AZ Instruction - The Stroke???

[ShaneT58]

Get into your stance like you are down on a shot, but without a cue. With your bridge hand, hold on to both your bicep and triceps, now take a full backstroke. You will feel the triceps flexing while your arm pulls back. Your bicep will tighten also.

I don't understand what you mean by "your bicep will tighten" on the back stroke. If this is happening I would think that would be a problem. All your muscles pull (or conctract) to produce movement. There isn't one muscle in your body that pushes. So if your bicep is tightening on your back swing I would think you arm would be tense because your bicep is fighting the tricep trying to pull the arm forward and backwards at the same time. Maybe I misunderstood your post.

BTW, I tried it just now and my bicep doesn't tense up during my backstroke. It doesn't flex much on the forward stroke either because your not moving a lot of weight with your arm but it has to contract or every shot you shoot would be at the same speed unless you wanted to change the weight of your cue for every shot.

 

[cuetechasaurus]

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Sorry, but I must agree with Scott. The bicep moves the stroke forward. On softer shots, it doesn't take much energy, on harder shots it takes more. If all you do is let the weight of the cue determine how hard you stroke, your speed would always be the same. You don't have to force the shot, but you have to control it. That's what the bicep does. Check back with Max and see if he doesn't agree.
Steve

Of course you agree with Scott. And what you just said means you didn't read a very important part of my post. I guess since I'm arguing with your fellow BCA instructor buddy you just skimmed thru it LOL. Here is what you missed in bold/italic:

That is called muscling the cue. The bicep should play a role at the beginning of the forward stroke by creating the desired speed of the stroke. After that the muscle should relax and gravity should do the rest. Make sense?

 

[cuetechasaurus]

I don't understand what you mean by "your bicep will tighten" on the back stroke. If this is happening I would think that would be a problem. All your muscles pull (or conctract) to produce movement. There isn't one muscle in your body that pushes. So if your bicep is tightening on your back swing I would think you arm would be tense because your bicep is fighting the tricep trying to pull the arm forward and backwards at the same time. Maybe I misunderstood your post.

BTW, I tried it just now and my bicep doesn't tense up during my backstroke. It doesn't flex much on the forward stroke either because your not moving a lot of weight with your arm but it has to contract or every shot you shoot would be at the same speed unless you wanted to change the weight of your cue for every shot.

The bicep tightens on the backstroke because you are stretching it out. Don't take this to offense, if you haven't worked out in a few years you may not feel it. I am a skinny guy who exercises alot, so my muscles are somewhat toned and it's not hard for me to tell. But yes, definately the biceps will stretch and tighten slightly when you extend your arm. How much bicep you have can mean the difference between feeling it or not. Either way, whether you are fat, skinny, have no muscle, or shoot up steroids with Barry Bonds, what's relevant in a good pool stroke is the least amount of muscle used on the execution stroke. Just let your arm go, and the cuestick will do all the work.

And don't take this the wrong way, because I'm not saying the the bicep should be non-existent during the stroke. I'm saying it should be used in the least amount as possible. Obviously on a slow stroke, the bicep will be there to slow the cue down, etc. Just don't tighten it so that it turns into a golfball/orange size!--- that is the whole point of everything I've posted in this subject.

 

[ShaneT58]

From what I read of your post it seemed like you were saying the bicep should play no part in the forward stroke. I'm guessing we probably agree on on the stroke but just not on the words you are using to describe it. I agree that it should only play a small part and none of your muscles should be tight during your stroke.

I thought I was missing something in your post. I was thinking along those lines too but a little differently. My arms are about 18.5" inches around and its not fat. I've been into lifting weights just as much if not more than pool for a long time. With such a small load on the arm the muscle doesn't really 'ball" up or tense up on my forward stroke. I can't feel it tighten up on the back stroke either.

I don't think the bicep can slow the cue down on a foward stroke since the only way the bicep can work is to pull the arm forward. It can pull it foward slowly but to pull it foward slower than the natural action of just letting it fall would require for the tricep to hold the arm back against the pull of gravity and the bicep to pull it foward slowly.