Focus & Concentration When You Are Dead Tired

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Like most people, when I get toward the end of a long tournament I tend to get a little tired and I miss shots that I would not normally miss.

Are there any little tricks of the trade that help you refresh your ability to focus and concentrate on making the shot when you are dead-DOG-tired?

This reminds me of the little joke that Old Has Been told about going to the bathroom and putting your feet in the toilet for a couple of quick flushes which refreshes the feet. RIP--------------LOL.

But seriously, do you have ways to give you another hour of your best play when tired? Some of the things I do are:
Drink a cup of coffee.
Water: I drink this regularly throughout the tournament.
Washing your face & neck with cool water.
Deep breathing. (don't really know if this helps with being tired)
Knee Bends. (for me this is good for like one game.)

I also wonder if different things are required depending upon your age.

Have any of you ever jogged 30 minutes prior to a match?
If so what is your age? And of course, what did it accomplish?

I will edit this post for posterity.
OK, thanks everyone.
We got:
Good sleep has to be Number 1.
Rest between matches
Red Bull, Orange Juice, coffee, Poweredge
No sugar, no red meat.

Fresh Fruit (no citrus fruits)
Cereals & grains for snack foods (better than a big meal)
Some yoga stretching exercises.
Reduce stress that causes fatigue
Light exercise - knee bends, touch toes
Treadmill B4 heading to the poolroom
Plan ahead.
Fresh Fruit (no citrus fruits)
Power naps (so far, my favorite)
Eye Exercises
4 count breathing
Freshen up with cool water on face and neck.
Drink Water
Black Tea
NO Sugar
Check out behavioral strategies.
Fresh change of socks
Make yourself more alert by thinking about why you came to the tournament in the first place.

I will try each of them over time.
Thanks,
JoeyA
 
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scottycoyote

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i sometimes work out on a treadmill b4 i head to the poolroom and it does seem to help a bit. I have the same problem, ill get into a gambling session with someone at 10pm and by 12 or 1 we are 4 or 5 sets in and im yawning. Ive found a drink mix called poweredge that you pour into a bottle of water that gives you a nice boost too.
 

RSB-Refugee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JoeyA said:
Like most people, when I get toward the end of a long tournament I tend to get a little tired and I miss shots that I would not normally miss.
I have shot, when I was dead tired. I was able to make balls very easily, but mentally, I was unable to plan ahead. Maybe, fatigue effects people in different ways. My theory was, I was too tired to allow the muscle movements, that were normally detrimental to my stroke, to occur. A short time after that, I met Tom Simpson. He told me I needed to relax more, to get a better stroke. Made sense to me, it helped.

Maybe, if you start relaxing more from the beginning, you won't get as fatigued near the end. IOW, it may be easier to prevent fatigue, than it is to battle it.

Tracy
 

Dhakala

Banned
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NAH/is_9_32/ai_94639434

Meditation helps revive you because it relieves the fatigue that often results from stressful days. Being quiet and mindful of the present helps you disconnect from the flurry of your thoughts, inducing a restful state.

Yoga can also help relieve mental fatigue, because it forces you to concentrate on one thing at a time. Stretching your body and improving your posture with yoga poses can also improve your respiratory efficiency, which is partly responsible for reducing muscle tension and promoting relaxation.

The next time you feel fatigued, try one of these relaxation techniques. To do a simple meditation, sit comfortably in a chair and elongate your spine. Place your arms on your lap or on a folded blanket on your lap so there is no strain in your shoulders, and slightly drop your chin. Focus on the flow of your breath for five to 20 minutes.

These easy yoga moves can also help. Stretch your arms above your head and clasp your fingers. Bend to one side and then the other as you breathe easily. Do this for two to three breaths per side. Or lie down on your back in a quiet place, supporting the back of your knees with a pillow or rolled blanket and your head and neck with a pillow. Cover your eyes with a light cloth and breathe naturally for five to 5 minutes.
 

metal5d

Pool Player
Silver Member
I like Red Bull if I am feeling a little tired. Also splashing a little cold water on my face seems to help. Other than that I just try to keep my shot routine the same as always.
 

Tokyo-dave

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I personally don't drink coffe when I get to feeling a little shaky and tired 'cause it gives me the shakes even more to the point that it's even obvious to my opponent when I'm raking the balls. I don't drink water, because in my case, that's also the about the time that the hands start to sweat.
I'll usually take a bathroom break, wash my face and hands (Seabreeze), and a pretty snappy and cool breath mint.
In between matches, I'll even step outside and shoot the breeze with anybody around and talk anything but pool if possible.
dave
 

steev

Lazy User
Silver Member
the only solution i've found is to plan ahead. good sleep and eating patterns go a long way. i also try to rest as much as possible between matches (except this weekend...played between matches, got tired, lost).

