Music Strong, LLC

01/22/2026

Who is at this week? As one of the biggest music shows in the country, I guarantee guitarists make up a large percentage of the musicians there. They definitely make up a huge percentage of the musicians here in Nashville and one of the ones that I take care of regularly.

This workout is designed specifically to help you have less shoulder pain, improve the muscle imbalances created by playing an asymmetrical instrument, increase the endurance of those muscles and be able to play your next 4-hour set with no problem.

Give these exercises a try before your next practice session and get all the details in the music strong membership https://www.musicstrong.com/membership

Thank you to former client for the fantastic shot and go check out his new album Butterfly Parade!!

01/22/2026

As musicians, we've been quiet about our health for too long.

That's finally starting to change.

Talking about mental health challenges in the industry is starting to become more norm and accepted, and about time!

There are a lot more challenges though, and one I hardly ever see talked about are the physical challenges of being a musician.

Musicians have the highest work injury rate of any profession: up to 90% of musicians experience playing related pain or injury as a direct result of playing their instruments. Almost 9/10 of us...and yet we suck it up and hope resting will fix it.

But rest doesn't fix an overuse injury and rest doesn't build strength. If the problem comes from either of those two issues, it will only get worse the more you rest and the more you play. You have to increase your strength AND endurance, and you also have to pay attention to the other muscles in your body that may not be doing their job, and are inhibited, weak and crying out in pain - which is why stretching them could make them worse.

Add, on top of this, the STIGMA of talking about injury rates.

No one bats an eye when a professional athlete gets injured. Yes, it's traumatic, but it's also somewhat expected. But athletes usually have a team of wellness professionals around them (strength coaches - AT's, PT's, trainers, etc - massage therapists, hot and cold therapy, compression therapy, training programs, nutritionists) that help them rehab that injury as soon as possible so they can get back to playing.
Add on top of that the training that happens pre-season.

What do musicians have?

*crickets*

HOPE is not a strategy.

Rest is not rehab.

Just because we're not chasing a ball doesn't mean we're not athletes (and not just of the small muscles - you use your entire body to play an instrument) which is why drummers need more core strength, trumpet players need more upper back strength and endurance in their shoulders (same with conductors), guitarists need more rotator cuff care and bass players....well, they need everything :)

In all seriousness, it's time for the music industry to wake up and take us seriously as the creative athletes we are. Chappell Roan said the quiet part out loud at the Grammy's last year and I was SCREAMING YES!!!!! in my hotel room. "We've got you, do you have us?" As a musician who has been injured I understand that feeling, because I was utterly and completely on my own. As a trainer and wellness professional, I understand because it's STILL being ignored and too often pain is seen as a weakness. IT's NOT!

Let me as you this:
What athlete has a 40 year career?
How many athletes have careers that span DECADES?
Musicians regularly do.
We hold instruments the same way, we lug gear, we run around stage, we haul equipment in and out of vehicles, on and off stage, and we play for HOURS a day, times DECADES.

It's time to change.

* Putting up a flyer about hearing health doesn't address the problem.

* A business card tacked to the wall back stage doesn't fix the tech who's afraid the next time he carries something up the stairs his back is going to give out.

* Mental health is HUGELY important, but it's only a part - your physical health can be directly tied to your mental health and vice versa (read the book SPARK! for tons of fun evidence)

It's time.

Let's make that change.

Let's change the stigma and start talking about it.

Let's ask those who have power over our contracts to advocate for our wellness.
(we should not have to advocate for our health, we are not animals, our health is essential to our careers and career longevity)

Who's with me?

Music Strong is growing into something bigger to help more musicians than ever before. I've been focused on personal training, which I love, but I want to help more people. I've currently consolidated all my programs into my membership site:

*my 2-day intensive on Job Security for Musicians breaks down the stigma and mindset that leads to injury, the musician's specific anatomy, and how to design instruement specific strength training programs to preven playing related pain.
* short and long instrument specific workouts
* bodypart specific workouts for pain points (crunchy shoulders, painfrul wrists, aching elbows, low back pain, pinchy hips, etc)
* guest artists that are experts in the musician wellness space
* presentations for all kinds of groups
* endurance training
*strength training

You can check it all out at: www.musicstrong.com/membership (click on any of the cards that say "join now" to see what's offered, I don't hide anything!)

I really want to meet with musicians on - site: if you're a studio or rehearsal space who values wellness, let's talk Nashville Rock

I'm also working on putting together a series of Musician wellness retreats - 1 in Nashville and another on the West coast in August

And the Music Strong Wellness Center for Musicians - the ambitious goal is to open by end of year.

It's time to band together and help each other. Because when we compete we lose, but when we create and collaborate we win!

Drop your info below - and tag someone who should be involved.

