Trying to get more revolutions with little wrist strength

[Punkrulz]

Hey guys,

I've been suffering with an issue for quite some time and I can't quite figure it out. I'm currently bowling with a 15lb Mutant Cell. I've always had issues attempting to get a bit more revolutions on the ball, and depending on the lane conditions I throw the ball relatively straight with very little back end. If I happen to hit a dry spot (which isn't far outside of where I throw the ball), I don't have the revolutions to bring it back into the pocket.

I was observing my friend who's a good bowler, and it's very obvious with his revolutions and the way the ball is rolling. I can't get my ball to react in the same manner. I have a traditional 4 step approach, and I start the ball low towards my waist in an attempt to reduce the speed on the ball to get more reaction out of it. I used to angle my wrist in a little bit, as mentally I felt that would give me more hook but that didn't help. I'm staying behind the ball now to keep the pressure off of my ring finger. I finish in the same method they explain of throwing a nerf ball underhanded with rotation, and I'm trying to flick it off of my fingers more... but I'm still not getting it.

I'm going to try to get a video at some point soon, however it will only be an iphone video so it wont' be big or good quality. I know you guys are working on limited information, but I would appreciate any assistance you can offer. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have!

[DanielMareina]

A video would be a huge help. If you are rotating your wrist like the football exercise, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to just do the same motion faster to get more revs. What I would recommend doing is, try to focus on your follow through. You want to lift up on the ball as you are releasing it. This creates an upward motion as the ball is coming off your fingers and will result in more revolutions. Norm Duke is an excellent person to watch, because his arm motion is pretty easy to see the difference in speed. He has a fast upward motion at the release point, even though his arm speed the rest of the time isn't especially fast.
Another small trick to getting more side turn in to move your pinky finger against your ring finger. If you finger is already there, you can curl your pinky, so the top of your nail is on the coverstock of the ball. The pinky finger can get in the way of side turn, and cause you to get more forward roll than you want. I hope all this helps a little bit. Definately post a video when you get a chance though. It makes it a lot easier for us to diagnose the problem.

[Punkrulz]

Dan, here are three different videos of me bowling. Sorry for the poor quality. My buddy also said he rolls the pinky, so I was giving that a try to no success. I was having issues bowling tonight, probably because I bowled the day before as well. Hopefully the videos help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdVSIsL2aUk

My friend pointed out some issues with my stance, so I tried to straighten my foot after that and I dropped my shoulder accidentally as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKSfemJbbq4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLAqtLmfaZA

[DanielMareina]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKSfemJbbq4

This video of yours is not a bad shot at all. Your timing isn't really matched up on the other two, and that will make a big difference. The other good thing about the video is that it clearly demonstrates the issue you are having. The problem is that your hand is not far enough behind the ball. Your hand is on the top half of the back of the ball by the time you start rotating. This not only cuts down the revs you get on the ball, but it also makes you not roll the ball off your hand. You want to feel the ball roll off your thumb, and then have your fingers come out as you are following through. Your wrist rotation isn't the problem, just your hand position. I will tell you, it will take some getting used to though. Most people don't start with the wrist strength to really stay behind the ball.
I would recommend working on your sliding and your posture also. You don't bend your knee very much or slide almost at all, but the big difference will come when you can keep your shoulders upright. Right now you lean over too much. This stops you from rolling the ball, and will restrict your follow through. You want your knee and your shoulders to be in a vertical line of eachother. So if you had a laser pointercoming from the ground and going just in front of your knee cap, you would want the laser to hit you under your chin. I hope that makes sense. These videos were way better quality then some I have tried to analyze. Keep up the practice, and let me know if you have any other questions.

[Punkrulz]

Dan, thanks for the response! I guarantee I'm going to have a ton of questions, so I hope you have good patience. :) I should be able to get more videos Friday when the league starts, but hopefully we will start on the even number lane since it's easier to see what I'm doing from that angle.

First and foremost, I figured that this was going to be a wrist strength issue. Ive always considered doing wrist exercises however I never knew what to do and how much to do of it. Do you have any recommendations for that? How can I tell that my wrist is strong enough, especially without actually throwing the ball (so I can tell at home that I'm ready!). Does this basically point to peoples ability to curl their wrist during delivery? Or do I not quite need to do that?

As per the delivery and stance, I also figured that was an issue. The proshop owner told me to stand more straight up, however due to it not seeming comfortable I sank back into old habits. Is there another way I can practice that so I know I'm doing it right?

Thanks!

