As a drummer who likes to play high-energy music (fast, aggressive metal) it's safe to say I burn a fair amount of calories when doing so. But I've been drumming for over a decade and despite the amount of it that I've done, it hasn't really had any (visible) effect on muscle growth. Every time I drum I try and push the limit of how fast I can go until I start to ache, so I'm definitely doing something to the muscles in my arms and legs, but it definitely isn't building mass.
I remember reading somewhere that speed based exercise can actually reduce muscle mass as the body tries to make itself more efficient, but heard no evidence to support this or an explanation of how.
Can someone please explain to me how exercise such as fast drumming affects muscle growth and development in relation to traditional muscle building exercise like lifting weights?
I am looking for a explanation of the biology behind this by the way, not fitness advice.
Clarification - for non-drummers, the "speed exercise" I'm referring to is what are called blast beats, where the aim is to keep an often inhumanely fast repetitive beat going. It's common in more "extreme" music such as death metal. While trying to maximise efficiency by minimising the amount of effort required is the goal, the muscles required are undergoing a rapid contraction-release cycle, often sustained for minutes at a time, and sometimes for an entire song.