Thoughts on weight training for a straight stroke

M

MiscueBlues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm interested if any of you instructors have used weights for stroke training before and what you think of this method.

A friend and I have had a lot of success straightening out our strokes through training with weights. Shooting pretty straight left handed too even though I never play left handed, its all from doing this exercise!

I've been putting a very small 2.5 lb weight on the back of my cue stick and doing slow deliberate strokes through a tight gap until my back hand shoulder burns so good.

I focus very intensely on getting into my perfect stance, a slow perfectly straight back swing, this is where I feel the burn in my back hand shoulder, and a smooth accelerating straight stroke.

I started doing this jacked up over a ball as well, it is much harder on the shoulder with the elevated back hand. It's definitely helping me get comfortable delivering a good straight stroke on a jacked up shot.

I've been doing 1 set of this every day as part of my warmup. Every other day I go hard and do 3+ sets, but I make sure not to shoot right after because that feels weird. And I've found taking a couple days off from this exercise every couple weeks to rest up is critical.


My results feel incredible! :thumbup:
My right and left hand stroke is straighter than ever. I'm getting new high runs of consecutive successful long straight shots.

The balance in my stance is greatly improved. During the drill I stay down in the stance for minutes at a time, so I'm forced to figure out a way to make it comfortable. Now taking regular shots when I'm in the stance for 10 seconds feels like nothing at all. And I'm much more resistant to head and body movement during my stroke from practicing standing still and swinging a cue with extra momentum!

I think the most interesting result of this drill is that it's actually improved my grip. The extra weight on my cue stick pulls straight down so it makes my wrist naturally fall into a neutral position. Any turning of the wrist takes more effort to fight the balance of the weight.

And the extra momentum of the cue stick is actually helping me develop a lighter grip. It sounds weird, but with that extra weight I just let the cue stick fall into the spot that takes the least effort to keep it there and then stroke.

Its like all the bad habits of my regular stroke are harder to maintain with the little bit of extra weight on the cue, so naturally I develop the motion that requires the least effort, and that's how I want to be shooting anyway!

I don't know why I never read or saw any videos about a method like this before... I feel like I'm making huge breakthroughs thanks to this! I can't wait to see what a few more months of this will do for my stroke, especially on elevated cue shots!!
 
trust your body's response and make sure to stretch after each session.

I've used a weighted sword, hand weights, and resistance training for over 20 year in my own game and have trained many students in this manner.

Keep it up, just be careful about developing your shoulders and especially the bicep muscle.....it can have a detrimental effect on your game, so trust your body's response and make sure to stretch after each session.


MiscueBlues said:
I'm interested if any of you instructors have used weights for stroke training before and what you think of this method.

A friend and I have had a lot of success straightening out our strokes through training with weights. Shooting pretty straight left handed too even though I never play left handed, its all from doing this exercise!

I've been putting a very small 2.5 lb weight on the back of my cue stick and doing slow deliberate strokes through a tight gap until my back hand shoulder burns so good.

I focus very intensely on getting into my perfect stance, a slow perfectly straight back swing, this is where I feel the burn in my back hand shoulder, and a smooth accelerating straight stroke.

I started doing this jacked up over a ball as well, it is much harder on the shoulder with the elevated back hand. It's definitely helping me get comfortable delivering a good straight stroke on a jacked up shot.

I've been doing 1 set of this every day as part of my warmup. Every other day I go hard and do 3+ sets, but I make sure not to shoot right after because that feels weird. And I've found taking a couple days off from this exercise every couple weeks to rest up is critical.


My results feel incredible! :thumbup:
My right and left hand stroke is straighter than ever. I'm getting new high runs of consecutive successful long straight shots.

The balance in my stance is greatly improved. During the drill I stay down in the stance for minutes at a time, so I'm forced to figure out a way to make it comfortable. Now taking regular shots when I'm in the stance for 10 seconds feels like nothing at all. And I'm much more resistant to head and body movement during my stroke from practicing standing still and swinging a cue with extra momentum!

I think the most interesting result of this drill is that it's actually improved my grip. The extra weight on my cue stick pulls straight down so it makes my wrist naturally fall into a neutral position. Any turning of the wrist takes more effort to fight the balance of the weight.

And the extra momentum of the cue stick is actually helping me develop a lighter grip. It sounds weird, but with that extra weight I just let the cue stick fall into the spot that takes the least effort to keep it there and then stroke.

Its like all the bad habits of my regular stroke are harder to maintain with the little bit of extra weight on the cue, so naturally I develop the motion that requires the least effort, and that's how I want to be shooting anyway!

I don't know why I never read or saw any videos about a method like this before... I feel like I'm making huge breakthroughs thanks to this! I can't wait to see what a few more months of this will do for my stroke, especially on elevated cue shots!!
Click to expand...
 
CJ Wiley

Keep it up, just be careful about developing your shoulders and especially the bicep muscle.....it can have a detrimental effect on your game.


CJ could you elaborate a little more on the above statement...are we discussing someone who quits playing pool and becomes Mr. Olympia or someone that is doing both every other day?
 