[DanielMareina]

First of all, the Curling of the wrist isn't necessary. Or not to the degree that a lot of guys do it. What you want is for your hand to be directly behind the ball at the bottom of your swing. Some people, myself included, get even lower than that, but it isn't necessary, and actually I am working on getting less revolutions. The exercise that I find the most productive is to have a dowel with a weight hanging on a string. You turn the dowel like the accelerator on a motorcycle, which will inturn lift the weight as the string wraps around the dowel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcc6QFu_9Z8 is a video of a very weird guy, but he is using the kind of thing I am talking about. As for practicing, I set the ball on the ground , put my hand in it, and then practice rolling it from my hand being behind it and roll it to the point of release. This gives you the ability to practice the motion without having to support the weight of the ball.

I have plenty of patience, and am glad to help. As for practicing the act of staying straight up, I would say that is an act of repetition. Lunges are good practice to that particular motion, simply because that is almost exactly what you are doing. The only difference is that lunges are meant to work out your legs, and bowling isn't. So you don't have to exagerate the motion, but the balance and posture are the same. Really though, bowling with good posture comes from doing it enough that it becomes instinct, just as everything else about the sport is. Good luck in league!

[Punkrulz]

Dan, I've added you to Facebook. Perhaps we can discuss on facebook chat to get some real time help?

[Punkrulz]

In addition to that since I don't have those particular resources handy to strengthen the wrist, would trying to curl my ball as a weigh work to help? Or would that cause injury? I've reviewed my video, and to my understanding it looks like I'm right on top of the ball during release, which would primarily cause just left to right rotation and no angle. Is that correct?

[DanielMareina]

I accepted your request on Facebook. I leave mine logged in while I am at work, but am not always at my desk necesarilly, but if I am around I will respond. Curling your ball might work, but I would be carefull because a bowling ball is more weight than necessary. As for your video, you are correct. The rotation you will get is more of a spinning than a rolling. What you want is to roll the ball in a way that your "axis tilt" will be about 45 degrees and halfway down the ball. You check this by putting tape on your pap and seeing what way the tape aims. You can't do that during league, or a sanctioned league atleast, but during practice it will help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9NQfI-F7SQ is a good video of a person with good axis tilt. Talk to you soon.

[Punkrulz]

Thanks Dan.

Is there anything that I can change with my form that may aid me in getting more leverage with the wrist? Or is this strictly a wrist strength issue?

[J Anderson]

In addition to that since I don't have those particular resources handy to strengthen the wrist, would trying to curl my ball as a weigh work to help? Or would that cause injury? I've reviewed my video, and to my understanding it looks like I'm right on top of the ball during release, which would primarily cause just left to right rotation and no angle. Is that correct?

I looked at the video that Daniel posted on wrist exercises. You should be able to improvise something like that on your own. If you don't have a thick dowel or an old broomstick and some rope, for a few dollars you should be able to buy some sash cord or clothesline and a short piece of closet rod or 1"+ diameter dowel at your local hardware store or home center (i.e. Lowes or Home Depot). For the weight, a one gallon plastic milk jug would give you any weight you want from a few ounces to eight pounds.

[threeripmin]

the mongoose will give you more revs and keep you from hurting your wrist. unlike other cheap wrist braces the mongoose makes your thumb come out first and holds your wrist straight. because it has support behind your fingers it makes you roll the ball off you hand.

[Punkrulz]

The plastic jug idea is a good one. I think I Can go buy a dowel and some rope, I would just need to figure out the best method of tying the rope so that it doesn't just spin around on the dowel.

Dan, do you agree that maybe I should use the wrist brace that three suggested? Or will a little bit of wrist conditioning go a long way? I don't use a brace now and have never hurt my wrist, so I don't know if that's relevant. Also, would 8 lbs be enough to train to get where I need to be? Or should I put my 15lb ball in my bowling bag and tie that to the end of the rope?

Thanks!

[DanielMareina]

With the jug idea, Thank you J Anderson, that is a great idea. All you need to do is drill a hole through the dowel and tie the rope through it. 4 or 5 pounds is plenty to start with, and then go from there. As for the wrist brace, I disagree that you need one. Some people claim that they are good teaching tools, but I disagree for the most part. Most of the time, it doesn't allow your wrist to learn where to be, it makes your wrist get used to not needing to support the ball. I think that you can learn yourself. Sometimes a wrist brace will help get someone on the right path, but most of the time it gets to be a crutch instead of a teaching tool.

[Punkrulz]

Thanks guys. Now I just need to figure out how to commit the wrist movements to muscle memory so I know how to throw the ball while staying behind it. I think that may be the toughest part yet, along with aligning my body correctly during slide and delivery.

