The Ultra Performance Musician: Lessons for Musicians from Olympic Mountain Biker Ann Trombley

For centuries, musicians have embraced time honored pedagogical methods for improvement and mastery on our instruments. Knowledge is passed on through an oral tradition comprised of lessons and masterclasses. This unique tradition can also be self-limiting, lacking in a holistic approach that includes mind and body. The Ultra Performance Musician is intended to share knowledge between musicians and other disciplines to explore new paradigms for health and performance.

This project is a series of lessons on how wind musicians can benefit from the knowledge of athletes, medical professionals, researchers, coaches, and more. The Macmillan Dictionary defines ultra as “outside a particular range.” Striving to become ultra pushes us to find new ways to perform better and healthier.

An under-explored aspect of this synergy comes from non-team sports athletics. Like musicians, these people are usually more on their own when it comes to conditioning and training than team athletes. This grouping includes many endurance athletes who often receive less attention than team sports, such as ultramarathoners, mountain bikers, triathletes, rock climbers, mountaineers, hangliders, freedivers, and others.

The athletes involved in this project go beyond the normal distances or feats considered achievable by the average human: running for days at a time, flying long distances, free climbing impossible rock faces, and holding their breath for minutes on end while alone in the ocean. Though these athletes are pushing the boundaries of human capabilities, they often are less recognized than those who work for larger corporate sports franchises.

Ann Trombley, Olympian

Ann Trombley, Olympic mountain biker, is a legend in the cycling community with a long list of titles and accolades. She is one of only three women to qualify for and compete in the Sydney Olympics on mountain biking; an event in which she placed sixteenth. She was ranked second in the US national cross-country series in 2000 and has a long list of accomplishments as an athlete. Trombley is a physical therapist, living above 8,000 feet in Nederland, Colorado.

Her acumen as not just an athlete, but a healer, have given her a unique outlook on conditioning and training, skills that are as applicable for musicians as they are for athletes. She has not been content to rest on her laurels; but has learned how to be a teacher and to support her community of women. This combination of fierce athletic skills and the ability to impart the lessons of success to others, made Trombley an ideal candidate for this project.

Talking by phone from her Nederland home, Trombley’s demeanor is engaged but also relaxed on a perfect Colorado sunny day. As a physical therapist, she talks about the importance of maintaining the body for both musicians and athletes. She has spent a lot of time thinking about physical and mental training, not just for herself, but also for others. As she speaks, her determination and enthusiasm are infectious.

Building experience

One of the first things that I ask Trombley about was about her path to the Olympics and how one trains for such a monumental event. She says, “it definitely takes a good ten to fifteen years to do really well.” This concept of the expert is echoed by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, where he writes about needing 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in a field.

Though in recent years, there has been a backlash to Gladwell’s hypothesis, with assertions that the quality of practice is as important as the quantity, there is still no doubt that it takes an extraordinary amount of time to master a discipline.

Likewise, Trombley talks about the commitment that it takes to get to the Olympics:

It takes years. I can only really speak about mountain biking, but I think about any of the sports that you do for the Olympics take a lot of years to get prepared for. The preparation is really by doing races and, obviously, training. So, I would think similarly for you guys (musicians), first you start with the local races and then you go to the national races, and then you go to World Cup races, and then you go to the World Championship.

Relaxation and visualization

There are many correlations between Trombley’s methods to become a great mountain biker and those required to become a successful musician. When I ask her about her physical and mental training techniques, some of the first things that come up are relaxation and visualization. She visualizes what needs to get done in the race and the way that it will feel. She applies relaxation to technique, such as smoothing out the pedal motion on a mountain bike.

Trombley emphasizes visualization in her preparation and getting ready for everything that she can ahead of time. This allows her to be present and relaxed in races. She describes a technique that could work in the same way for musicians:

I would lay on my bed, doing some relaxation and deep breathing techniques, letting the good air in and the bad air out. A technique that a lot of people use is to relax your toes, relax your ankles, travel up your body, and relax everything. Then, although you can't visualize the whole course, you can visualize the start. You can visualize some of the technical sections and what you want to do there. What I have people do is, if they've had a good race, to remember what that feels like. Remember what your body felt like, what you saw, what you smelled and remember all of the senses. Then put yourself on this course you're going to do. You can visualize, ‘I remember what it felt like to flow on a climb.’ Put yourself in that space and then put yourself on this course. And the visualization shouldn't be too long, about fifteen minutes. You're not there meditating for two hours; you are just playing through the start, part of the course and the finish. Because when I get nervous, I remember I have already gone through the race. The more you do it, the more relaxed you are going to be during the race.

