Get Fit, Play Drums

“Rock drummers, some claim, are finely tuned athletes, as fit as any long-distance runner. But to get your head around that idea, you’ll have to put aside all sorts of assumptions and stereotypes. First, forget ‘Spinal Tap,’ that hilarious mockumentary in which all of the band’s besotted drummers perished mysteriously, such as in a gardening accident or by spontaneous combustion. Forget, too, ’70s icons John Bonham of Led Zeppelin and the Who’s Keith Moon, whose extended drum solos were seemingly fueled not by a well-developed cardiovascular system so much as by, well, pharmaceuticals. Consider instead: A recent study by two British sports scientists measured the heart rate, oxygen consumption, lactic acid buildup and peak endurance of Blondie drummer Clem Burke over a 10-year period ending in 2007 to find out just how much energy he used in a gig.”