Great Billiard and Pool Stress Relief: Masseuse for Massage

Because I play pool so much and in my old age I am getting back problems but I still want to perform as best as I can in Pool and billiards. So along with my morning stretch routines and light work outs I have hired a Masseuse once a month to work on my neck and back, and once in a while on my shooting shoulder and elbow. I know this seems really extreme but a monthly massage can really put a difference back into your game. When you are taller, shooting pool becomes a little awkward by bending over the table your abs and back are already becoming strained and even though you should be resting on your stick holding arm going back and forth from the table after long periods of time can tighten up the muscles in your back. The neck is the most strained if you are shooting pool correctly, your head should be up and looking down the pool cue shaft of the pool cue aiming for the cue ball. When you are looking up your neck must arch upwards which will put tension along the back of your neck and stretch the front. Most massage therapists will tell you most people hold their stress in their shoulders, and putting too much tension on your neck for long periods of time can affect blood flow to the brain. By relieving this tension with a massage you give your full attention to your game and not the cranks that are involved with cramping or a battered neck.

The largest reason you should get a massage is full stress relief just like any sport if you have stress and are thinking about something else other than the pool game in front of you, this can affect the outcome of the game. Every little thing can affect the out come of any game but if you can relieve that stress even for once a month you can see an increase in your ability to focus and really give your self the best chances of winning in a league games or pool tournaments.

I know that the amount of money spent on a Massage Therapist can be expensive but a great idea is find out if there is a local massage therapy school or even a travel Masseuse if you can convince one of these people to come down to your pool hall when there is a maximum amount of people to validated a cheaper rate between you and the Masseuse then possibly everyone can win. I started working with a travel massage therapist and once a month she gives me a really great rate as well as all my friends by hosting a Massage Party where you get everyone together to socialize while people one by one gets a massage. She ends up charging us a fifty cents a minute and you always tip while she ends up making a good amount of money and every on at the party is happy.

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Remember in Billiards Pool Mind and Body are one Your Health Must be Good

If you are recreational player who plays from time to time or non-competitive then these billiards and pool health tips are really not for you. But if you are serious about billiards pool and want to increase your game then you must remember that your mind and body are one and if your health is bad your game will be just as bad. Even in pool leagues you may only play a few games at a time but usually in the end there is a huge tournament with usually double or triple amount of pool racks, and breaks. You must make sure you health is in good order. Younger pool players are flourishing in higher grade tournaments and one of the major factors is that they do not have to work on their health as much. And not everyone can be 18 again.

Eye sight is key and about half the battle so make sure you are getting your yearly check ups, eat some carrots once in a while and do not try to strain them too often. Wear good professional UV blocking sunglasses, and if you work on a computer or watch a lot of television give your eyes a break every 2 hours by going outside and looking at stationary objects to excercise your vision.

Obviously what comes hand in hand with Billiards and pool has always been bar locations where drinking and smoking surrounds the tables, some players even feel more confident if they have one drink or one shot to kill th nerves before the first game but then again one drink will not kill you but drinking and smoking heavily will affect your game instantly. Alcohol will twist your brain around and smoking will kill your lungs but what a lot of people don’t realize about smoking is that it will affect your eyes. Non-smokers eyes usually get puffy, irritated and red after an hour of being in small room with smokers, imagine the same effect on a regular smoker.

This one may throw a lot of pool players for a loop but balance and flexibility should be a regiment to work on. Most professional players know this and especially female pro pool players. Think about how you shoot, first you walk up to the table, get a good base on your feet, bend over, reach for your aim, and make sure your body stays completely still while your rock your forearm back and forth only without moving the rest of your body. Yoga may be the perfect supplement to a pool player trying to go to the next level in his or her game, which is the art of staying in positions without moving fo long periods of time. Flexibility is important when you have to compact or reach your body across a table to make long shots that are short enough to shoot but no long enough to use pool bridge stick.

Probably one of the most important things you should work on, even as a pool player is that you need to realize that pool is a sport like anything else. And in like every other sport stamina is key. An example of this is when I used to play in the APA league every once a week we would shoot against only one team and the sets are an average of 5 to 6 games per night in 8-ball or 9-ball depending on the matches. But once we made it to the regional you have to play about 4 teams just in one day and that could be anywhere from 20 to 30 games. Not to mention being up for long hours if you keep winning. This is where stamina is so important because your body is tired and your mind is not or vice versa you are out of sync completely. To be a champion you need to train like a champion, you probably do not need to become a marathon runner but 30 minutes to an hour a day you should have some type of physical activity to make sure that your stamina is up to par with your competition, if not more to be a winner. Even the great Jeanette Lee “The Black Widow” in many of her interviews professes the importance of eating healthy and making sure your body is in good shape for lang days of pool because most of the time if your body dies, you mind will quit with it.

To become a great pool player all of these requirements need to be met in some way or fashion. And if you want to go professional you have to put into your mind that no matter how much you practice or train someone out there is trying to practice and train longer and harder than you, to become a champion you have to strive to surpass even your own borders and walls. But it is just like everything else without training for pool and just trying to become a pro without thinking about these things is hard, but then again if becoming a professional pool or billiards player was easy, then everyone would be doing it.

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