Weightlifting and muscling ball confusion

[Bowling Wonder]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been on here for quite some time due to school and a few other things. The upcoming season looks promising for me, since I'm paired up with another wheelchair bowler who is very skillful. On to my question.

I've heard of at least a couple of pros (probably Duke, Barnes, or Weber) who takes part in a weight training regimen (i.e., weightlifting).As some of you might know, I enjoy weightlifting, but lately I've been undecided as to whether or not to continue. My reasoning for this is that I have read numerous times that muscling the ball- having the arm muscles rather than gravity control the swing- impacts the swing negatively.

As I'm told that directness is my strength, my question is this: Why have muscle if you aren't supposed to use it? Should I continue weightlifting ( currently I do 10 reps each arm of 15 pounds)?

[Jaescrub]

Yes you should. You can still use a clean swing with huge arm muscles. It's all about staying relaxed. Look at iceman his arms are huge! Strong forearm and writs will also aid you in bowling. It's about control.

[bowl1820]

As I'm told that directness is my strength, my question is this: Why have muscle if you aren't supposed to use it? Should I continue weightlifting ( currently I do 10 reps each arm of 15 pounds)?

Not muscling the ball doesn't mean not using your muscles. Muscling is trying to force the ball to do something, tensing up the muscles in the arm which reduces the effectiveness of your shot. A relaxed, free swinging arm gives a more consistent swing.

[GoodGravy]

Wow, talk about good timing of this question! I just got done about 3 hours ago with a coaching session from a USBC silver level coach. My biggest issue hands down was MUSCLING THE BALL. Yes, not letting the ball swing via gravity is a big no-no. The basic explanation is that muscles will not have the consistency that physics and gravity will have.

I spent almost the entire hour focusing on how not to use my arm muscles...It is amazing how much work it is not to do work!

For me it all began with a really poor push off on my approach and just went downhill from there. I did not even realize it until my coach had me take a look at the video he was making...Yikes!!! I would recommend to do what you can to let the ball swing as naturally as possible....