could playing too much be bad for you?

Jimbojim

Jimbojim

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is the first time that I feel pool fatigue from overplaying. A few months ago, I remember that I played 13 days in a row but they were 2 hours sessions. But I played 6 hours last sunday, 8 last monday, 2 last tuesday, 5½ yesterday and 6 tonight..boy I feel drained out of energy and my brain feels like crushed apples from concentrating on pool too much. I think I'm gonna relax for 2 days and refreshen up for sunday's federation tournament.


Ever felt that fatigue from playing too much pool? Or am I just a weak who thinks work+ pool is hard on the body after a while?
 
Like anything, well most anything, too much is bad. I had a friend who would play 24 hour sessions by himself, i would leave the pool room go eat sleep shower come back and he would still be there shooting practice drills, he was a A- player until he was in a tournment or in action then he just hung 9 balls in the jaws, all the practice in the world wont help that.

If I were you I'd slow it down a but and meditate on what it takes to win, put some time into that, you'll go alot farther-a great player told me that ,Roy Futternick-who I need to call, I owe him, not $$ but for helping me grow up (I'm just trying to figure out what I can do for him, before I call-He was master Yoda to me-but better looking ;) ).

If you play until you see spots your not helping your game, it will come in time, it is faster for those who are blessed with talent and slower for those who wernt, but have fun, dont rush it.
 
Last edited:
i think a break every now and again is good for you. you keep going and you end up not focusing when you play and missing shots which frustrates you. when you don't focus i tend to build a habbit of not focusing
 
For me there is physical tired and mental tired. When I used to play everyday there were times I would get muscle sore but still wanted to learn so I did drills without a cue. How? you ask....well I would throw balls out on the table and picture patterns in my head. This works great for any game and is super for picturing safeties. Another good thing it does is make you walk around the table WITHOUT your cue in your hand.....something everyone should try for reasons you will see....hard to explain.

Gerry
 
For me, the periods of playing pool to the excess does help my game when those periods are followed by cutting back a bit to get some rest and perspective. I just let my energy and enthusiasm dictate which I type of session I'll have.
 
It all depends on your individual tolerance as to how much is too much, but clearly, even a machine needs down time or has a maximum number of cycles per a given time period. Our minds and bodies are too different. To my mind, the general rule of thumb is to not play past the point where you have lost focus or desire. If you have been at the table for a few hours and you are no longer bearing down, stop! Further practice will only reinforce the bad habits that creep in when you are no longer paying full attention to what you are doing. Similarly, if you find yourself trudging to the pool hall and anticipating your sessions with a sense of grudging obligation instead of one of delight, it's probably time to take a day or two off.
 
Agree with all of the above. If your brain feels like apple sauce, then you can't be playing in a positive direction. Probably just going through the motions. Good news in my opinion, mental aspects are like physical ones, within reason, training makes your mind/muscles stronger, and can increase your tolerance. Get some rest and go after it again with improvement as the focus. good luck.
 
Yeah if you (not you but in generalities) play too long and too many days straight it seems that you may become complacent and not concentrate as much. The same goes for long sessions playing by yourself. You start concentrating on your mechanics, form, shot making and after several hours of smacking balls around you forget to concentrate and work on your same shot patterns/form/etc. At least thats what I've seen in myself. And if you play alot of leagues getting 2 or 3 games a night it does not really help your game improve. I got rid of several leagues, started actually working on shots/break again and noticed a big jump in my game.
 
In our quest to improve our game, there are many peaks and valleys. A pool player peaks just like a swimmer, and at that particular time it doesn't help to play more unless you change or raise your focus. Sadly, not many of us reach that level. If you do, and you suspect that you're experiencing burn out, certainly take a few days off. Otherwise, work on your game/playing inventory as detailed in Max Eberle's article on the home page. Don't let it overwhelm you, just shift your focus for a few days.

The cost of pool is excessive to many who don't have a table at home. The best rate I can find is $3.50 per hour or 3 hours free for a $7.00 lunch, but those prices are only good from Noon til 6 pm. The 3 hour deal is from Noon til 3 only. Otherwise, it's $5.00 ph until 6 pm at my home room. I'm just back after a 25 year layoff and I limit myself to 2 hours a day, but I try very hard to make it productive. If I catch myself slamming balls, or not concentrating at all, I use this advice from Allison Fisher. She says that the 2 true "PEARLS" from her pool school are, a slow backstroke with a slight pause at the end on your final stroke, and staying down after pulling the trigger and completing the follow through. That alone picks my game up like 30%, but it's exhausting for me right now. If I do that and focus on each shot like it really matters I'm plenty tired after 2 hours. Of course, you have to shut out all distractions to do that also, and that is great practice too. Do that, and complete the inventory in that article, take it seriously, and I promise your game will improve a level, but it's hard to keep it up. Hope this helps...Tom
 
Being burned out?

When I was in the 'learning phase', I didn't know where the hours went, but after you reach certain plateaus, and have some satisfaction about your playing, then the hours become more noticeable, and yes you can get burned out. There is a couple of stress factors involved, especialy if you have self imposed expectations about how well you should do or play.

I played one session of league playing on 6 teams on 4 nights once. Most were my teams, and I was the star player and anchor person for this bar.
On 2 nights I had to shoot out and then go to my 2nd team's bar to play.

It just flat soured me on Pool for awhile. Now, I don't even play league.
Just too many hassles to deal with, plus all league inequities that always exist. I just play when I want to, for tournaments that I chose, and for money.

Suggestion: Keep some variety in your life with different activities you enjoy, and don't forget to enjoy your family members. (And I do realize, that in some families, some of its members might be the reason you go out to play so much Pool .... LOL) And VERY FEW women ever understand a man's passion for Pool, of course, you have heard or experienced that before, right?
 
Snapshot9 said:
When I was in the 'learning phase', I didn't know where the hours went, but after you reach certain plateaus, and have some satisfaction about your playing, then the hours become more noticeable, and yes you can get burned out. There is a couple of stress factors involved, especialy if you have self imposed expectations about how well you should do or play.

I played one session of league playing on 6 teams on 4 nights once. Most were my teams, and I was the star player and anchor person for this bar.
On 2 nights I had to shoot out and then go to my 2nd team's bar to play.

It just flat soured me on Pool for awhile. Now, I don't even play league.
Just too many hassles to deal with, plus all league inequities that always exist. I just play when I want to, for tournaments that I chose, and for money.

Suggestion: Keep some variety in your life with different activities you enjoy, and don't forget to enjoy your family members. (And I do realize, that in some families, some of its members might be the reason you go out to play so much Pool .... LOL) And VERY FEW women ever understand a man's passion for Pool, of course, you have heard or experienced that before, right?
Click to expand...


I am lucky to have a loving woman who undertands my passion for pool. Its mutual respect thing because I respect her passions too:)
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Hair on your palms
Eye-sight goes bad


Be careful.
Click to expand...

The list of things I can't do continues to grow :mad:

Life balance....too much can make something you used to like turn into something you have to do, as well as hate to do.....take some time off....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top