This visualization technique can be compared to concentrating on directed air for a wind player and focusing on proper form for musicians, while imagining what we want to achieve in performance. If these elements are incorporated in a relaxed manner, we learn how to become effective without tension, leading to greater joy and expression on stage.

As opposed to some of the younger athletes that I spoke with, Trombley can reference the long game, both mentally and physically in regards to keeping a relaxed approach:

It still takes a good five to six years to get that experience. I think what you see probably in any sport or probably in in your profession also, is sometimes you get these phenoms who do really well in the first year or two. But with us, what you see is they drop off. It is that beginner's luck. They're just putting it all out there. But then when you realize how good you actually are, then you have all this stress and pressure. So, then you have to learn to deal with that, which takes years. If you're more relaxed about it and, and just have fun with it, you're going do better than if you put a lot of pressure on yourself.

Camaraderie and positivity

Trombley emphasizes the importance of keeping a healthy mental attitude and keeping it all in perspective. She takes the approach of fostering good relationships and a positive outlook in her training, racing, and interactions. She says, “if you're more relaxed about it and, and just have fun with it, you're going do better than if you put a lot of pressure on yourself.”

She references Haley Batten, a Paris Olympics Silver Medalist. Trombley says, “I did some coaching with her early on, we would do European camps with the juniors, and she was always happy, like, 'this is great, we’re having fun!" Haley has a really good attitude.” Batten says, “I love living my life as fully as possible,” reflecting Trombley’s inspirational attitude.

A positive outlook is very important for musicians as well, who are facing long years of preparation and apprenticeship before getting to the professional level. Once one becomes successful, it’s important to help others in their careers. Lifelong musical friendships can keep us learning throughout our professions and foster healthy life/work relationships.

Along the lines of collegiality, I ask Trombley about camaraderie because she has formed initiatives that work for the benefit of women in the sport:

If you're rooting for each other, you are going do a hell of a lot better than if you're fighting against each other. Some of my best and most fun races were when I was out there, pushing the other women, but we were having fun with each other. You would finish the race and say, ‘oh my God, that was the most fun I've ever had.’ I believe with training and even with racing, if you can really support each other, then the saying ‘high water raises all boats,’ really is true, it’s a group effort.

Staying in the zone

One of the topics that I discuss at length with Trombley was this idea of positivity and keeping competition in perspective. I ask her if she has had to tune out a lot of external noise and chatter before a big event:

Yes. And sometimes I'd have to go sit alone because I would get really nervous before races. So, I would have to go sit and calm myself. I would be nervous, but once I'd got on a bike, then I would be okay. Because I know how to ride my bike. I'm good at this.

Trombley’s experience has a direct correlation to music and the importance of staying focused. This is important in preparation, but also vital on the big audition or performance day. It’s easy to get distracted and frazzled with too many conversations and influences. In contemporary times, this also pertains to the phone and other devices: make sure to keep the concentration and mental advantage. By keeping the focus inward before a big performance, we have the energy to execute properly on stage.

Don’t worry about what you can’t control

Trombley emphasizes not worrying about what you can’t control in a race situation, choosing instead to focus on preparation and visualization for the big day. She says,

I remember my sports psychologist saying control the things that you can control and tune out the things that you can't. For example, for us it's the weather...let that go. For me it was always hard if it was raining the night before and the course was going to be super gnarly and sloppy…but guess what? It's going to be gnarly and sloppy for everybody. What I can control is, ‘what's my tire pressure? Do I have the right cleat? And what am I wearing and what am I warming up in?’ I think that whole routine just allows you to calm down a little bit and to know that you are controlling what you can. Again, I'm sure for you guys there are similarities like traffic getting to the recital. Well, you can't control that. And again, guess what? If you're going through it, I'm sure everybody else in the recital is going through it as well.

Trombley’s advice is to take things one step at a time and to not get into bad head spaces. This is such an important mindset for musicians as well:

The other thing I tell my athletes is don't think too far ahead. This next twenty minutes, I'm going to eat my breakfast. Then the next twenty minutes I'm going to get on my bike and ride. Just take it in short bites, don't go, “Oh my God, the next five hours are going to be brutal. [Instead] what am I doing in the next five minutes, twenty minutes? Okay, I will get my bike ready, I get my number on. I have a routine that keeps me focused.

When I ask Trombley what it was like to participate in big races, she talks about being in the moment physically and mentally. I ask her what she was thinking about while competing:

For me it was more, smooth out my pedal stroke and bring my shoulders down or relax and also breathing. Are you taking deep breaths or are you taking short breaths? Calm everything down. For racing, you think, just pushing everything as hard as you can is going to be best. That's not true because you're wasting energy. You're just throwing energy out into the ether. My mantra for people is ‘slow is smooth and smooth is fast.’ Check in with yourself, is your pedal stroke smooth? Are you breathing rhythmically and are your shoulders relaxed? Or do you have your weight in your feet? It’s interesting to watch people ride. Many people are over-efforting.