MiscueBlues said:
I'm interested if any of you instructors have used weights for stroke training before and what you think of this method.

A friend and I have had a lot of success straightening out our strokes through training with weights. Shooting pretty straight left handed too even though I never play left handed, its all from doing this exercise!

I've been putting a very small 2.5 lb weight on the back of my cue stick and doing slow deliberate strokes through a tight gap until my back hand shoulder burns so good.

I focus very intensely on getting into my perfect stance, a slow perfectly straight back swing, this is where I feel the burn in my back hand shoulder, and a smooth accelerating straight stroke.

I started doing this jacked up over a ball as well, it is much harder on the shoulder with the elevated back hand. It's definitely helping me get comfortable delivering a good straight stroke on a jacked up shot.

I've been doing 1 set of this every day as part of my warmup. Every other day I go hard and do 3+ sets, but I make sure not to shoot right after because that feels weird. And I've found taking a couple days off from this exercise every couple weeks to rest up is critical.


My results feel incredible! :thumbup:
My right and left hand stroke is straighter than ever. I'm getting new high runs of consecutive successful long straight shots.

The balance in my stance is greatly improved. During the drill I stay down in the stance for minutes at a time, so I'm forced to figure out a way to make it comfortable. Now taking regular shots when I'm in the stance for 10 seconds feels like nothing at all. And I'm much more resistant to head and body movement during my stroke from practicing standing still and swinging a cue with extra momentum!

I think the most interesting result of this drill is that it's actually improved my grip. The extra weight on my cue stick pulls straight down so it makes my wrist naturally fall into a neutral position. Any turning of the wrist takes more effort to fight the balance of the weight.

And the extra momentum of the cue stick is actually helping me develop a lighter grip. It sounds weird, but with that extra weight I just let the cue stick fall into the spot that takes the least effort to keep it there and then stroke.

Its like all the bad habits of my regular stroke are harder to maintain with the little bit of extra weight on the cue, so naturally I develop the motion that requires the least effort, and that's how I want to be shooting anyway!

I don't know why I never read or saw any videos about a method like this before... I feel like I'm making huge breakthroughs thanks to this! I can't wait to see what a few more months of this will do for my stroke, especially on elevated cue shots!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post.

CJ has recommended this exercise forever. Its even in one of his videos.

What are you using for a weight and where did you buy it.

Have fun :smile:

John
 
One Pocket John said:
Thanks. I just so happen to have a couple of those 3lbs each. :smile:



John
Click to expand...


Yea I've got a couple similar sets, at first I put all of them on the stick for about 8-10 lb but then went down to using the lightest one. Makes the stroke feel more natural but still with noticeably more weight.
 
I did 50 reps this morning as outlined in your post.
I'll do it everyday for a few weeks and report back.

Edit: I have found it more beneficial for me to do 5 sets of 10-15 reps with a 10 minute break in between each set.

John


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
John
 
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One of the things that has always worked for me, is splitting firewood. Whether using an axe, maul, or sledge + wedges, the act of swinging a heavy hammer or axe tends to loosen up those back, chest, and arm muscles and make them more conducive (for me) to regimented fundamentals like the snooker stance. (In proper sledge/axe/maul fundamentals, you use a square-on stance for accuracy [much like the snooker stance], and in the rare occasion where you do miss due to, say, exhaustion, safety is built-in -- i.e. your sledge/maul/axe is going into the ground between your feet, and not into your feet themselves.)

I've split about 4 cords of firewood thus far this season, and even though I'm not playing as much as I used to (maybe once/twice a week), it's maintaining my game as if I never left it. (Don't get me wrong; I'd LOVE to play more, but life's getting in the way at the moment.)

It's also a GREAT core exercise -- a great way to keep fit, both aerobically and muscle workout.

-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
One of the things that has always worked for me, is splitting firewood. Whether using an axe, maul, or sledge + wedges, the act of swinging a heavy hammer or axe tends to loosen up those back, chest, and arm muscles and make them more conducive (for me) to regimented fundamentals like the snooker stance. (In proper sledge/axe/maul fundamentals, you use a square-on stance for accuracy [much like the snooker stance], and in the rare occasion where you do miss due to, say, exhaustion, safety is built-in -- i.e. your sledge/maul/axe is going into the ground between your feet, and not into your feet themselves.)

I've split about 4 cords of firewood thus far this season, and even though I'm not playing as much as I used to (maybe once/twice a week), it's maintaining my game as if I never left it. (Don't get me wrong; I'd LOVE to play more, but life's getting in the way at the moment.)

It's also a GREAT core exercise -- a great way to keep fit, both aerobically and muscle workout.

-Sean
Click to expand...

Did you have to sean? ;)

: http://youtu.be/sZa26_esLBE
 
MiscueBlues said:
I'm interested if any of you instructors have used weights for stroke training before and what you think of this method.

A friend and I have had a lot of success straightening out our strokes through training with weights. Shooting pretty straight left handed too even though I never play left handed, its all from doing this exercise!

I've been putting a very small 2.5 lb weight on the back of my cue stick and doing slow deliberate strokes through a tight gap until my back hand shoulder burns so good.

