Solo Practice - Snooker Gym

[Derek P]

Ok so what do you all do?

I've kinda messed about with a bit of everything over the years but after my trip down the bodybuilding/gym road I've decided to schedule my practice a bit like a gym session and break everything up over the week into seperate parts of the game.

Does anyone else do anything like this or am I the only nutter on the board? lol

I think of routines like this:

10-20 mins Line up = Warm-up and fluency do longer if you are sorting a technical fault

20 mins Scoring routines round the black, pink and blue and baulk colours seperately = postional play

20 mins Long blue's = finding centre ball cue action and technique type routine

20 mins Recovery shots = Balls under cushions, acute cuts into middles, long reds into baulk pockets, using the rest etc

Does anyone else schedule a practice like this or think of the game in this way I kinda just came up with it today and think it's useful for identyfing strengths and weaknesses in your game.

[bobmikeking]

Mark King talked about how he practices in his day in the life video. He has 26 routines that cover all aspects of the game and picks out 10 or 15 out of a hat for each practice session. From what I can tell (could be totally wrong) a lot of top guys do a routine over and over until they complete it or complete it x amount of times in a row with no focus on time.
I know for me fresh back at the game and never a good player at any point in time, I can't do focused solo practice for long before I get tired and become sloppy which I find is counter productive to trying to improve.

[bobmikeking]

Just in case you want to take a watch at the video
Day In The Life Special with Mark King (Part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ggt4kdZN0

He talks about it 4:50 into the video, but he shows different routines he likes and talks about why they are good so its all worth a look.

[Derek P]

What are others thoughts?

I've landed on the PJ nolan idea of saying 20 minutes per routine to try and put pressure on myself to clear in that time and obviously im playing routines relative to my level like maybe 7 reds on the zig zag line up or 6 reds in a mini pack and split and clear them I then usually add a red at a time to the pack for the next session.

In the past I use to do one routine for hours until I mastered it but found I then got bored of that routine like the Line-up I done to death as my first routine everyone obviously does that now I only return to it warm up and I can usually clear it in 10 minutes.

[Bigmeek]

Hi Derek, I think a routine with a bit of structure like you suggest is imperative. I know a few guys do nothing but line-ups. Waste of time IMO.

[Derek P]

Hi Derek, I think a routine with a bit of structure like you suggest is imperative. I know a few guys do nothing but line-ups. Waste of time IMO.

A friend of mine is a really good player he practices with Higgins & Maguire they told him not to do lots of line up as it would wreck his game too easy and only meant as a warm up or for grooving in a bit of technique. I've kinda always thought that after the first initial burst everyone gets with it when they are new to solo practice it's where everyone starts obviously there are ways to make it more difficult of course not using a cushion or using two cushions taking reds in order etc but I think once you've cleared it more than 50 times what's the point spending time doing more of it?

Better to work specific routines for specific parts of your game especially if you are struglling with something, I liked the mark king video bobmikeking posted for example that seems like a sensible system and approach to solo exactly as my idea with the gym routines splitting up body parts you can split up your game line ups only good for getting bit of fluency or fixing a fault in cueing by grooving a new technique in like i said.

[tedisbill]

I'd say the line-up in a useful routine. Targets to aim for are: make 50, make 70-80, make 100+, make a total clearance, make a 140+, make a 147.

If you can make 147s in the line-up, then yes, it's a good warm up. If you can't, there's still plenty to learn.

[Derek P]

I'd say the line-up in a useful routine. Targets to aim for are: make 50, make 70-80, make 100+, make a total clearance, make a 140+, make a 147.

If you can make 147s in the line-up, then yes, it's a good warm up. If you can't, there's still plenty to learn.

I can make a 135-140 as a warm up never really tried to go for the max as I'm not at that level to try one in a frame I know in a similar situation with reds around mid table I would prefer to break build around the blue or the pink for those ones. My highest break in frames is only 96 with some regular 70-80s so I don't think going for max's is relevent to me but I take your point it can still be useful to then chase the max on it when your able to make tons in games but at this stage am working more for my first century in a frame

[tedisbill]

I can make a 135-140 as a warm up never really tried to go for the max as I'm not at that level to try one in a frame I know in a similar situation with reds around mid table I would prefer to break build around the blue or the pink for those ones. My highest break in frames is only 96 with some regular 70-80s so I don't think going for max's is relevent to me but I take your point it can still be useful to then chase the max on it when your able to make tons in games but at this stage am working more for my first century in a frame

Being able to make the max in the line-up is useful because it's requires execution of much harder shots, and better positional discipline.

