endurance, stretching, & strength training for pool

berlowmj

berlowmj

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Many people attribute Tiger Woods' edge to his lifting. Serious martial arts books & schools recommend strength training routines along with endless stretching. Football players go below parallel on squats. Rock climbers & grapplers have hand strength routines etc. etc.

Surely, there must be conditioning programs designed for pool players. This is a serious inquiry!!
 
berlowmj said:
Many people attribute Tiger Woods' edge to his lifting. Serious martial arts books & schools recommend strength training routines along with endless stretching. Football players go below parallel on squats. Rock climbers & grapplers have hand strength routines etc. etc.

Surely, there must be conditioning programs designed for pool players. This is a serious inquiry!!
Click to expand...

Tai Chi is an excellent body and mind conditioner and Yoga is good too. Both increase flexibility, balance, and coordination, while strengthening and toning your muscles. And both help you focus clearly and calmly.

Some instructors have programs that combine elements of both Tai Chi and Yoga.

Fats
 
berlowmj said:
Many people attribute Tiger Woods' edge to his lifting. Serious martial arts books & schools recommend strength training routines along with endless stretching. Football players go below parallel on squats. Rock climbers & grapplers have hand strength routines etc. etc.

Surely, there must be conditioning programs designed for pool players. This is a serious inquiry!!
Click to expand...

Pool does not require much strength, so I cannot see any physical strength training helping your pool game. I do see some benefits to being limber, so a good stretching program could help. I stretch before practice and play, primarily my hands, arms, shoulders, neck, and back.

Since pool is really a lounge game like darts and shuffleboard, I cannot see a conditioning program designed specificly for the sport. Now we have to wait for Blackjack to post about how wrong I am :o

Dave

PS I think Tiger had a game well before he started any fitness program
 
I personally think that an exercise routine that keeps you pysically fit wil help you with your mental and pysical stamina when playing in stressful situations. also a healthy diet is good for clarity.
 
Conditioning

Lucky Fish said:
I personally think that an exercise routine that keeps you pysically fit wil help you with your mental and pysical stamina when playing in stressful situations. also a healthy diet is good for clarity.
Click to expand...

You hit it on the head! It does exactly that, plus, something many players overlook is a good nights sleep during long tournaments, and easy on the alcohol. Too much drink will leave you 'fuzzy brained' the next day. How are you going to play your best Pool if you are struggling to just feel normal???

And I think that Ginseung and Ginko Biloba help get you into the 'zone' faster for longer ..... Take about 3 hours before a tournament.
 
I think having toned muscles in your core (esp. your back), not carrying extra weight from fat, and being in good cardio-vascular condition, all mean you can play longer without getting overly fatigued (which hurts precision and focus), and without tension building in your tired muscles to the point where they are tense enough to inhibit accurate stroking. If I worked out specifically for pool, I think I would do lower-back exercises because the shooting stance puts the strain there, yoga because it helps you to stay limber and more effortlessly get yourself in and out of the various stances you need for various shots while remaining loose, and low-impact cardio for stamina. Medicine ball workouts can be great for core-stability, too.

Also, as Scott mentioned, diet and sleep habits can have a huge impact on concentration and stamina. Pete Sampras attributed much of his success to sleeping a minimum of 10 hours a night.

-Andrew
 
Andrew Manning said:
Pete Sampras attributed much of his success to sleeping a minimum of 10 hours a night.

-Andrew
Click to expand...

Yeah, the moment I find my rich hot wife, I'm going to do this, too.
 
Being fit pays dividends in ALL asspects of life...
No doubt, no question........end of story.


I recently dropped from 222.5 w/30% BF to 181 w/9% BF....
Sitting on 194 w/ 12% right now (bulking)

I know you hear it all the time.. but it actually changed my entire life!... I cant imagine ever going back to how I was. EVERYTHING improves... you just "feel better"....

And any mental boost you can give yourself will most certainly manifest at the table.
 
All of us in New York, we all get together every Sunday for yoga. Steve Lipsky does push-ups with one hand, on his knuckles. He can do about 100. SJM can stand on his head for hours. GG folds herself up into a 1 cubic foot box. Thorsten Hohman and Mika Immonen are both yoga MASTERS and can actually levitate.

We do this all the time. Pool is easy.
 
Andrew Manning said:
I think having toned muscles in your core (esp. your back), not carrying extra weight from fat, and being in good cardio-vascular condition, all mean you can play longer without getting overly fatigued (which hurts precision and focus), ....

-Andrew
Click to expand...

Unless of course, the only way you can find time to run is to get up at 4:30 AM each day. :( By the time, 8:30 PM rolls around I'm nodding off between turns at the table.

I like Jude's idea, get a rich, hot wife so you can sleep 10 hours a day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top