We all know the stereotype of the rock-and-roll lifestyle, filled with late, sleepless nights, smoky bars, free-flowing booze and drugs.

But there is another side to this story, one that strikes a much healthier note. It’s the story of musicians who have learned how to find a balance between the need for creative self-expression and the need for survival in a turbulent, competitive business. And, while Austin is tauted as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” it’s also revered as a health and fitness mecca. So it shouldn’t come as such a surprise that, in some cases, musical talent and staying fit and healthy come together to share center stage.

Austin has more than its share of musicians who have embraced the city’s active lifestyle and reverence for fitness. Rob Kyle, lead singer of Dexter Freebish, along with local singer/songwriter Abra Moore are both active members at the YMCA. Guy Forsyth is a devotee of the martial arts. Stephen Bruton is an intermediate-level tennis player and regular court rat at the South Austin Tennis Center. Heck, these days, even Willie Nelson has his own 10K race, and, of course, his own golf course!

In that light, if you look to members of the Austin music community as the arbiters of coolness, then exercise is definitely hip. To commemorate the South By Southwest Music Conference this month, here’s a look at a few other favorite Austin musicians and their methods of keeping fit.

Shawn Colvin

Since competing in her first Danskin Triathlon in 2000, Grammy-winner Shawn Colvin has become the unofficial poster child for active Austin musicians.

The 40-something singer/songwriter, wife and mom trains with Sarah Scott at Ironsmith — The Fitness Doctors in Central Austin and maintains a regular schedule that includes running, cycling, swimming and weight training.

“I don’t have a rigid routine right now,” Colvin says. “I own a road bike, a mountain bike and I have a wet suit, so I can bike and swim even in the winter. Mainly, I just alternate between swimming, biking and running.”

Colvin says her typical swimming routine will consist of a half-mile at Barton Springs or sets of drills at a public pool such as Stacy Pool. A run for her consists of 3 to 4 miles at the Town Lake hike-and-bike trail, keeping different paces and integrating periods of brisk walking. Her bike rides will cover 10 to 12 miles.

“I just try to be consistent,” she says. “I will also try to lift weights three times a week for about an hour. In all, I try to exercise five times a week.”

Nevertheless, juggling the demands of a career and parenthood are just as difficult for a musician as they are for the rest of us, if not more so.

“I’m a mom and I have other stuff to do like everybody,” she says. “You have to be more flexible and more organized if you want to pull off the extracurricular stuff.” For Colvin’s fitness plan, “the less planning the better,” she says, “which is why running still ranks high because you can just walk out your door and do it.”

Given the attention her athletic exploits have brought her, including a profile in In Style magazine, Colvin says the pressure to maintain her position as a fitness role model is a comfortable one.

“When this all began, I drew attention to myself and took advantage of it simply because I was having a good time and I didn’t see anything wrong with it,” she says. “It’s a better pressure than a lot of other kinds. If I’ve got pressure on me to keep in shape, that’s not a bad thing.”

Colvin spent the majority of her 20s and 30s on the road building her fan base, leaving little time for exercise. It wasn’t until she reached her early 40s that she realized the need for a comprehensive fitness plan.

She married and had a baby in the mid-1990s. Then, everything fell into place in 1997 when she began working with Scott at Ironsmith. Not long afterward, she captured a Grammy for her single, “Sonny Came Home,” and watched her album, “A Few Small Repairs,” go platinum. Ever since, exercise has become part of her winning combination.

“Exercise complements just about everything,” she says. “Writing music and exercising are similar in that it can be tough to get motivated to do something that you know is going to be somewhat difficult. But the rewards are good.”

On March 23, Colvin and Scott will be helping hundreds of local triathletes get motivated at the Capitol of Texas Triathlon Symposium, where Colvin will be the keynote speaker. For more information on the event, call 454-IRON or visit www.FitnessDoctors.com. For details on Colvin’s touring schedule or upcoming releases, visit www.shawncolvin.com.

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