You've trained for years to cultivate state-of-the-art technique and musicianship.
You deserve to play an instrument that is also state-of-the-art.
Singers require sports-specific training as much as any other professional athlete. Optimal alignment, stamina and stability are vital for your craft.
Good alignment is essential for vocal development and performance. A well-aligned spine facilitates free laryngeal movement, full breathing, and the ability to sing with consistent technique regardless of your stage director’s demands. In the course of day-to-day living, however, most people develop common postural distortions, limiting range of motion for the larynx and breathing apparatus and requiring compensations that create excessive effort and diminish resonance, range and stamina. It's important to take inventory of those distortions, and they can almost always be completely resolved through a well-designed exercise regimen.
Vocal stamina – the ability to sustain long phrases and survive long operas – requires good cardiorespiratory fitness. Your respiratory system’s primary responsibility is delivering oxygen to your body, and singing places additional demands on it. Good cardiorespiratory fitness is therefore essential for singing, particularly when stage movement is involved. If you want to boost your cardiorespiratory fitness, you need to learn the exercise strategies that create permanent improvement in this crucial area.
Dynamic stability is important for both breath management and stage movement. Singers must develop the ability to dynamically stabilize the core and shoulders in order to minimize the impact of movement on their technical prowess and musicianship. . By learning to incorporate balance and stabilization strategies into your exercise regimen, you can cultivate the overall stability you need to engage your best technique regardless of any movement challenges your director requires of you.
I have devoted much of my teaching career to raising our community’s awareness about the benefits of exercise and pioneered the concept of sports-specific training for singers. I have presented workshops on singing and fitness at Symposia of The Voice Foundation and the Performing Arts Medicine Association, write a monthly column on singing and fitness for Classical Singer Magazine, and am currently completing my book on the subject. Complete Vocal Fitness: A Singer's Guide to Physical Training, Anatomy & Biomechanics will be available from Rowman & Littlefield in May 2018.
If you’re already a fitness enthusiast, I can customize your exercise regimen to ensure the greatest possible payoff (and least possible risk) for your singing.
If you’re new to exercise, there is no better time than the present to dive in! I'll help you hit the ground running (or swimming, or cycling) with singer-friendly strategies from the very start. I was a late bloomer where fitness is concerned – I know how daunting it can seem, but I also know that if I could develop a passion for exercise, anyone can.
Register for a four-session fitness package to start your journey or raise your game. I'll perform a comprehensive alignment assessment, design a regimen tailored to your instrument's unique needs and strengths, and get you to the point where you can continue to work out on your own with excellent form.
I am certified as a Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist, and Performance Enhancement Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
View my current rates and policies here. Use this link to schedule your fitness sessions.
Fitness Client Testimonials
Developing a fitness plan with Claudia was unlike any other exercise regime I have ever done. In our first appointment, she not only listened to my history and goals, but also dove straight into a detailed assessment of my current physical health. This included measurements that are singing-specific (and had been overlooked by previous trainers with whom I’d worked), including a complete postural, cardiovascular, and balance assessment. As she took me through the new routine, Claudia was particularly mindful of my form as it affects my singing. Even in exercises I had done a million times in my youth as a swimmer were reframed with goals as a singer. Claudia was detailed in explaining how to build strength and tone in my body that would stabilize my shoulders and build core strength that would allow me to keep my ribs expanded and not inhibit the movement of my abs. Having a detailed and actionable plan for my physical and SINGING health has helped eliminate the frustration that comes from shoulders I can’t keep down and ribs that won’t stay expanded. It is true that these skills cannot be “willed” into compliance through my time practicing and in lessons alone. I am now empowered to take actual steps to improving areas of my singing that otherwise cannot be adequately addressed!
I highly recommend Claudia Friedlander as a personal trainer for singers. When I accepted an offer to sing Madama Butterfly, I knew that the demands of the role would be greater than anything I’d previously performed. At this time my routines included walking, yoga, Zumba, and the elliptical machine. I was interested to add strength training in, but wanted to do so under the guidance of someone who understood the musculature of singing. Claudia quickly and thoroughly learned my goals, my exercise experience, and then expertly tailored a program that addressed my current areas of concern while also finding routines and movements that would help develop and prepare the strength needed for weeks of kneeling and walking in heavy Geisha costumes and narrow sandals. I got so much value in this one program! Claudia oversaw the first run through of my program and helped to ensure I would have success working through it on my own. It was always a pleasure to work with her because she was endlessly encouraging and thoughtful. She offered many insights about my body and natural abilities that gave me confidence to strengthen. As a result, I was extremely well prepared for my first rehearsal and role debut! Thank you, Claudia! I look forward to working with you further to reach my goals healthfully as a singer!