-s
 

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
steev said:
the only solution i've found is to plan ahead. good sleep and eating patterns go a long way. i also try to rest as much as possible between matches (except this weekend...played between matches, got tired, lost).

-s

OK, thanks everyone.
We got:
Rest between matches
Red Bull, Orange Juice
Poweredge
Some yoga
reduce stress that causes fatigue
Light exercise - knee bends, touch toes
Plan ahead.
Fresh Fruit
Power naps (so far, my favorite)
Eye Exercises
Freshen up with cool water on face and neck.
Drink Water
Black Tea
NO Sugar
Pay attention to head position when shooting.

All of them sound great, although the Red Bull seems to make me nervous.

I will try each of them over time.
Thanks,
JoeyA
 
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Da Poet

Pool is Cool
Silver Member
Ever notice when there is a very attractive woman in the room, fatigue just disappears?

I don't know about the best thing to do when your tired, but I can say the worst thing to do is ignore it.
 

AuntyDan

/* Insert skill here */
Silver Member
Try "Squint Power"?

There's one other thing I've seen suggested, which is to actually work out your eye muscles used for focusing. I think I've heard this suggested in the past, but I saw this detailed in an old copy of "American Handgunner" that someone had left lying around my office (Note that I don't approve of this kind of thing myself. Being English I'm firmly against allowing rebellious colonials to own weapons, who knows what kind of trouble they'd get into ;-)

Anyhoo in the 2004 Sept/Oct edition, page 44, there's an article quoting Ernie Langdon advocating eye exersises. The one that sounded relevant to Pool playing was to hold a pencil (Or other small object) in front of your face as close as you could to still be able to focus on it. Then you should switch your focus to a more distant object and repeat.

It seems to me if you setup to do this with a cue ball and an object set at the maximum length of shot you would find on a 9' pool table and practicied this a few times a day it may help in long sessions and tournaments.
 

ironman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JoeyA said:
Like most people, when I get toward the end of a long tournament I tend to get a little tired and I miss shots that I would not normally miss.

Are there any little tricks of the trade that help you refresh your ability to focus and concentrate on making the shot when you are dead-DOG-tired?

This reminds me of the little joke that Old Has Been told about going to the bathroom and putting your feet in the toilet for a couple of quick flushes which refreshes the feet. RIP--------------LOL.

But seriously, do you have ways to give you another hour of your best play when tired? Some of the things I do are:
Drink a cup of coffee.
Water: I drink this regularly throughout the tournament.
Washing your face & neck with cool water.
Deep breathing. (don't really know if this helps with being tired)
Knee Bends. (for me this is good for like one game.)

I also wonder if different things are required depending upon your age.

Have any of you ever jogged 30 minutes prior to a match?
If so what is your age? And of course, what did it accomplish?

Thanks,
JoeyA

OHB said that those Kohlers with the 10 gallon tank would almost suck your toes off. I still lmao everytime I think of that.
 

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
ironman said:
OHB said that those Kohlers with the 10 gallon tank would almost suck your toes off. I still lmao everytime I think of that.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to know OHB.
JoeyA
 

catscradle

<< 2 all-time greats
Silver Member
JoeyA said:
Like most people, when I get toward the end of a long tournament I tend to get a little tired and I miss shots that I would not normally miss.

Are there any little tricks of the trade that help you refresh your ability to focus and concentrate on making the shot when you are dead-DOG-tired?

This reminds me of the little joke that Old Has Been told about going to the bathroom and putting your feet in the toilet for a couple of quick flushes which refreshes the feet. RIP--------------LOL.

But seriously, do you have ways to give you another hour of your best play when tired? Some of the things I do are:
Drink a cup of coffee.
Water: I drink this regularly throughout the tournament.
Washing your face & neck with cool water.
Deep breathing. (don't really know if this helps with being tired)
Knee Bends. (for me this is good for like one game.)

I also wonder if different things are required depending upon your age.

Have any of you ever jogged 30 minutes prior to a match?
If so what is your age? And of course, what did it accomplish?

