Weighted drumsticks are NOT a very good idea. Some say that they build up your "drumming" muscles. The truth is they “Bulk” up your drumming muscles. Bulk is good for body builders and football players, but not for drummers.

Speed and precision in technique require long, lean, dancer type muscles NOT bulky weightlifter-type muscles. Practicing with heavy sticks will tend to desensitize your hands, when you should be looking to increase your sensitivity.

I remember as a young drummer, reading a letter to Hal Blaine published in Modern Drummer magazine. Someone wrote in asking Hal if he thought practicing on a pillow was a good idea. The theory being that because a pillow is soft, with no rebound, it forces your muscles to “create” the rebound - working to lift the stick as well as create the down stroke.

Hal’s response has stayed with me all these years. “Practicing on a pillow is fine, if you want to learn to play the pillow.”

If you want to play the drums, you should practice on the drums! (or a reasonable facsimile such as the remo practice pads)

My personal favorite practice pad is a small (4” x 4” x 2” high) block of Lignum Vite (Iron Wood) with a 2” diameter piece of rubber in the middle that has rebound characteristics very similar to a well tensioned 14” snare drum. I have carried it with me for years, it is very quiet and convenient to use for warming up before a gig or just practicing some stick control wherever you happen to be stuck with 10 or 15 minutes to spare.