Trying to get more revolutions with little wrist strength

[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.