Beer, Smokes Aren’t Up Bowlers’ Alley

The stereotype of the professional bowler at work: Joe Beer-Belly ambles to the lane, rolls a strike, sits back down and takes a puff from his cigarette. And a swig from his can of beer.

“The perception of the beer and the cigarettes comes from the ‘50s to ‘70s, when bowling was in its heyday,” said Dave Schroeder, public relations director for the Professional Bowlers Association. “Now, some smoke and have a beer or two after a match. But these guys do this for a living. They know they have to keep themselves in shape.”

Maybe not all PBA bowlers are in shape. PBA veteran Amleto Monacelli estimates that more than half of them are not. But he said those who are have a big advantage over their peers who don’t take fitness seriously.

At least four bowlers participating in the Quaker State 250 in Grand Prairie, Texas, this week dispel the stereotype. They are lean, they work out and they stay in shape. Monacelli, Jeff Lizzi, George Branham III and Bedford’s Joe Firpo stick to regular workout routines that they say have enhanced their games, not to mention their physiques.

Monacelli is 5-foot-9, 156 pounds; Lizzi is 6-0, 190; Branham is 5-10, 180; and Firpo is 6-0, 190.

“I think the average person doesn’t realize the extent of (pro bowlers’) athleticism,” Sands said. “They don’t realize the strength the modern game requires, especially in the legs.”

The legs are the area that all four said they focus on during workouts. All four said they begin their routines by spending at least 20 minutes on a stair-stepping machine. The legs are most important to a bowler, because they help a bowler generate power while striding down the lane.

Monacelli, a PBA tour member for 14 years, said he started lifting weights six years ago. Not coincidentally, Monacelli said, he was PBA Player of the Year in 1989 and ‘90.

“I knew it was an advantage back then,” said Monacelli, 34. “Overall, it helps me a lot, especially with my legs.”

Firpo, 31, said he works out with his fiancee at World Gym in Bedford. A PBA member for 13 years, Firpo said he has worked out regularly for seven years. Firpo said he works out three times a week when he’s touring, five times when he’s not.

“Generally, bowling is not an aerobic workout,” Firpo said. “But it takes quite a bit of stamina. If you have a decent diet, it’s not hard to stay on the leaner side.”

Firpo said he eats only pasta, beans and vegetables. Firpo said he has been a vegetarian for 4-1/2 years, and he said it helps his endurance. He’ll need it at the Quaker State 250, where competitors bowl 42 games in three days during the qualifying rounds.

“You have to keep your arm in shape,” said Branham, 33, in his 11th season in the PBA. “If a person doesn’t work out, they’ll become susceptible to injury. Some guys get tennis elbow or tendinitis.

“So, I basically work out everything.”

As does the 30-year-old Lizzi, who has been on the tour five years. Lizzi said he works out five days a week when he’s not touring, three days when he is.

Lizzi was raised in Sandusky, Ohio, where his father owns a bowling alley. Lizzi grew up around bowlers and said the bowler’s stereotype has always been inaccurate.

“Being a proprietor of a bowling center, we always got a bad image as beer drinkers,” Lizzi said. “But you’re walking around with a 16-pound ball; that takes its toll.

“When you’re on a professional level, you want to throw your last shot as good as your first. That’s why exercise is important.”