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Rock drummers are as fit as footballers
Performing at a concert takes as much stamina as playing a Premier League match.
- Gulf News Report
- Published: 00:03 July 23, 2008
Dubai: Performing a rock concert puts a drummer through a workout as gruelling as playing a Premier League football match.
The study is the result of a slew of tests on veteran Blondie drummer Clem Burke.
It revealed that 90 minutes of drumming could raise his heart rate to 190 beats a minute. Dr Marcus Smith from Chichester University was quoted by BBC Online as saying that drummers needed "extraordinary stamina" and burnt between 400 and 600 calories during an hour in concert.
Burke, who provided the beat for hits such as Heart of Glass, Atomic and Call Me, was invited to take part in the eight-year project by Dr Smith, a diehard Blondie fan, BBC Online reported.
"Footballers can normally expect to play 40 to 50 games a year - but in one 12 month period, Burke played 90-minute sets at 100 concerts," said Dr Smith. So for those with an aversion to the gym, there's hope yet in the drumset.
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