How many pool player here are also in to bodybuilding(lifting weights) and do you feel like it helps your pool game at all, and how? i would bet that a good amount of players are also involed with training, weather its with weights or some other kind of exercise.
Pool player and body building.
- Thread starter richiebalto
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I never lifted much when I played seriously.Now I lift weights a few times a week and def have more muscle that I used too, but am def not like a big bodybulider or anything.It def doesn't help, but more importantly imo it does not hurt you.
From what I can tell it does not affect my touch or ability or anything that you would think may be affected.However if I knew I had a match or something I would probably just skip the gym the day before.
Living Legend
Banned
i have worked out seriously in the past and found it no help really, other than the cardio part of it. I was always sore somewhere on my body though when playing pool 
Boy you are so right about that Syd! i made that mistake a few times, never again will i work out then try to play a pool match with an 2-3 hours after working out, you just cant do it, you have no touch and it just feels like everything is out of sync, i guess it because of the blood flow that the muscels are still full with blood(pumped up), so yes i think you would have to wait atlease 2 good hours after an workout!
It will wreck your stroke, just as it would wreck your swing if you were a golfer. I speak from personal experience.
Now, bear in mind I'm talking about bodybuilding here (heavy weights, low reps, and forced reps), not simply increasing your fitness level.
A case in point was the pro golfer Keith Clearwater. Back in the nineties he got into body building, grew his chest, back, and arms, and his swing went to hell in a handbasket. He faded from the pro ranks.
My position is that regular exercise is good, and weight training is the best form of excercise. Just don't over do it. Use lighter weights with a high number of reps to keep the muscles toned. :smile:
Now, bear in mind I'm talking about bodybuilding here (heavy weights, low reps, and forced reps), not simply increasing your fitness level.
A case in point was the pro golfer Keith Clearwater. Back in the nineties he got into body building, grew his chest, back, and arms, and his swing went to hell in a handbasket. He faded from the pro ranks.
My position is that regular exercise is good, and weight training is the best form of excercise. Just don't over do it. Use lighter weights with a high number of reps to keep the muscles toned. :smile:
Pool and bodybuilding
I've written books on both. Mika Immonen works out with weights close to 5 times a week, but goes for tone rather than bulk; Donny Mills "works out like a bleeping madman" (his words, not mine) and proceeds to the tables immediately afterward, reporting no problems after the first few racks. He's an exceptional talent, though, and if you're going to pump iron, you should probably take AT LEAST half a day before you try pool. Both endeavors are excellent activities for loners (although both improve if you have a buddy with whom you can compete regularly), and both improve your powers of focus. But they weren't meant to go together; the essence of weightlifting is to feel tight, and the essence of pool playing is to feel loose. GF
I've written books on both. Mika Immonen works out with weights close to 5 times a week, but goes for tone rather than bulk; Donny Mills "works out like a bleeping madman" (his words, not mine) and proceeds to the tables immediately afterward, reporting no problems after the first few racks. He's an exceptional talent, though, and if you're going to pump iron, you should probably take AT LEAST half a day before you try pool. Both endeavors are excellent activities for loners (although both improve if you have a buddy with whom you can compete regularly), and both improve your powers of focus. But they weren't meant to go together; the essence of weightlifting is to feel tight, and the essence of pool playing is to feel loose. GF
I shoot like crap after working out. Especially if very little recovery time lets say working out a 4pm then league starts at 7:30pm
To me pools more mental than physical so being able to bench mad weight or run 6 miles isn't gonna make me better on the table.
To me pools more mental than physical so being able to bench mad weight or run 6 miles isn't gonna make me better on the table.
It helps in the long run. I don't know why, perhaps it's a mental thing, but it helped my confidence which it turn improved my game I suppose. Pool is after all a more mental game and if you feel good, you shoot good. Saying that, however, if you get really sore the next day it makes some shots really painful. Do a heavy chest day and then try a jump shot the next day, really hurts to get a good elevated stroke shot in. But hey, if you workout, you live longer, and you get to shoot longer :thumbup:
I've trained in 8 styles of martial arts for 24 years now and they benefitted every aspect of my life.....I also have went through some serious weight training and it hurt my pool game and really didn't create anything positive.....I feel funny saying that because it seems like any form of exercise would be good, but honestly weight training hurt my flexability, my energy levels, and I felt awkward when I got bigger and more muscular....turned out the girls didn't even like it (BUMMER), If you're not careful you get bumped into the "meat head" section of people's minds and that's not a good place to be :frown: ... whatever someone does I would recommend stretching the muscles because the person with the most flexibility will ultimately have the most control....CJ WILEY
I play pool often with a multiple time Mr Minnesota / runner up Mr Olympia /Runner up Mr America..... he's a bit smaller than when he competed.. but his thigh is still the size of my waist.. and his bicep is the size of my thigh..LOL
and he'll shoot your nuts in if you leave him an open shot
and he'll shoot your nuts in if you leave him an open shot
Lifting hard messes up my game. I've even tried shooting between sets on my table when working out at home to try and get used to the feel but it doesn't work. The funniest though was playing basketball back in the day after lifting.....man, talk about some air balls.