There's not really one thing comes first and then the other. As your consistency and execution of difficult shots improve generally, you'll be better no matter what you're doing. You'll be better at the line-up, you'll be better in frames.

I'm not saying just do the line-up by the way, but I do think it's useful, if you're holding yourself to very high standards while you do it.

I personally do exactly as you said in your original post. I practice long shots, I practice the line-up, I practice the T Exercise, I practice real frame break building. I also record my results after every single session so I can see what I achieved and how I'm improving etc. Yes I'm that sad

[jonny66]

I downloaded a gym timer to my phone (set it to vibrate) so I would know when to change to something different. There's a theory that whatever you are trying to learn, sports, music, languages etc... You need a set goal and you can't work on it for too long because it fries your brain. 20/30 minutes working on something, then a break, then do something else. I can testify to this from learning how to play the banjo with a broken arm. Spent hours trying to learn the same song, gradually starting to hate that song and always messing up at the same bit. Then you take a break and come back to it and seems much easier. Hours wasted.

[Derek P]

Being able to make the max in the line-up is useful because it's requires execution of much harder shots, and better positional discipline.

There's not really one thing comes first and then the other. As your consistency and execution of difficult shots improve generally, you'll be better no matter what you're doing. You'll be better at the line-up, you'll be better in frames.

I'm not saying just do the line-up by the way, but I do think it's useful, if you're holding yourself to very high standards while you do it.

I personally do exactly as you said in your original post. I practice long shots, I practice the line-up, I practice the T Exercise, I practice real frame break building. I also record my results after every single session so I can see what I achieved and how I'm improving etc. Yes I'm that sad

Nice reply mate I get what your saying about the line up and I think I will give maxing it a go aswell and add that into my armoury as you say it requires a wider selection of tougher shots than just stun running a red in for the pink ill need to screw it back off the cushion with reverse side for the black or whatever use two cushions to get down etc.

Glad to see am not the only saddo but defo think it helps to break it down, I always see the T shape break building as either a routine for when your high on the pink soft stuns and screws or maybe to sharper your reds into the middle bags? How do you tend to play it?

[Derek P]

I downloaded a gym timer to my phone (set it to vibrate) so I would know when to change to something different. There's a theory that whatever you are trying to learn, sports, music, languages etc... You need a set goal and you can't work on it for too long because it fries your brain. 20/30 minutes working on something, then a break, then do something else. I can testify to this from learning how to play the banjo with a broken arm. Spent hours trying to learn the same song, gradually starting to hate that song and always messing up at the same bit. Then you take a break and come back to it and seems much easier. Hours wasted.

And yeah mate I would agree i use to spend long time on one routine like clearing the colours over and over my record was 4 times in a row I could never beat that but it would get so frustrating after an hour on it i usually got a good 3 or 4 in a row in first 20 mins

[tedisbill]

Nice reply mate I get what your saying about the line up and I think I will give maxing it a go aswell and add that into my armoury as you say it requires a wider selection of tougher shots than just stun running a red in for the pink ill need to screw it back off the cushion with reverse side for the black or whatever use two cushions to get down etc.

Glad to see am not the only saddo but defo think it helps to break it down, I always see the T shape break building as either a routine for when your high on the pink soft stuns and screws or maybe to sharper your reds into the middle bags? How do you tend to play it?

Again I approached it like the line-up really. Progressively increasing my break until I could have a max in it. I think it's just about constantly pushing yourself.

Again, focus on it for 45 mins, see what breaks you can make, try and beat it in your next session.

Also, you're exactly right about the more difficult shots. If you get comfortable with those more difficult shots (harder cueing so it needs much better consistency), then that should translate in real frames. Your cueing will be better anyway, and hopefully you'll have easier shots, which you'll now get more often as you've improved your cue delivery.

[travisbickle]

I'd say the line-up in a useful routine. Targets to aim for are: make 50, make 70-80, make 100+, make a total clearance, make a 140+, make a 147.

If you can make 147s in the line-up, then yes, it's a good warm up. If you can't, there's still plenty to learn.

You can use the line up in so many different ways.
No cushions.
Hit cushion after every shot.
All pinks in middle pockets.
All blacks, all pinks, all blues, all baulk colors.

Another good one I do is put all 21 balls in a line down the middle of the table, then pot them in order from top to bottom without hitting a cushion.

[tedisbill]

You can use the line up in so many different ways.
No cushions.
Hit cushion after every shot.
All pinks in middle pockets.
All blacks, all pinks, all blues, all baulk colors.

Another good one I do is put all 21 balls in a line down the middle of the table, then pot them in order from top to bottom without hitting a cushion.

Yes mate. All good routines. And as you improve doing those, that will obviously translate into your ability in actual frames.