I focus very intensely on getting into my perfect stance, a slow perfectly straight back swing, this is where I feel the burn in my back hand shoulder, and a smooth accelerating straight stroke.

I started doing this jacked up over a ball as well, it is much harder on the shoulder with the elevated back hand. It's definitely helping me get comfortable delivering a good straight stroke on a jacked up shot.

I've been doing 1 set of this every day as part of my warmup. Every other day I go hard and do 3+ sets, but I make sure not to shoot right after because that feels weird. And I've found taking a couple days off from this exercise every couple weeks to rest up is critical.


My results feel incredible! :thumbup:
My right and left hand stroke is straighter than ever. I'm getting new high runs of consecutive successful long straight shots.

The balance in my stance is greatly improved. During the drill I stay down in the stance for minutes at a time, so I'm forced to figure out a way to make it comfortable. Now taking regular shots when I'm in the stance for 10 seconds feels like nothing at all. And I'm much more resistant to head and body movement during my stroke from practicing standing still and swinging a cue with extra momentum!

I think the most interesting result of this drill is that it's actually improved my grip. The extra weight on my cue stick pulls straight down so it makes my wrist naturally fall into a neutral position. Any turning of the wrist takes more effort to fight the balance of the weight.

And the extra momentum of the cue stick is actually helping me develop a lighter grip. It sounds weird, but with that extra weight I just let the cue stick fall into the spot that takes the least effort to keep it there and then stroke.

Its like all the bad habits of my regular stroke are harder to maintain with the little bit of extra weight on the cue, so naturally I develop the motion that requires the least effort, and that's how I want to be shooting anyway!

I don't know why I never read or saw any videos about a method like this before... I feel like I'm making huge breakthroughs thanks to this! I can't wait to see what a few more months of this will do for my stroke, especially on elevated cue shots!!
Click to expand...

I've never taught this before but I like what you're saying. It seems that the added weight makes it harder to pull your cue into an off position and makes it easier to do the right thing.

The key will be in being able to use the correct form permanently without the weights at some point down the line. Heavier cues do promote better ball-pocketing and I suspected this is why some players are gravitating towards longer cues. They're heavier.

But remember, there's a trade-off of less ability to 'feel' shots or execute finesse shots.

But I agree that the priority should be to stroke straight. Finesse can come later. Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
FranCrimi said:
I've never taught this before but I like what you're saying. It seems that the added weight makes it harder to pull your cue into an off position and makes it easier to do the right thing.

The key will be in being able to use the correct form permanently without the weights at some point down the line. Heavier cues do promote better ball-pocketing and I suspected this is why some players are gravitating towards longer cues. They're heavier.

But remember, there's a trade-off of less ability to 'feel' shots or execute finesse shots.

But I agree that the priority should be to stroke straight. Finesse can come later. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Click to expand...

That is the goal :)
And this seems to be a good way to strengthen the "pool-muscles" that will allow me to stroke straight and resist head and body movement.
 
MiscueBlues said:
That is the goal :)
And this seems to be a good way to strengthen the "pool-muscles" that will allow me to stroke straight and resist head and body movement.
Click to expand...

Also, you're carving a new neuro-pathway into your brain. You're creating a good habit that will hopefully, in time, override the bad one.
 
FranCrimi said:
I've never taught this before but I like what you're saying. It seems that the added weight makes it harder to pull your cue into an off position and makes it easier to do the right thing.

The key will be in being able to use the correct form permanently without the weights at some point down the line. Heavier cues do promote better ball-pocketing and I suspected this is why some players are gravitating towards longer cues. They're heavier.

But remember, there's a trade-off of less ability to 'feel' shots or execute finesse shots.

But I agree that the priority should be to stroke straight. Finesse can come later. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Click to expand...

Hey Fran hope your doing well.

One thing I have found, is due to trying to hold the weight up........you don't even drop your elbow. :smile:

The idea is really cool and I'm looking forward to the results of my testing. So far, I like it. Painful but I like it.

I have been using this exercise since the thread was posted. There are a lot of good benefits and as I stated in my post I will continue using it for three weeks before posting my observations.

The waiting period between sets is crucial and even more crucial is the waiting period after the exercises are completed. At least 30min. even then you will have to focus on the feel of the cue weight on your fingers (3lbs vs.18oz). Takes some time to get the feel back.

Take Care

John
 
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One Pocket John said:
Hey Fran hope your doing well.

One thing I have found, is due to trying to hold the weight up........you don't even drop your elbow. :smile:

The idea is really cool and I'm looking forward to the results of my testing. So far, I like it. Painful but I like it.

I have been using this exercise since the thread was posted. There are a lot of good benefits and as I stated in my post I will continue using it for three weeks before posting my observations.

The waiting period between sets is crucial and even more crucial is the waiting period after the exercises are completed. At least 30min. even then you will have to focus on the feel of the cue weight on your fingers (3lbs vs.18oz). Takes some time to get the feel back.

Take Care

John
Click to expand...

Hey John. Sounds good. I'll be looking forward to your observations after your three weeks are up. Be sure to post back.
 
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