Exercise Specificity And Muscular Antagonism In Singing

In my studies in exercise physiology, I learned about the principle of exercise specificity—that an exercise regimen is most effective when it simulates the muscular actions of the process that we are trying to improve. It makes little sense for a runner, for instance, to try to strengthen his calf and thigh muscles by following an exercise regimen of swimming, because this process exercises the calf and leg musculature in ways that have little to do with how it functions during running.

The same principle holds in voice training. Let’s consider the common practice among voice coaches of having their students practice breathing exercises to improve their “breath control.” These exercises are typically carried out independently of vocalizing and involve deep breathing and voiceless, but controlled, expulsions of breath. A major problem with breathing exercises is that they do not improve the muscular actions that are engaged in actual singing. Only singing—or vocal (ideally voice building) exercises—could possibly benefit singing to any significant degree because they engage the breathing musculature in a manner that approximates how they are used in singing.

How do we apply the principle of exercise specificity when building a voice? First, it’s important to recognize that the muscle groups that are involved in singing are antagonistically related. Here are a few examples: There are opposing tensions generated between the contracting breathing muscles and the adductor muscles of the larynx whenever a sound is produced; vocal fold lengthening and shorting, so basic to pitch change, is controlled by two sets of muscles pulling against one another; the highly flexible walls of the pharynx are especially prone to antagonistic tension whenever they are forced to adjust their width and length to accommodate vowel sound creation; there is also antagonism between the muscles that lower the larynx and those that raise it—especially during loud voice production.

In employing exercise-specific voice building, it is essential to utilize, indeed maximize, the natural muscular antagonisms of the vocal muscles. This is the only way to exercise thoroughly—and deliver substantial overloading to—the rapidly moving endurance musculature of the larynx, pharynx, soft palate, and oral cavity.

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