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By Eric Normand
You might think that the life of a touring musician is easy – performing for thousands of screaming fans, sleeping late, eating at catering, free booze, lounging around all day on a million-dollar tour bus. While some, or all of this might be true depending on what tour you’re on, there are many other factors at play that can make the life of a traveling musician somewhat less than glamorous. Being away from your family, lack of privacy (rarely is there a moment on the road that you are not in the company of others), less than ideal sleeping conditions, and, believe it or not, too much free time, just to name a few. These factors can lead to a slew of problems – fatigue, depression, 
over eating, and overindulgence.
My recent outing with the Peach Pickers as an opening act on the Luke Bryan Farm Tour turned out to be a great experience and (thanks to a few forward thinking folks in Luke’s camp) a successful experiment in healthy living on the road. It turns out that several members from Luke’s band have built a daily gym run into their touring schedule, an activity that is open to the musicians and the opening bands, as well. Every day around 10:30 AM, anywhere between six and ten of us would pile into a runner van for a short ride to a local gym. Once at the gym many of us did our own thing, activities ranging from treadmill to circuit training to stretching and yoga.
Luke’s guitarist and bandleader, Michael Carter explained that “the one thing we do have out here is time” and that working out every day can be more difficult for people who work an eight hour workday with a commute. For many touring musicians, the first requirement of their work day is a sound check, usually sometime in the afternoon, and then the nightly show. Believe it or not, just lying around all day on a bus and watching TV can be tiring (not to mention boring) and this can be very draining. Not only does the morning workout speed up your metabolism and give you added energy for the day, it also temporarily removes you from “diesel city”, giving individuals a chance to have some privacy and clear the head.
Getting Creative:
Even on a tour of this level, working out at a gym can’t happen every single day, sometimes the closest gym is just too far away, a runner isn’t available at the necessary time, etc. When the gym run didn’t happen, we all got creative. On one day we all went for a run. On another day, when running wasn’t practical due to our location, we all found creative ways to get in a workout. Michael did a modified version of “Insanity” in the back of a semi trailer, a few members of Cole Swindell’s band (one of the other openers) played power frisbee, a few did some circuit training, and I did some yoga in a quiet corner of the field.
Healthy Eating:
While the issue of what is, and what is not healthy food is still a mystery to many in Western culture, and it can be a touchy topic yielding much debate for some, I am going to go out on a limb here – healthy food is food that allows me to feel good after I eat it, unhealthy food is food that makes me feel crappy after I eat it! That being said, my diet typically consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, healthy oils, and protein derived from poultry and fish (preferably raised in a healthy and sustainable environment) – and as you might guess, this kind of food isn’t always easy to find on the road. So you can imagine how pleased I was to find that the catering on this year’s Farm Tour featured a pretty happenin’ salad bar. Every day my lunch and dinner consisted of a big plate of mixed greens, carrots, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, grilled chicken, and topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I noticed that several of the other musicians on this tour made similar meals. On days when the main entrée was chicken and/or fish, and I would have this in addition to my salad for dinner. For breakfast, I was typically having a couple of eggs, some whole wheat toast, and a bowl of fruit.
To me, healthy eating on the road is all about choices and discipline. On this tour, there were many healthy options, and there were also unhealthy options. I’ve been on other tours that didn’t have catering with this many options, in those situations I often brought more of my own food. I generally steered clear of the “after show” food, which typically consisted of pizza, fried chicken, sandwiches on white bread, etc; and chose to eat almonds, corn chips and salsa, and of course, the occasional indulgence (it’s all about balance).
Building Community:
Taking advantage of my free time, I worked out every single day on this eight-show run across the Deep South. In addition to taking care of my body and helping me feel good, working out with members of Luke’s and Cole’s bands also helped create a sense of community. The more and more I get into healthy living, the more I want to align myself with others who are on the same path, and I instantly felt some common ground with the “2013 Farm Tour Gym Crew”. It was inspiring to be on a tour that gives musicians the option to have a daily workout, and a relatively healthy meal.
Healthy living isn’t just for a few oddball touring musicians.
So what if you work a day gig and don’t have as many idle hours during your day? Funny you should ask. In recent years my life as a touring musician has greatly diminished, and much of the time I’ve been holding down a steady day gig as a painter and drywall carpenter (something I’ve done on and off since high school). This job is very physically demanding, and if I don’t take care of myself, I am susceptible to shoulder aches, back pain, tendinitis flareups, and a whole host of other problems. Working out and healthy eating combats these problems. As far as daily workouts, I find that if I don’t do something first thing in the morning I might not get in any workout on that day. Knowing this, I make it a priority to do at least 30 minutes of exercise before leaving for work in the morning. I prepare my lunch the night before, usually consisting of leftovers from a healthy dinner, almonds, fruit, green tea and water.
I look at all of this as a choice. In addition to advanced planning, healthy eating simply requires a conscious decision to buy, prepare and eat healthy foods. The same is true for exercise, as I age, things hurt more, and the recovery time from injuries is longer. Rather than looking for answers within Western medicine, I choose a steady regiment of cardio, strength, and flexibility exercises (in addition to my healthy diet). I believe there is a healthy way to prepare all your favorite foods. And I believe that each individual has to find an exercise program that is right for them.
For more information about wellness through exercise and healthy eating, please visit http://www.doitthehardway.com/