and free movement.

Sound load management is crucial for recovery and reducing the risks of overuse voice issues. No singer is exempt from overuse injuries, it doesn’t matter how good your vocal technique is, if you don’t respect your vocal capacity, you are going to run into trouble.

It’s like money, you “spend” all your capacity, keeping spending and you will be in “debt”.

So if you’re confident with your singing technique but still struggle with pesky little things like:

• Running out of breath.
• You don’t trust your breath support to always be there, you’re still stressing about that high note in the bridge.
• You randomly get pitchy and you don’t know why. You are exhausted after singing and everything feels tight.
• You struggle with Low back pain, chronic neck tightness.
• You have tension in your jaw and larynx making it harder to sing and difficult to access your range.
• Your breath support feels heavy, awkward, straining, and make you feel like you might pee your pants when you sing high or belt.

All these are symptoms of Insufficient Core Strength, Inefficient or even improper Breath Support Technique and Poor Integration of your Myofascial Voice™.

The good news is that these are all things you can retrain and develop with the right movement exercises and I have a program for Myofascial Voice Integration™ coming soon but I know, if you’ve watched this far, you’re keen to get started so I’ve got you.

The first thing I would encourage you to do is to make sure you are using your core muscles correctly, because this is the foundation to developing effortless breath support, to Integrating your Myofascial Voice™ and the basis of good movement.

To help you do that, I have created a FREE mini course “Introduction to Breath Support” where I teach you how to correctly contract your transversus abdominis and your pelvic floor, which are the main muscles of your core and I also teach you the first step to Integrating your Myofascial Voice™. You can grab the free training using the link in the description.

I’m Selina, a physio and a singers, I’m on a mission to help singers become Vocal Athletes, to use sports science to enhance their vocal efficiency and performance, if that is your vibe, please subscribe.

This is a playlist I’ve made just for singers so make sure you check it out.

Thank you for watch and ’til next time, Be Free In Your Movement.™