Have you ever heard the old axiom, “If you want to get better at something, you just have to do it."

I was thinking about that this weekend as I recovered from the 9th Army Band's semi-annual 20-K Ruck March up here at Ft. Wainwright, AK. In order to ensure success, my Soldiers had to train-up and do multiple short ruck marches to get ready for the main event. Just marching, or running, or walking  or lifting weights wouldn't equal optimum success.

Muscles are peculiar things. They have to be used, tested, and molded in order to have success in whatever medium you are pursuing.

This boils down to a principle I learned when I received a physical fitness certification many years ago. The teacher must have said it well, because I still remember it. He said, "you adapt to what you need, so if you need to improve …focus your efforts." This Specific Adaptation to Intense Demands (The S.A.I.D Principle) had been introduced to me. At that point,  I realized I had been using this principle in many areas of my musical and military life.

We can all relate to playing more basketball to get better in basketball. "Doing" is the key. Being a musician is also a full-time athletic muscle intensive event.  Army Musicians have to use the S.A.I.D Principle to prepare for our use.

If you know many brass players or are one you can relate. They are always buzzing their lips. They routinely do the same warm-ups and cool-downs to coax their muscles to know exactly how to react when needed.

I still remember being in Norway a few years ago when I stumbled into then Staff Sergeant Paul Armstrong. He was one of my trumpet playing colleagues. I happened to hear him squealing out flawless trumpet lines multiple ledger lines above the staff,  3-hours before our show at the Norwegian Military Tattoo. He had found a quiet spot in a hotel ballroom to get ready for the evening. I heard him flawlessly address the same “high risk” line 15 times before I left him. He wasn’t over training. He was training his muscles to focus on what he had to accomplish later in the evening. He knew that if he hadn't prepared his muscles to perform, his success would have been limited. He was living the Army values. He was living our creed to be an expert and a professional in all we do.

Being an Army Musician has its unique challenges. We need balance. We need to achieve success in our military tasks and drills, but still be focused on our call to meet an unmatched professional standard of musicianship.  This definitely adds to the spice of our training day. Everyday is special and filled with different challenges.  It is a great way to serve our country and our colleagues.

Until next time…Arctic Warrior, Arctic Tough

 CW2 Jeff Price