Dieting

mullyman

mullyman

Hung Like a Gnat!
Silver Member
Do you guys think playing pool is any good for a diet? I mean the exercise part of it. I would imagine all the sitting and standing would be good exercise for your legs and God only knows how much distance you put on walking around the table. I know it's not a consistent exercise like walking or cycling but do you think pool has any exercise benefits to it?
MULLY
 
I don't think it is much of an exercise as you would hardly break a sweat while playing pool. But it may help if you are on a diet and a pool fanatic. I know sometimes people can keep playing a forgo meals.

I think it will probably do you more good to go for a 30min run then 3 hrs of pool shooting. JMO.
 
Nah, pool will never substitute "real" exercise but I'm wondering how much it does play into it. I work out 6 days a week. I got a little home gym set up. I do 3 days weight training (upper body, lower, upper) on Mon., Wed. and Fri. (reverse the order the following week) and 3 days high intensity cardio on Tues., Thurs., and Sat. Up at 5:30am every morning to do this. I know shooting pool will never even come close to touching those things but it has to have some benefits to it. A lot of walking, stretching the hamstrings, lower back etc... I'm just wondering how worthy that little bit is.

Take bowling for example, they say 4 games bowling is equal to like 20 minutes of light aerobics. Where is pool?
MULLY
 
mullyman said:
Nah, pool will never substitute "real" exercise but I'm wondering how much it does play into it. I work out 6 days a week. I got a little home gym set up. I do 3 days weight training (upper body, lower, upper) on Mon., Wed. and Fri. (reverse the order the following week) and 3 days high intensity cardio on Tues., Thurs., and Sat. Up at 5:30am every morning to do this. I know shooting pool will never even come close to touching those things but it has to have some benefits to it. A lot of walking, stretching the hamstrings, lower back etc... I'm just wondering how worthy that little bit is.

Take bowling for example, they say 4 games bowling is equal to like 20 minutes of light aerobics. Where is pool?MULLY
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Even amped up pool would rank between sex and a nap.
 
Any time you are standing, walking around the table, bending up and down you are burning calories. So yes it is exercise. Its not alot like walking a mile or lifting weights but none the less you are burning calories.
 
mullyman said:
Nah, pool will never substitute "real" exercise but I'm wondering how much it does play into it. I work out 6 days a week. I got a little home gym set up. I do 3 days weight training (upper body, lower, upper) on Mon., Wed. and Fri. (reverse the order the following week) and 3 days high intensity cardio on Tues., Thurs., and Sat. Up at 5:30am every morning to do this. I know shooting pool will never even come close to touching those things but it has to have some benefits to it. A lot of walking, stretching the hamstrings, lower back etc... I'm just wondering how worthy that little bit is.

Take bowling for example, they say 4 games bowling is equal to like 20 minutes of light aerobics. Where is pool?
MULLY
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I don't know for sure, but I suspect that for someone of average health that pool contributes very little to your health in terms of cardio workout or staying stretched etc. What it does do is burn several times more calories than being idle, so all is not lost. Pool is just barely behind bowling in terms of calories burned per minute/hour to use one of your examples.

Here are a few websites that tell you how many calories you burn doing hundreds of different activities, including billiards. They will help in making the kind of comparisons you are looking for.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/burned/calories_burned_Sports.html

http://www.fatburn.com/free_tool_activity_burn.asp

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
 
Poolplaya9 said:
I don't know for sure, but I suspect that for someone of average health that pool contributes very little to your health in terms of cardio workout or staying stretched etc. What it does do is burn several times more calories than being idle, so all is not lost. Pool is just barely behind bowling in terms of calories burned per minute/hour to use one of your examples.

Here are a few websites that tell you how many calories you burn doing hundreds of different activities, including billiards. They will help in making the kind of comparisons you are looking for.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/burned/calories_burned_Sports.html

http://www.fatburn.com/free_tool_activity_burn.asp

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
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Thanks, man.
MULLY
 
I would think that the really fast players would burn some calories. I don't think Johnny A burns many though. Johnnyt
 
Oh yes

Speaking from the perspective of a fat bastard, I can say that for me, playing does make a difference. Other than sex or a striped bass on the line, pool is the only thing engaging enough to keep my mind off food.

I play 12 hour sets and walk away half crippled from the exertion. But if all the walking bending and breaking isn't enough, the activities I am NOT doing (like demolishing a Chinese buffet) make a big difference.
 
Playing pool is no way to lose weight.