Thanks,
JoeyA

For me jogging may be my problem... every morning my alarm goes off at 4:30. I'm run by 5:45 latest. I run 30-40 minutes typically, I've gotten too old and slow to worry about what the milage is. By 9:30 at night my butt is dragging, seems to be nothing I can do about it. I'm 60 so that doesn't help a whole lot, I used to run a lot more without the kind of tiredness I have now.
Also I notice each fall and spring for the duration of soccer season my game is off. We play full 90 minute games on Sundays and, at my age, it literally is the next Sunday before I've recovered.
 

CaptainHook

NOT Mike Sigel
Silver Member
I only Drink O.J. when in a long playing session. We all get tired at some point, but when your down on that shot and you start feeling worn out, get up, step back from the shot. Remember you are here to win, dig deep in your Soul get back down on the shot, and "Come with it".:)
 

mikepage

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
CaptainHook said:
[...] We all get tired at some point, but when your down on that shot and you start feeling worn out, get up, step back from the shot. Remember you are here to win, dig deep in your Soul get back down on the shot, and "Come with it".:)

Good subject Joey.

The above sounds like good advice. But I really think when I'm getting tired all this kinda stuff goes out the window. I'll stand there while my opponent is shooting telling myself I really need to focus now. I need to forget those few mistakes. They're in the past. Now I need to be careful, deliberate, focused, etc. Then 60 seconds later I'll catch myself playing shape for a ball that really doesn't pass into the pocket (i.e, I didn't really look at it in advance). I know what I need to do when I'm thinking about it, but I can't seem to hold the appropriate mens rea in my head for any length of time.

It's as though when I'm tired I get a temporary case of attention defecit disorder. Maybe we should look at strategies special ed teachers use for improving concentration in ADD students...

...behavioral strategies, that is. Not pharmaceutical strategies.
 

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
mikepage said:
Good subject Joey.

The above sounds like good advice. But I really think when I'm getting tired all this kinda stuff goes out the window. I'll stand there while my opponent is shooting telling myself I really need to focus now. I need to forget those few mistakes. They're in the past. Now I need to be careful, deliberate, focused, etc. Then 60 seconds later I'll catch myself playing shape for a ball that really doesn't pass into the pocket (i.e, I didn't really look at it in advance). I know what I need to do when I'm thinking about it, but I can't seem to hold the appropriate mens rea in my head for any length of time.

It's as though when I'm tired I get a temporary case of attention defecit disorder. Maybe we should look at strategies special ed teachers use for improving concentration in ADD students...

...behavioral strategies, that is. Not pharmaceutical strategies.

When I'm really tired, I seem to be able to think clearly (at least I think i do and I am sure I do not make the best decisions-just think I do :)) but it is my inability to pocket average shots that I cannot control that frustrates me so. Why is it that I can see the contact point on the object ball perfectly clear but I cannot put the cue ball where it needs to go. I loosen my grip. I move only my forearm keeping the rest of my body perfectly still and still I miss.

I am all open to some special ed for improving my concentration. Besides my wife says I have always been a member of the ADD fraternity.

I've heard of your ability to drive for miles and miles and drop in on the pool room and still be able to clean most forum pool player's clock. What's up with that? Or is that just another urban legend? ;-)

I like the idea of finding the non meds solution to overcoming this problem and will do some Internet mining for ADD solutions for improving concentration.
Thanks,
JoeyA
 

tedkaufman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When you're in a long tournament or match, your blood sugar level will drop, and this will make you feel weary. Eating fresh fruit will put you back on track. Fruit works a lot better than fruit juice, soda, or other processed snacks, even better than coffee. So, eat some fruit every couple hours and you'll find your energy and concentration will remaing a lot more consistent because your blood sugar level will stay constant.
 

Dhakala

Banned
JoeyA said:
Why is it that I can see the contact point on the object ball perfectly clear but I cannot put the cue ball where it needs to go. I loosen my grip. I move only my forearm keeping the rest of my body perfectly still and still I miss.

Joey, when fatigued you're not doing things as perfectly as you think you are. You miss for the same old reasons - bad aim, off-line stroke, etc. You just aren't able to spot these things when you're fatigued.

Also, the mind-body connection is dampened by fatigue. Your tired body is like a worn-out car that doesn't respond to the accelerator promptly, and whose loose steering linkage is no longer as precise as the hands on the wheel.

I like the idea of finding the non meds solution to overcoming this problem and will do some Internet mining for ADD solutions for improving concentration.

See my previous messages re: meditation and yogic eye exercises.
 
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