How long can you practice for?

[jonny66]

Before you begin to lose focus? I can't really go on for more than a couple of hours before I stop giving every shot the attention needed, I also have tendinitis so my arm and leg start to hurt after a while. I've heard the pros do like 6-8 hours a day which is impressive, would that be split into smaller chunks of a couple of hours?

[ghost121]

Just started practising again after a 12 year lay off. I can manage about 40 minutes proper concentration. Maybe an hour or so of worthwhile practise. I tend to go on for about two hours, but the last 30 minutes is usually garbage and I know I should stop sooner.

[DeanH]

reading the Stuart Pettman book, the "6-8 hrs" would be split by lunch, etc.

[Master Blaster]

Just started practising again after a 12 year lay off. I can manage about 40 minutes proper concentration. Maybe an hour or so of worthwhile practise. I tend to go on for about two hours, but the last 30 minutes is usually garbage and I know I should stop sooner.

Yes, human attention span is about 30-40mins. This is why we see collapses in matches, when someone like Ronnie is miles ahead, he's simply knackered. Exercise and fitness will improve oxygen delivery to the brain and thus concentration; Ronnie/Robbo and the rejuvinated Smurf are hard at it.

Take a 15min break every 40min. After two sessions, take a half hour break. Eat some fruit, fructose will pep you up and a banana will give you carbs, energy is important. After 3 hours, have a meal break of some sort. Although snooker isn't an exercise at break neck speed, it's still exercise and Hendry reckoned he'd walked 5 miles a day, so proper breaks and fuel are vital.

Don't drink alcohol if you're practising seriously. The pros don't and they achieve much better standards than the pros did in years gone by.

Be realistic, even Ronnie can't manage more than four hours a day. As we get older, it becomes harder and the 6-8hrs of practice to be at the top of our game just isn't there anymore. If you're 20 though, 6hrs is doable.

[jonny66]

I'm sure I read that Ronnie used to do 14 hours a day, back when his head was binned, apparently used to beat himself up that he hadn't done more as well.

The thing is I quite often read on here that you should try and make your break some kind of reward, try and clear the colours twice before you allow yourself to stop or something, I think that's counter-productive, when it comes to muscle memory your practice should always be your best game should it not?

[bolton-cueman]

The thing is I quite often read on here that you should try and make your break some kind of reward, try and clear the colours twice before you allow yourself to stop or something, I think that's counter-productive, when it comes to muscle memory your practice should always be your best game should it not?

Davis used to set himself targets - complete them before he moved on or rewarded himself. Worked for him. I tend to agree too. As long as the targets are a balance between challenging / achievable targets are the only way to gauge improvement.

[cyberheater]

About 2 hours tops. After that I've had enough.

[Csmith]

If cost and time wasn't issue, I can play/practice until everything starts to hurt, which is roughly 10-11 hours. But if you are looking to get the most out of your session, a planned and focused 1 hour practice session will be far more beneficial than 2-3 hours of knocking the balls around.

If you have time to spend 3-6 hours at the table I recommend taking a 10-15 minute break every hour. Keeps your mind from wandering and gives you time to reassess what you are doing.

[jonny66]

Davis used to set himself targets - complete them before he moved on or rewarded himself. Worked for him. I tend to agree too. As long as the targets are a balance between challenging / achievable targets are the only way to gauge improvement.

It's not the targets I have a problem with, it's forcing yourself to keep playing while tired/hungry during practice, that won't help your concentration

[Master Blaster]

It's not the targets I have a problem with, it's forcing yourself to keep playing while tired/hungry during practice, that won't help your concentration

I take an apple, a choc bar and a sandwich. Drinks from the bar. Sorted. I like to sit down after 45mins, have a wee break.

[DeanH]

I like to sit down after 45mins, have a wee break.

as long as you are sitting in the toilet :biggrin:
Solo practice for me is a max of an hour at any one time as concentration goes.
Tried longer but frustration creeps in and it is worse than no practice.
luckily though usually after about 45 mins a mate comes in and we have a match so the concentration comes back for the frames

[ace man]

Not sure why lot of players around me find snooker so tiring. I don't. It is not physically demanding at all. Not one little bit. Health wise, it is certainly better to walk around a table a little bit rather than be sitting on your arse all day at the office.
When playing, the only time I take a break is when I really need to take a leak. In fact, I begin to fume inside when my opponent takes frequent smoke breaks after every frame and sometimes they really do take their time...
It is those pauses that ruin my focus. Long waiting times between matches at tournaments are very tough for me to handle and I truly hate them.

[SnookeredYou]

I normally practice for about 1-2 hours with 10 minute breaks after about each hour or so. But when I practice American pool I can practice far more longer; even 8 hours straight with limited amount of breaks. it really depends on my mood for the day.

[OmaMiesta]

6-8 hours with a few 15 minute breaks in between.

[Viktortheman]

I can manage to practise for 5 hours and that's it. Sometimes I've practised for 6 hours but it I struggle to concentrate at that stage. I'm taking a 5-minute break every hour to relax and think about the shots I've missed during the session.