Is Pool Exercise?

It's the reverse of excersize.

Feels like your doing nothing but you get sore with no positive benefits.
 
I would say yes. You do a lot of stretching and bending, some walking. You also do a lot of thinking so it is good for mental acuity. Best of all you can do it any time. You don't need tee times, you can play by yourself, weather is not a factor and you can even play at home with the same championship conditions pro's would have in a tournament. You can 't say that about golf, bowling, tennis and so on. Few other sports offer such a lifetime of recreation as pool.

When I had the pool rooms I was always happy to see the older players who may be at the door waiting for the place to open. They have a place to come where all that is required is an interest in pool. Everyone is equal. You may see a guy in his 70's playing with a kid in his teen's. In the real world these unlikely friends would never even talk to each other as they moved past.

Great post....the very reason I play..I'm some what of an invert..pool
lets me out of my shell.
 
Depends on your age and what condition your in and if your overweight or not. For the seniors that are non-active 2 or more hours a day playing pool can do wonders for you. I know this because my last nursing job was running a ACLF. After I put an 8' table in the 20 or so seniors that played it most every day gained strength, more pep in their step, ate better, and helped their mental outlook on life. Johnnyt


this is the correct answer,

A: if your at the gym training and doing cardio-pool is a joke for exercise . B: If your 300 pounds 5'6" chain smoker and its all you do then it is exercise-most people land in the middle of those 2 scenarios A&B.
 
You can burn 800-900+ calories sleeping.

Not sure that's exercise either.

:)


I guess if your really out of shape, rolling out of bed could be. ;)
 
Movement

It's the reverse of excersize.

Feels like your doing nothing but you get sore with no positive benefits.

All motion is exercise.

The reason we sometimes get a sore back (or shoulder, elbow or whatever) is from lack of BALANCE in exercising. By this I don't mean balance in the center of gravity sense, but balance attained by exercising both sides of the body equally.

I learned as a fairly successful bowler in the '60s that using muscles on one side of the body can lead to problems. For that reason, I made an effort to practice bowling with either hand. I wish I'd had done the same for pool, but I wasn't quite that smart back then, and developed some problems.

So I advise stretching (yoga, tai chai, etc.) before and after playing pool (or any sport) and also practicing ambidextrous skills to get some balance to your conditioning. Not to mention, of course, that playing pool with either hand enhances your game considerably.
 
I jog daily and lift about 4 days a week. Pool isn't the equivalent of those things but it is exercise because it gets you out of a chair moving around.

Good to relieve stress also because if focuses your mind on something other than whatever is bothering you.
 
According to my doctors, pool is great exercise for me. Sitting, standing, walking, bending, stretching, lifting a cue and a glass...
 
All motion is exercise.

The reason we sometimes get a sore back (or shoulder, elbow or whatever) is from lack of BALANCE in exercising. By this I don't mean balance in the center of gravity sense, but balance attained by exercising both sides of the body equally.

I learned as a fairly successful bowler in the '60s that using muscles on one side of the body can lead to problems. For that reason, I made an effort to practice bowling with either hand. I wish I'd had done the same for pool, but I wasn't quite that smart back then, and developed some problems.

So I advise stretching (yoga, tai chai, etc.) before and after playing pool (or any sport) and also practicing ambidextrous skills to get some balance to your conditioning. Not to mention, of course, that playing pool with either hand enhances your game considerably.

Blah.

If pool is exercise for you, probably need to start exercising.

:)
 
I'm nearing 63, weigh very near 300 pounds, haven't been "in shape" for about 40 years, and couldn't pass any sort of stress test. I played pool for 13 hours yesterday and feel like I've been ran over by a freight train (my best estimate). If that wasn't exercise, screw exercise. :smile:
 
Unless you also consider waiters and waitresses athletes. Pool is not exercise, but it's not sedentary either.
 
exercise

Blah.

If pool is exercise for you, probably need to start exercising.

:)

I've got this weird habit of using a Dictionary to find the meaning of words. I even found the word "exercise" there!

There's a bit more to "exercising" than lifting weights and running miles. Are those in the fields of fitness and rehabilitation all wrong when they suggest walking, swimming, yoga and tai chai? Or reading, watching quiz shows, using a pencil and paper for doing math (instead of a computer) or even planning a table run in pool for mental exercise?

It may not have occurred to you that some folks with injuries, health problems or an advanced age may not be able to do an "Insanity" workout? I guess walking (or playing pool) would just be a wasted effort for them.

But thank you for your thoughtful and respectful response...
 
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Playing pool won't increase your level of physical fitness, but it is activity that burns calories at a rate higher than say sitting and watching television. I wear a pedometer for a walking contest at work, and you would be surprised at how far you walk when you're playing pool. This is especially true when you're practicing by yourself and not sitting down between shots.
 
Is pool exercise? :rotflmao1::rotflmao1: :killingme::killingme:
 
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According to 'my fitness pal', a 40-year old sedintary man who is 5' 11" and weighs 220 pounds will burn 1250 calories playing pool for 5 hours. Not bad, but it's not the same as vigorously ridng a bike for the same amount of time.

I think the stretching and bending involved is the biggest benefit. That, and the walking. It's also better to stand than sit most of the session, and oh, drinking 12 beers and eating chicken wings and cheese sticks likely negates any calories burned. Ya gotta watch what you eat.
 
There are 200 calories in a 73gram (small) cheeseburger

It takes 50 minutes of brisk walking to burn that many calories (38 minutes of bike riding)

http://www.caloriegallery.com/foods/calories-in-burger-king-cheeseburger.htm

probably a couple of hours of pool playing

I'd suggest that the main health benefits of playing pool lie in the mental and social aspects - keeping yourself mentally stimulated can prevent conditions such as Alzheimer's and depression... and few things in life are as batshit boring as 'exercise'.

Cheers

Bob
 
According to 'my fitness pal', a 40-year old sedintary man who is 5' 11" and weighs 220 pounds will burn 1250 calories playing pool for 5 hours. Not bad, but it's not the same as vigorously ridng a bike for the same amount of time.

That number seems a little on the high side to me. I guess it also depends on who you are playing and how much time is spent in the chair. :)
 
You do get some benefit but..........

A person needs to get about 30 minutes of cardio a day.

Need to get that heart rate up there. Getting it up there exercises the most important muscle in your body........


A little strength workout every other day also will help.

But you sure can't count on either of these from slapping some balls around for awhile.

This reminds me of a funny cartoon I once saw.

The fat guy is standing there at the doctors office telling the doctor he wants some diet pills that work.

The doc hand him a bottle of pills.

The fat guy looks at the bottle and there are only 15 pills.

He says to the doc, I need more than 15 pills don't I.

The doc says, probable but for right now this will do as a start. You need to read the instructions,

Dump the pills on the floor 3 times a day and pick them up one at a time. :p
 
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