One Handed Pushups and HIIT - A faster and more effective workout

Ian,

I am currently stuck on close handed push-ups and close handed pull-ups and can’t seem to progress beyond that after several weeks. Do you have any suggestions?

I decided to do apply the 100 push-up reps and the twenty pull-ups reps to help me jump to the next level.

I’d be interested in knowing how you pushed past any plateaus you encountered.

One Handed Pushups and HIIT - A faster and more effective workout

Thanks for the suggestion.. Will check out convict conditioning….

Have shifted to a new HIIT workout (Crossfit/Running) and lost almost 8 pounds in 4 weeks while still being able to do 50 pullups/100 pushups and 150 squats in 20 minutes..

Am pretty happy with the results…

Aiming without Aiming Part II - How I really aim a billiards shot

Jeff,

I totally agree with Tony’s suggestion on sticking to the ghost ball system. Once you get the hang of it, you will be amazed at how easy it is to use. You will no longer need any systems to locate the aiming point, and your aiming point will remain the same (the center of the ghost ball) no matter what angle the cut shot is. It will make the aiming a lot easier and allow you to focus on other details in your game.

My suggestion would be to stand so that you, the object ball and the pocket are in a line. Then imagine the ghost ball and align/aim at its center. Have a friend put a ball there a few times if you find it hard to visualize. Then shoot a few times. Its ok if you miss initially since your brain will need some time to recalibrate to this new system. However once it gets used to it, your subconscious mind will draw the ghost ball and line you up perfectly even as you walk up to the shot.

The drills I personally use vary from most of Bert Kinisters videos to “The Lesson” by the Monk to varied stuff I picked up over the years. Check out this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6zBTXwTHGs for a quick summary of his 60 minute workout.

The drills I mentioned in the post are for complete beginners who have never played before. Considering you have been working with Tony, I am guessing you outgrew the needs for those drills about five years ago.

However this is briefly how to get a beginner playing decently well in just half an hour.

Drills for Beginners

1. I first get them to learn a good stance and make sure their cue-ing is reasonably straight (using the bottle drill if a bottle if available)
2. I then show them how to line up a shot so that they don’t have to aim once they get down on the shot and have them practice hitting a cue ball into the opposite corner pocket.
3. Once they can hit a target with reasonable consistency (surprisingly few can….), I try to give them a crash course on the essentials of a good billiards stroke
4. I then start training their eye for aiming (using the ghost ball system) by giving them simple cut shots. I usually place a second object ball as a ghost ball and ask them to use it to line up. Once they do so, and are down on the shot, I remove the ghost ball and let them shoot. After doing this enough number of times, I make them repeat the shot without a ghost ball. In case they start missing, I bring back the ghost ball and let them shoot a few more shots.
5. I then try to give them the gist of the aiming without aiming concept of just getting down on the shot and trusting that it will go in. Surprisingly, complete beginners are able to pick up the system a lot faster than people who have been shooting for a while.
6. Obviously, for a quick crash course, I ignore the basic elements of position play. For people who come back for a second lesson, we go over the stun shot, the 90 and 30 degree rule and how to apply them for simple position play.

This takes any person from barely able to hold the cute to playing at an APA 2-3 level in just under an hour.

–

PS: I would love to stay in touch. Please feel free to email me using the contact me page or by adding me on Facebook.

Putting it all together - creating my ideal workout

I know I SHOULD plan a day off. The problem is I feel weird and restless on any day that I don’t exercise.

Will probably take Saturdays off to recover, and do a light workout on Sundays.

Aiming without Aiming - How to shoot pool like a pro

Thanks. Appreciate the kind feedback

I have been working on my inner game for some time too. One book I found really useful for inner game that you might like to check out is Pleasures of Small Motions by Bob Fancher.

My Skydiving Experience - Learn to face your fears by jumping out of a plane

Glad I could help.

I am sure you are going to love it.

Aiming without Aiming - How to shoot pool like a pro

It’s funny you should say that… I talk about the motivation behind playing in this article on motivation for playing billiards.

Aiming without aiming is just one teeny piece of the puzzle. There is a LOT more to pool than just aiming or running tables. Once you get good at aiming, bigger things start affecting your game – choking and controlling your own emotions, playing against more experienced players with defensive play or learning to face new experiences and situations that you haven’t faced before (in which case past experience and your subconscious mind can’t help you).

At the professional level, its no longer about just skill, but also the mental game of billiards. Professionals start paying attention to and practicing a lot more subtle things that amateurs don’t even notice.

The difference between a nascar driver and a regular driver isn’t that a regular driver can’t drive subconsciously. It is that the professional driver’s subconscious mind has experience in situations that the regular driver has not faced. When put into these situations the regular driver panics and tries his best to flail around, while the professional handles it with a smooth confidence that comes from years of experience.

The fact is, even after learning to aim well, there is still so much for me to learn and do, I have no chance of getting bored. Better cue ball control, better position play, better safety play, better kick shots, better bank shots, learning breakout shots.

It depends entirely on your own journey and motivation behind playing pool.

If you consider learning to aim consistently the final step in playing pool, you might prefer not to reach it and enjoy where you are.

If you consider it a stepping stone in a longer journey, you might find that it isn’t as boring as you imagine it.