Consider how much you're sitting down, doing nothing while your opponent is shooting; the second-hand (or first-hand!) smoke you're breathing in in most places; the less-than-healthy food available at such venues; the various liquid refreshments (other than water) one tends to imbibe.
 
MasterClass said:
I don't think it is much of an exercise as you would hardly break a sweat while playing pool.
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You obviously haven't seen me play...........:D
 
ribdoner said:
Even amped up pool would rank between sex and a nap.
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ROFL!!

All though that is a pretty broad range.... Sex is a fairly good cardio workout...

Sure wish i could convince the wife of the facts... :)
 
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I learned from the websites posted earlier in this thread that pool playing burns calories at 2.5 to 3 times as fast as sitting still (activities such as reading, attending meetings, etc.)

So if I'd be burning 100 calories an hour watching TV or whatever, but instead I'm burning 250 calories an hour for 6 hours playing pool, and eating less in the process since I usually don't think about food much when I'm playing pool, whereas I snack a lot when I'm doing nothing, then I would say that does have a positive impact on your weight loss. If I cheated on my diet to the tune of a big fast food cheeseburger (in addition to my normal meals that day), those 6 hours of pool would cancel that out, according to the numbers I have here.

-Andrew
 
Mully, I do the exact same routine as you, plus walking daily and riding a bike 90% of the time I go somewhere. I shoot pool around two to three hours a day. I honestly can't see any exercise benefit from the pool. What I can say is that the other exercise impacts my pool playing positively. I certainly have much more stamina physically when the need arises, such as long tournaments.
 
When I go to the pool room, I usually practice straight pool by myself for about 6 hours, constantly walking around the table, never sitting. So, I suppose I'm burning a lot of calories. BUT, afterwards I am so darn hungry that I usually blow it with an extra big meal. So, for me, it doesn't work.

Go hiking with your pool cue.
 
Drawman623 said:
I play 12 hour sets and walk away half crippled from the exertion. But if all the walking bending and breaking isn't enough, the activities I am NOT doing (like demolishing a Chinese buffet) make a big difference.
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BUT, if you worked out consistently, a 12 hour set wouldn't cripple you. Pool itself will probably not have a major effect on weight loss, but like many people have said, it's better than laying on the couch watching TV! Basically, unless your pool playing includes smoking, drinking and eating (like it does for a lot of people) then what it does is makes you less sedentary. I wouldn't call pool "exercise", but I would call it an "activity". And "active" people are healthier!
 
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mullyman said:
Nah, pool will never substitute "real" exercise but I'm wondering how much it does play into it. I work out 6 days a week. I got a little home gym set up. I do 3 days weight training (upper body, lower, upper) on Mon., Wed. and Fri. (reverse the order the following week) and 3 days high intensity cardio on Tues., Thurs., and Sat. Up at 5:30am every morning to do this.
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My question for you Mully is, what are your goals? Your post is called "Dieting" so I am assuming you are trying to lose weight. I hate that word "Diet", Diet to me sounds like something you do temporarily and if you want to keep it off it should be "Lifestlye Change" :).

You workout 6 days a week, assuming you are trying to lose weight correct? When I was trying to lose weight in the beginning (260lbs) I did the EXACT same thing as you, saw results fast and plateaued even faster. I found that I actually lost weight faster if I gave my body 2-3 days a week to rest. If your body doesnt have time to rest and recoupe, it is going to do all it can to hold onto your remaining fat for energy. I guess this may be WAY off topic of your original post but if I see someone trying to lose weight, I like to give a little advice as I wish I had someone giving me advice through my journey. Oh yes I am currently at 160lbs :D and LOVING it!

Good Luck!

PS: If you ever have any questions just PM me.
 
ribdoner said:
Even amped up pool would rank between sex and a nap.
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I was wondering if the expert opinion on sex and diet stems from all the female attraction you receive from wearing those hats? :confused:
 
plshrk22 said:
My question for you Mully is, what are your goals? Your post is called "Dieting" so I am assuming you are trying to lose weight. I hate that word "Diet", Diet to me sounds like something you do temporarily and if you want to keep it off it should be "Lifestlye Change" :).
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Nah, the weight is fine. I've been doing this for a long time now. I don't do super intense workouts. I basically do 3 sets for each body part on corresponding days and 20 minute high intensity aerobic workouts on the off days. I get plenty of rest for the muscles and feed them well. I don't know why I used the word diet in the header it was just the first thing that popped into my head.
MULLY
I've already put 250km on my bicycle this month.
 
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