[Punkrulz]

I went out and got the equipment necessary to do the wrist exercises. I don't have an empty milk jug yet so I improvised, and am using my drill + drill case as the weight. The only thing that stinks is that it feels like my left wrist is getting more of a workout than the right, but I'm going to go out on a limb here (no pun intended) and assume that is because I am right handed. I wonder how long it's going to take me to get the muscle to the point where I can do what I need it to do, and also commit it to my swing!

[DanielMareina]

Your left wrist is going to feel like it is getting more of a workout, but the right is still getting exercise. Keep it up and you will be ready to go in no time. Just don't overdue it! If you cause yourself injury, it will make the wrist strength even worse. Good luck!

[Punkrulz]

First night of our league was last night. It wasn't terrible. I bowled a 541 series, as I had some issues finding my mark. I was able to use more wrist into the ball and getting a bit more hook which was nice. Just out of curiosity: I know when I have a good hook when the pin on the ball is rolling even on the left side correct? I wasn't able to really get that, however I was closer than I was before... less over-top action.

I didn't get any video because I was doing better and I was just more focused on trying to bowl. Unfortunately, I was 4/6 for my spare ball, missing the last two right side spares. I'm still trying to get good placement. A big problem I have is I really don't use a mark. It doesn't feel comfortable to look somewhere down the lane for a fixed mark and try to hit it, even though I know a mark is extremely important when throwing a straight ball.

I'm going to have to see how I continue to bowl with this style. I'm still trying to find consistency with ball placement.

[J Anderson]

First night of our league was last night. It wasn't terrible. I bowled a 541 series, as I had some issues finding my mark. I was able to use more wrist into the ball and getting a bit more hook which was nice. Just out of curiosity: I know when I have a good hook when the pin on the ball is rolling even on the left side correct? I wasn't able to really get that, however I was closer than I was before... less over-top action.

I didn't get any video because I was doing better and I was just more focused on trying to bowl. Unfortunately, I was 4/6 for my spare ball, missing the last two right side spares. I'm still trying to get good placement. A big problem I have is I really don't use a mark. It doesn't feel comfortable to look somewhere down the lane for a fixed mark and try to hit it, even though I know a mark is extremely important when throwing a straight ball.

I'm going to have to see how I continue to bowl with this style. I'm still trying to find consistency with ball placement.
First: DON"T GET DISCOURAGED! There is a lot going on in a proper delivery, and it takes a while to get everything to work in sync.
Second: When throwing straight at a spare lane markings are not that important. You can just aim right at the pin itself. While I currently target at the arrows for everything, when I first started spot bowling I only did it on the first ball and aimed directly at the pins on the second. Most of good spare shooting is plain old practice and figuring out what to do for each leave. It doesn't look as cool as practicing strikes, but it pays off when you need to make that ringing ten pin in the last frame to shut your opponent out.

[DanielMareina]

JAnderson couldn't have put it better about the spares. As for knowing when you get a good hook, The easiest way to know when the core in the ball ingages is to watch your thumbhole. It will start rolling end over end with the ball, and when it moves all the way to the left side of the ball and is spinning in a tight circle, that is when the core is fully engaged. If you don't have a thumb slug that is bright, or not one at all, when you practice just put a piece of tape to the right of your thumb hole. That will make it easy to see when the core engages.

[nathan]

I probably shouldn't be giving anyone advice, but I'm sure someone here will correct me if I give any bad advice.

One thing that helped my a lot was getting my thumb hole fitted properly (i.e. tighter). Like many people, I use to squeeze a bunch, causing an inconsistent release. As I learned to relax, I've had to add more tape. This allows me to relax my thumb, which lets it come out before the fingers.

So for me, proper thumb hole fit + follow through + better timing (slowing my approach) = more rotation. I still need to work on hand position and wrist strength (as far as getting more revs, anyway).

For wrist strength, I use a 15lb dumbbell, a 10lb dumbbell, and a ball. The tighter thumb hole helps here too, as it's easier to lift the ball (by cupping my wrist) when I don't have to squeeze. I have a ball I don't use anymore with no tape and it's more difficult to lift because of the extra effort required just to keep it from coming off my hand.

edit:
This is probably unnecessary, but I'm bored, so I took this image from your video so you can more clearly see where hand is compared with Bill O'Neill*
http://www.bowlingboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=162&stc=1&d=1285229216http://www.bowlingboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163&stc=1&d=1285229744

*from this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT32utKEu0s