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makan18 Poland. Oct 06 2016 21:23. Posts 65 | | |
Unfortunately, my break from blogging was longer than I initially anticipated. In the early March I got pretty bad cold, 2 weeks completely taken out of my life. The game during that period was a total disaster, I broke even at best. I felt terrible physically, which in turn led to horrid concentration, despite regularly performing my start-up routine. Add the DS period to the equation, and we have the recipe for a catastrophe.
The 'Don't try this at home' sort of deal ;]
Recent months saw a major improvement, my game was finally back on the right track. My performance is still a bit poorer than expected, however considering my condition in the second half of February and in March, I'm really satisfied that I managed to 'lift up' my game, once again.
Still, the element which continues to lag behind is the volume. In the beginning of the year I was capable of playing 85 hours, and I was on course to reach 1000 hours of playing which was the goal for 2016. Sadly, month after month, it only got worse. From May until August my time spend on poker averaged 47 hours i.e. two times lesser than the pace I should have kept in order to reach my target.
There were several factors which brought this about. I was undoubtedly hit by burn-out, partially caused by weariness with the game, and variance, but also the worries about the process of changing the place of residence. At this point I can I say that I endured and most of the stuff has been dealt with, and in a few days time I will be able to move to a new apartment. I really hope that it will be the stimulus to finally get back to playing the satisfying amount of hours.
In spite of some improvements, my game is surely not at the level I would like it to be. I believe that in April-August period I played 4-5bb poker (closer to 4), while I do think that I can win with wr 6-8, especially on NL400+. Lamentable as it is, I still make way too many simple mistakes and switch to autopilot too often. According to my calculations 90% of those errors result from the bad mindset and different forms of tilt, and only 10% comes from the tactical know-how shortcomings.
Mission mass-building
I'm really happy about the progress I made in the gym. 3 months of training at medium intensity combined with a 3500 kcal diet allowed me to gain almost 7 kilos. I need 10 kilos more to reach my goal, though I'm taking a short break for now - because of the relocation and the well-deserved holidays.
What's more, the pain in the lower back which I suffered from over the last few months disappeared altogether. Squats with kettlebells and other exercises for the lower back done regularly made all the problems go away.
As they say, a sound mind in a sound body.
Another post coming soon. About living in the United Kingdom, and the biggest change in my poker career. Stay tuned!
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PuertoRican United States. Oct 12 2016 07:13. Posts 13044 | | |
Keep up the good work!
Remember to stick to your lower back exercises. Also, I'd recommend taking a walk (at least 2 miles) early in the day before you do anything else, as it not only wakes you up and keeps you focused for the rest of the day, it is also healthy for you and will improve your overall poker results (try it everyday for 1 month to see if I'm wrong). |
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makan18 Poland. Oct 12 2016 23:59. Posts 65 | | |
Do You walk before or after breakfast? I really like walking (hate running though), but I usually take a walk in a mid-day, to clear my mind and let my body recover after hours of sitting still |
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BlizzY Slovakia. Oct 13 2016 06:19. Posts 805 | | |
If your aim is to gain weight or not to lose it, I think it is better to eat something before, even if it is small (or just BCAA). |
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PuertoRican United States. Oct 13 2016 06:41. Posts 13044 | | |
| | On October 12 2016 22:59 makan18 wrote:
Do You walk before or after breakfast? I really like walking (hate running though), but I usually take a walk in a mid-day, to clear my mind and let my body recover after hours of sitting still |
If you plan to walk in the morning, remember: your stomach needs time to digest food, and you might be a little tired after you eat, so walking after you eat will make it less likely that you'll be tired when you return home. I'd suggest taking a cool (not hot) shower when you finish walking, as it will wake you up more and make you feel fresh, and also remove the sweat you collect from walking.
My routine looks like this:
• I like to jog for 5-7 miles at a time on an empty stomach, while only consuming water.
• Take a cool shower when I get home; hot showers will make me tired.
• Eat something medium sized, nothing big and filling.
• Rest for 30 minutes at least, either on my bed or on the computer looking at news or UFC stuff.
• Begin my homework for the day (university student).
A lot of people drink coffee in the morning to wake up, but that doesn't do much for your mind and body long-term. Once the caffeine wears off, you'll probably be tired again. Walking outside, breathing fresh air, and experiencing nature will wake you up, allow you to think clearly, and a little bit of sun is naturally good for your body. Most of your favorite famous people work out in some form, and they're usually outside for part or all of their workouts. |
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makan18 Poland. Oct 14 2016 14:20. Posts 65 | | |
Yeah definitely Brian Tracy and Tonny Robbins work out after they wake up. The problem is (as BlizzY said) that I want to gain some weight, which means eating shitload of food. The fact is we are using pretty similar routine, the difference is You do it in the morning and I do it in the evening as my pre-game routine, because that`s of course the part of the day when I need to be at my best. I take a 30-45 min walk (or go to the gym), then eat the biggest meal during the day. After eating a lot of carbs, I`m getting a little bit sleepy, which helps me to take 40m-1h nap. After that I take a shower and drink one cup of coffee as the last part of my ritual, both to increase my energy level and clear up my mind to the level of total emptiness. I could not aggree more with the caffeine, I feel like I`m taking the most of the coffee when I drink only one cup a day. Sadly I love it, and usually can`t stop myself from drinking one extra cup in the afternoon |
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