Neil Peart was recently interviewed for a piece in today's New York Times on drumming and exercise. Neil talks about how he gets in shape for a tour:

... Neil Peart ... said that in the three and a half weeks of rehearsals before his band, Rush, began its 2012 tour last week, he dropped at least 10 pounds.

Mr. Peart, who reported changing out of sweaty clothes two and three times a day, joked: "Obvious business opportunity. 'Do you want to lose weight and tone your entire body, from your nose to your toes? Sign up now for the fabulous new Bubba Drum Workout!' " (Bubba is Mr. Peart's nickname.)

The weight loss wasn't because Mr. Peart, 59, was out of shape. He took up distance swimming in his 30s and favors cross-country skiing. On a day off between shows in Red Rocks, Colo., in 2010, he chose to flesh out the plot of a novelization of the band's 2012 "Clockwork Angels" album by climbing the 14,265-foot Mount Evans with his co-author, Kevin J. Anderson.

This year's pre-tour training regimen began in February. Three times a week, Mr. Peart would bike 20 minutes to his local Los Angeles Y.M.C.A., swap his helmet for a bandanna, and spend 30 minutes on the cross-trainer (keeping his heart rate near his recommended maximum), followed by calisthenics, yoga sun salutations (he held each pose for a count of 20 Mississippi) and the return bike ride home. (His favorite workout track? Silence. "The only activity I combine with music is driving," Mr. Peart said. "For me, exercise is an act of will.") ...

You can read the entire article at this location.

NOTE: Posts over 10 years old are partially archived. All comments, images and other embedded media have been removed.