Thank you to all the music industries who are looking out for us!

MusiCares MusicFit Records Porter's Call Music Health Alliance
Armaid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf-j1Ep-kso

Watch Chappell Roan "demand" for a more equitable and sustainable music industry in her passionate acceptance speech after winning the Grammy for Best New Ar...

01/16/2026

What are workouts for musicians?

*Well they were the workouts that bring your body back into balance after all the years of playing

*They are the workouts that strengthen the muscles you use to play your instruments so you don't develop overuse injuries (you know like that pain in your elbow when you play or that nagging back pain when you go to load your kit? Yeah we get rid of that!)

* They can be anything from quick corrective exercise flows. You can do backstage to keep yourself playing. Strong to full workouts you can do in the gym that help you as a musician instead of just doing some random workout you found on the internet.

As a musician, you are an athlete and not just of the small muscles. Don't let anyone tell you that. But did you buy the extended warranty on your body? That warranty that came with the owners manual is going to wear out at some point. Get that extended warranty with the music strong membership!

We have everything from courses that teach you how to change your habits to how to improve your nutrition, to how to improve your sleep to improving your body awareness.

We have workouts that increase your strength and endurance as well as your mobility and decrease your pain

Join now at the discounted rate and get your first week free to try everything out. Cancel every time.

Link in bio
www.musicstrong.com/membership

01/05/2026

What a year..... I was a lot quieter over the last almost year and a half because I was deployed. I left October 2024 and returned 416 days later In December of 2025.

What started out well just got worse and worse and worse. You can see the stress in my face in these pictures, I don't even recognize myself.

My unit was deployed to the southern border and instead of what we were told, that we were supposed to go out in small groups as a surge unit, we were moved around the entire border.

One week in the desert in open Bay barracks, one month in El Paso, 2 months San Diego, 6 weeks and two hotels in Tucson, Arizona, and the bulk of it 8 months in the armpit of Texas: Laredo. Arguably the worst place I have ever been in my life.

The job went from incredibly rewarding: we were all actively involved with border patrol, catching drug smugglers and people smugglers, helped take 12 kilos of co***ne off the street. Just catching a jet ski (no small feet) working with the Coast Guard to staring at dirt and just trying to stay awake. We went from incredible views and a real sense of purpose to staring at (so much) dirt, feeling like we just had to get through this and we were just a number.

That being said, our unit saw more of the border than any unit in history in almost 14 months. I used to say they'd have to run out of girl scouts to deploy the reserve band. Well they did and we showed them that we are soldiers just like everyone else. 👍

Given the chance, I'd go back to Tucson or California and do that same job for a year any day. I never want to see Texas again. 😆

I did get to go to and I finally bought my own flute! A 602 With 14K lib and platinum riser, MZ-10.

I did get to go to DC for my first conference and stay at the incredible

I did get promoted (finally) The absolute last week 🙄

Now, back to business.

11/30/2025

So grateful! Music Strong now has not one, but TWO certifications through the !

Being certified as a Veteran-Owned small business or a Woman-Owned small business allows me to compete with the big boys for government contracts in specific areas where veterans or women (or in my case women veterans) are underrepresented.

Veteran owned business only accounts for 5.5% (about 300,000 out of 3-5 million) businesses in the US and while women own about 40% of small businesses, only a fraction are certified as WOSB. In fact, the goal of the Women-Owned Small Business program is to award 5% of federal contacting dollars to WOSB each year. In 2024, this fish was not met, with WOSBs receiving 3.44% of all federal contract dollars. As of 2024 only 4800 women-owned small businesses had been certified for the WOSB program.

I'm so grateful that these were approved and for the opportunity they present to get Music Strong in front of increasingly larger audiences and help greater numbers of people!

My next goal? Landing a government contract (maybe with .h2f ?) to be a contractor on strength and injury prevention to ALL military musicians!

If you've got a band - let's talk. Injury prevention can't start soon enough!

11/29/2025

Flutists have one of the highest injury rates among musicians, and after 4 playing related injuries myself, I decided enough was enough....for all of us.

Join me and the in a special class where I take the problems you are physically facing as a flutist and apply corrective exercise and strength training to help overcome (or prevent) them.

Free for members, $10 for non-members - once registered you'll receive a link to a survey so I can tailor this workshop specifically to the audience.

Rest and stretching can be good, but alone or misapplied they can make your symptoms worse. You HAVE to have strength and increase the endurance of the muscles that you use to play (especially the ones that hurt).

I'll show you how 😎👏💪

Drop your pain point as an instrumentaliat below and maybe I'll address it first!

11/23/2025

I'm redoing my series of short instrument specific workouts and I would so rather have a picture of an actual musician than a stock photo - drop.yours below or DM me and the winner will be featured - happy to promote you/your page/your music!