So today I was looking over blogs and was linked here- http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=292871 after reading someone elses "going pro" blog. The player was silver, wanting to be pro in a year while only playing 3 hours a day and going to school. With my introduction blog, found here- http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=312433 I go over my goals and desire to attempt at becoming a pro (read the blog before commenting if you haven't already). After reading the blog posted earlier I realised I have the opportunity to atleast try and reach my goal, but it also states about a strict practise schedule. So in this blog today I'm going to outline my daily schedule and stick to it on a daily basis. From now on my blogs will be about improvement and general topics about the game. No more posts about "my dreams", or what I ate for dinner, or being upset that I bought a new NA account to get a new name and then blizzard gives another free name change the next day.. From now on, It's going to be as the title says " The Grind".
So starting off. I'm going to change around my sleep schedule starting tonight, I've been staying up until 5:30 in the morning and waking up at 1:30-2:00 every day. I'm going to start going to bed at 11:00 pm and waking up at 9:30. So with that timeline in mind I have a 14 hour day to fill. 8 hours of which I want to dedicate to pure practise, After a minimum of 8 hours I'll be able to write blogs, play the game for fun, play other games, go have a life.
So my schedule, Timed out (it may vary, This is a rough outline I'm going to stick to on a daily basis, if I find a need more of less time, It may be redone).
9:30 - Wake up, Shower and get ready.
10:00- cook breakfast. I'm going to research into healthy breakfast choices to maximize my performance. IE I'm not going to munch on a mcdonalds burger in the morning. Not a great start to my day.
11:00- Start stream and grind ladder games. Watch every replay, Win or loss. Look into things I think I did well, and look into things I need to improve on. Even through wins there is always something I could do better.
2:30- Cook lunch and work out. Once again I'm going to get into healthier food choices. To keep myself energized, focused, healthy, and more importantly the less junk I eat the less I have to go to the bathroom, the less breaks I take.
3:30- Restart streaming and grind practise games. By this time Most of my practise partners will be online so I may grind games with them, or continue to ladder. Still going over every replay, win or loss.
6:00- NA playhem daily. I'll be competing in every playhem. I would participate in the EU tournament as well but I feel both would eat into my schedule pretty bad.
After the playhem is finished I'll take my second break. Cook dinner and work out. Still trying to stick to healthier choices for eating. I'm going to get into items that are proven to provide high energy, and possibly help me focus better.
After my dinner break. Back to a few hours of unstreamed practise games to try and hammer out the problems I had during the day. During this I'll be taking the time to write down a lot of things in my note book. Wether this be cool strats off TL, or ones I thought of during my games, Things I need to improve on and how I can go about doing so.
This is roughly 9 hours of practise. After all this I'll still try and get some more time in if I can, but I'll usually devout a bit more time before bed into working out. I'm in bad shape and don't want to make it worse by playing 8 hours a day.
My typical workout with focus on cardio. Since I live in Canada and there is still about a foot of snow, I can't go for a job outside. Luckily in my basement I have about 30 feet of room to do wind-sprints and a set of stairs with 12 stairs total, So I can get a decent workout from that. I also have a pretty nice weight set, So if I get into pumping weights I'll have that at my disposal as well.
While laddering I'll be streaming all my games, So if you want to follow me and support me you can find me at: Twitter- @LgNkarmy Stream- Twitch.tv/LgNkarmy Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/groups/LgNkarmy/ Team website- lgn.the-legion.net
I would also like to give a shoutout to my sponsors- MaxFrag Imgur Ownaj GamersUniform Team Legion
Thanks for reading my wall of text! I'm hoping to get an official date for when I leave to Poland so I'll keep everyone updated. I just recently posted a blog about me starting into coaching. If anyone is interested you can find it at http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=313015.
Working out and laddering is so key man.... When I get really pissed off at a loss I can't even make myself watch the replay, I just step away from the PC, stretch, curl some weights or run up and down stairs like you do. Then I come back with a fresh and sharp mind 5 minutes later and watch the replay.
You should get up and stretch once per hour. I usually stand up and stretch after every game longer than 30 minutes, to be honest. Do wrist stretches first (your hands will still be warm), then back/arm/leg stretches. This prevents carpal tunnel, posture problems, etc and keeps your heart rate up between workouts.