I work out and play all the time. I usually time it so it's a couple hours after like you said. I usually can only play 8 to 10 hour sessions on a day that I've been in the gym. I run anywhere from 1 to 2 miles every workout session and then lift whatever muscle group I'm on for that day. 5 days a week. I will skip if I have something super big matched and this allows me to play much longer sessions.
I feel it helps my game. I actually use pool as motivation for me while working out and it seems to funnel into my pool game. Lately it's been something I just have to get out of me. It feels good at the end of a nice workout.
Pool is so mental and let us not forget a sound body equals a sound mind!!! :thumbup:
Lol..yea it is funny to shoot after a workout, especially an bi and tri session!
I would never workout and play pool immediately following. There have been times though I've lost so much money at pool I couldn't sleep so I'd have to get up and go to the gym and take out the frustrations. It helps!
If you start losing flexibility then it will affect your game, especially the flexibility in your chest which will pull your shoulders forward and mess with your mechanics, also I can workout during the day and play normal at night, I just dont push myself like I used to and I dont get super sore so it doesn't bother me at pool.
my advice is to stick to strength training, dont worry as much about going for high reps (above 10) to failure, which is just going to make your super sore. and make sure you stretch after the weights.
my advice is to stick to strength training, dont worry as much about going for high reps (above 10) to failure, which is just going to make your super sore. and make sure you stretch after the weights.
powerlifter to pool player.....gotta say, pool is WAY harder. lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-DQyhUNQ5A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-DQyhUNQ5A
This is where some good core exercises come in! I have worked out off and on while playing pool and think it is a good thing for me. I recently started taking Glucosamine for my join ts and it helps. I try to stretch and do a couple nice core exercises with every workout to stay limber.
I know a "meat head" and he plays ok on the beer table! :thumbup:
I work out depending on mood 3-5x a week, as a bodybuilder. I've come close to competing but always end up with some diet fail not too long out from a competition where due to vacation or work travel I eat too much and add to much fat to get lean enough before the show.
I don't think particularly bodybuilding has a ton of value, although I doubt it hurts. Being able to curl 60lb dumbbells vs 25s doesn't make a load of difference in your shot either way. For the really huge bodybuilders maybe there would be issues with just getting into a good stance or positioning.
The 2 areas where bodybuilding or other kinds of exercise could come into play are endurance and central nervous system response. Endurance is easy to understand, pool is more physically stressful than people would guess, and playing for 2 hours straight through can definitely take it out of you. So raising your overall endurance could definitely help.
As far as central nervous system, its a little more of a grey area in terms of the best ways to train it. Its value on the pool table is slightly in anti anxiety, but also in being able to maintain that high heavy concentration level for each shot. This is the area where bodybuilding or powerlifting style weightlifting can probably do a little more than other exercise in that they both train the CNS to handle progressively higher loads over time and also given the amount of time spent training you build CNS endurance (which is a bit separate from general physical endurance). Really only way to get that sort of stimulus from other exercise forms is to be pushing them to the edge. Running a couple miles wouldn't do it, marathon training would. Its the push to the point of failure that is what is most responsible for gains in that area.
And as far as weight training hurting flexibility, that is only if you work out like a meathead and don't do flexibility work
Its definitely possible to retain flexibility while doing it, but you have to be thinking that way from the start.
I don't think particularly bodybuilding has a ton of value, although I doubt it hurts. Being able to curl 60lb dumbbells vs 25s doesn't make a load of difference in your shot either way. For the really huge bodybuilders maybe there would be issues with just getting into a good stance or positioning.
The 2 areas where bodybuilding or other kinds of exercise could come into play are endurance and central nervous system response. Endurance is easy to understand, pool is more physically stressful than people would guess, and playing for 2 hours straight through can definitely take it out of you. So raising your overall endurance could definitely help.
As far as central nervous system, its a little more of a grey area in terms of the best ways to train it. Its value on the pool table is slightly in anti anxiety, but also in being able to maintain that high heavy concentration level for each shot. This is the area where bodybuilding or powerlifting style weightlifting can probably do a little more than other exercise in that they both train the CNS to handle progressively higher loads over time and also given the amount of time spent training you build CNS endurance (which is a bit separate from general physical endurance). Really only way to get that sort of stimulus from other exercise forms is to be pushing them to the edge. Running a couple miles wouldn't do it, marathon training would. Its the push to the point of failure that is what is most responsible for gains in that area.
And as far as weight training hurting flexibility, that is only if you work out like a meathead and don't do flexibility work
Its definitely possible to retain flexibility while doing it, but you have to be thinking that way from the start.
I've worked out with weights, for years. I'm not a hardcore bodybuilder, but I'm not a light weight/high rep lifter either. Upper body workouts, specifically Bicep, tricep and shoulder workouts definitely affect my speed control and feel. I lose a degree of precision on draw strokes and touchy-er position shots. If anything, your muscles feel a little dead or less sensitive, if that makes sense.
I use a bi-weekly cycle, for lifting. week one is for heavy lifts, less reps. Week two is higher reps, lighter weights. On my week two cycle, I can lift and not have it affect my game. The heavy lifting knocks me down a ball, for about a day or two.
Eric
I use a bi-weekly cycle, for lifting. week one is for heavy lifts, less reps. Week two is higher reps, lighter weights. On my week two cycle, I can lift and not have it affect my game. The heavy lifting knocks me down a ball, for about a day or two.
Eric