He connected Blondie drummer Clem Burke to heart rate and oxygen uptake measuring equipment, and revealed that:

- in 90 minutes of drumming, heart rate could go up to 190 beats a minute (averaged 140-150 beats a minute). This is comparable to other athletes.
- drumming for an hour in concert would burn 400 to 600 calories

And while top English Premiership footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo are expected to play a game or two a week, meaning 40 to 50 games a year, drummers on tour would be doing it EVERY night, at DIFFERENT venues. In the case of Burke, he once played 90-minute sets at 100 concerts in a year!

Why is this study important? Because this could help develop outreach programmes for overweight children who are not interested in sport: it’s more likely they’re interested in music – which youngster doesn’t?

Time to dust off that old drum kit: it’s definitely more fun than the old treadmill or doing laps at the pool.

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