Her concept of over-efforting is especially important for young musicians, who tend to confuse tension for effort. We need to minimize any extraneous tension or motion that doesn’t serve us. All musicians should video record themselves and work with teachers to see what in their physical approach is helping them and what is getting in their way.

I ask her about what to do when, after all that great preparation, things go wrong? When you're out there, what happens when the weather is bad and conditions aren't right? How do you keep your cool and make good decisions under pressure? This is familiar territory for musicians; to encounter something in an audition or performance that is less than ideal. She responds,

It just goes back to that for me, what was my self-talk in the race? All you can do is pedal your bike. So, smooth your pedal stroke. Relax your shoulders, get your breathing down. I mean, does that mean that I never freaked out in a race? Hell, no. We were at World Championships in Sweden and the course was just slick. It was just like snot. They had some crazy stuff in there and I just lost it. I finished the race, but I just remembered that I was kind of not in my body anymore. But then it goes back to the self-talk that is going to bring you back to your body, whatever that is. And that’s for every person to find, because everyone is different. And really, who cares? You know, it's fun what I'm doing. Biking's supposed to be fun, right? During the week I would go and see patients [as a physical therapist] and I would have a bad race, and then I'd go and see someone who had just had a stroke. And I'm like right…right. You need to calm down, you know? What I tell people is that I used to kick myself for days when I had a bad race. You can kick yourself for a day. Like just give yourself a day, go for it. And then that's it. Because again, that's a waste of energy. Use that energy to propel yourself to the next race. But for me, that reality check was going to see patients. People can realize that it is a job. Mountain bike racing is a job, but also just how lucky we are to be able to do that.

The idea of gratitude for what we are doing is an important outlook for musicians, especially to achieve longevity in our careers. We dread making mistakes, but there is almost a freedom when we do. It’s in those moments that we realize that nobody dies and, though it's embarrassing, life goes on. Keeping perspective is the key to longterm satisfaction in a musical career.

Learning from failure

Trombley comments on keeping a good average, but also learning from our failures as well as our successes:

Everybody's going to have a bad race and that's what teaches you. Everybody has a bad performance and that's what you truly learn from. I mean, does it stink? Yes. But are you going to learn? Yes. I think mountain biking and sports just teaches you so much of how to be strong just for life. You just keep going.

Musician health

I ask Trombley about what musicians can do to compensate for unhealthy lifestyles? We often perform late at night, don’t make time for proper meals, and have sedentary lifestyles, These conditions can cumulate in injuries and deleterious health effects. Trombley has tips on how to feel better and play stronger:

The first thing I would suggest are endurance activities. That doesn't mean go for long rides, but do some walking, hiking, get that flow, and swing your arms and relax your shoulders. That will help with cardiovascular fitness, getting the oxygen to circulate throughout your body, also relaxing your muscles and just letting everything flow normally. I think physical fitness would be huge for musicians.

Because the breathing for musicians is so important, I would suggest working on relaxing, being able to relax everything and then getting that good flow of blood and oxygen. I believe musicians would benefit from physical therapy. As we ‘mature,’ we need to do strength training too. Women, more than men, have weak upper body strength and can truly benefit from conditioning. And core strength is crucial when you are standing, especially if your arms are up. If you don't have core, then you have no platform, you're a noodle. You musicians are standing in one position and it's important that your muscles are lengthened and strong to support your joints.

Injury prevention

Trombley suggests that musicians seek physical therapy and other modalities earlier, rather than later:

Orthopedic doctors are awesome and can x-ray, MRI, and diagnose injuries. Physical therapists can also diagnose and treat musculoskeletal issues. If you have a small twinge of something, it's better to get treatment right away. That way your body doesn’t compensate, causing more problems.

Musicians often push through pain rather than addressing minor issues at the onset of symptoms. A small muscle ache can escalate into a chronic condition like tendinitis, and jaw pain may develop into a temporomandibular disorder (TMD) if left untreated. It is crucial to recognize early signs, take a break, reassess the situation, and seek professional medical assistance when necessary.

Conclusion

The conversation with Ann leaves me feeling inspired and positive, influencing my approach not only to performing but also to teaching. Beyond cultivating relaxation and awareness in her sport, she is a dedicated community builder who champions collaboration as a path to collective progress and improvement. Her visualization and relaxation techniques should become important additions to a musician's practice regimen. Ultimately, her attitude is as inspiring as her considerable accomplishments, providing a crucial reminder for all musicians to maintain positivity and resilience.

For more information on Ann Trombley, go to:

https://www.trailmastercoaching.com.