Ok noticed you posted this a little while ago, have been watching your stream and am finding it hugely informative (grammer doesnt matter, just finished a 16 hour nightshift) anyway, you seem to explain a lot of what your doing, unlike the majority of other pro's they just place things and leave us "average" player thinking... wtf did he see? why is he placing that, i'd be teching collossus and so on, think you get my drift. however, reading your schedule I would like to offer some advice, on the fitness side of it being a gym enthusiast for several years If you would like to use what im about to say then thats great, if not then thats great too lol cant say much else can I lol. Anyway, when I read about "maybe" doing some weights and 2 workouts a day I my first reaction was to face palm... I'm sorry but it was If your trying to be healthier then you need a set workout programme, your body needs to adapt otherwise you will just injure yourself and/or lack focus. What you really need is a cardio/weight programme over a 5 day period and a healthy diet which from the sounds of things you've already adopted. (a banana gives your more energy than an energy drink, is cheaper, and healthier... my #1 option when i feel sluggish, also fast acting. although eating too many has an adverse effect... i think you know what I mean lol) anyway, weights increase your focus and metabolism for a proven 48hour period, so more than 1 workout is redundant and means less recovery time for the next one which means lower performance next time, which means less calories and less benefit... get it? something like this would probably suit you; Monday - Weights morning (focus on compound exercises, squats etc (more muscles more calories)) Tuesday - Before lunch stair runs for 20 mins (or untill it hurts) Wednesday - Weights morning (compound again, with medium weights (2/3 of mondays) Thursday - Before lunch stair runs for 20 mins (or untill it hurts) Friday - weights (light weights 1/3 of mondays) Weekend - SC2 (try and walk places rather than drive even a walk around your block, or shovel that snow!!!! lol after about 2 weeks your will really SEE and FEEL the benefits, it doesnt take long, if you stick to it that is doing it on and off will just do the opposite, i've seen it happen so many times, exercise produces testosterone, and if it aint used up it turns into Estrogen (lady hormones) which will turn to fat around your abdomen... so if your gona exercise then stick to it and keep it up otherwise you'l undo all youve done Also workouts should only take 45-1 hour... no more otherwise your body will produce stress hormones (thats bad for gaming, shakey hands etc....) Hope some of this helps, even if you dont take it all in you've got enough on your plate as is lol
P.S - I used to be in a similar predicament to your own. Mcd's for breakfast and lunch and a pizza for dinner... mmm... healthy!! lol sorry for the wall of text... from the last couple of weeks youve helped me increase my play level and I would like to offer some advice in turn feel free to reply, will be keeping an eye on your threads
Thanks for all the advice man! I'm clueless when it comes to fitness and what's effective or not and googling it doesn't always give me the best results. I completely agree with this, I'm currently changing my sleep schedule around so I can get this plan into full effect. The banana fact is nice to know, I love fruit but don't know which ones have the best effect for what I want. I really do appreciate you taking the time to write me this out and I'm certainly going to save it and put it to use, I really want to stay healthy and focused while playing.
Thanks for watching my stream and supporting me I appreciate it! =], So during weight days do I not do cardio? Also how hard should I push myself? I'm not really trying to get all ripped and buff but don't want to under-do it and make it useless.
Hey, nice to see you appreciated it. As far as cardio on weight days i'd say no unless you enjoy it, your metabolism can only increase so much. For example, say you do an hour of weights or 40 mins what ever, that would increase your metabolism by between 30-50% for 48 hours roughly, so untill your next session, where as cardio on the same day wouldnt do anything so its just going to produce your stress hormones (bringing your metabolism down). where as cardio on your off days will just top it off till the next day as for getting ripped, you would need to spend about 6-7 years in the gym without protein supplemtents and a high protein diet, so just dont eat LOTS of protein your typical diet is fine. Fruit... my number 1 tip is you cant go wrong lol lots of fibre, sugar (healthy sort) easily digestable veg... brocolli is your golden trumph card a single stalk of broccolli has more "goodness" than 5 apples
Follow this link this is where i tell EVERYONE to start their workouts and you learn a lot just doing it, it teaches you to listen to your body, for example did that last session hurt? if so drop the weight by 2kg... didnt hurt? up it... etc http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843 (cant remember if i should post links? sure it wont hurt if it helps improve the player) anyway that website is the holy grail of exercise... their forms are full of pro trainers, celeb trainers all giving their information away free! lol (they charge celebs ££££££££££££!!) anyway, if you follow that for 3-4 months you'l see huge differences just need to spend 2 mins reading the posts for it... (the mods had to open another 3 threads for the compliments) lol eh think its capping at 33,000 odd replys atm, all possitive # anyway, as for underdoing it, that workout focuses on 8 reps to begin with, pick a weight that will make you struggle but is still achievable also do warm ups just general stretching, pulled muscles hurt lol. basicly if your sweating your doing something right you should feel your heart pumping hard on the squats especially
Hey bro I see you want to lose some weight & build muscle at the same time, heres a lil something I put together for you bro. You will be lifting weights & doing cardio 4 times a week. & keep in mind losing fat is not all about cardio, in a single weightlifting session you will easily be losing about 1000 Calories!
To lose weight& build muscle at the same time you only have to follow three simple rules:
- Workout 4 times a week with Weights & 10 minutes of cardio after weightlifting - Eat 1g protein / lb lean body mass. - Reduce calories to 2000-2500 calories a day to lose 2-3 lbs / week.
Success is 100% guaranteed.
Weight Training & Cardio: - Each weightraining session should be around 40 minutes - Start off with weights you are comfortable with & each workout increase weights by 2-5 pounds on all excersises. - Aim for 8 repititions on all of your excercises
Day 1- Chest/Shoulders/Triceps > 10 Min Cardio - Day 2- REST Day 3- Back/Biceps > 10 Min Cardio(Link Above) Day 4- REST Day 5- Legs > 10 Min Cardio(Link Above) Day 6- REST REPEAT
Day 1: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
5 Sets of Barbell Benchpress 5 Sets of Military Presses 4 Sets of SkullCrushers
Day 3: Back/Biceps
4 Sets of Deadlifts 4 Sets of Barbell Rowe 5 Sets of Barbell Curls 2 Sets of Alternating Dumbbell Curls
Day 5:
6 Sets of Barbell Squats 3 Sets of Bodyweight Squats 4 Sets of Deadlifts
Nutrition:
Stick to clean foods. In other words do not eat anything from fast food restaurants, foods that come in a box, package etc. Only eat foods that are natural - Meats, vegetables, fruits, anything that comes out of the ground. Eat about 2500-2800 Calories a day. On any one day of the week you can have a cheat meal to help your cravings. That means you are free to eat anything you want, and yes that includes junk food, fast foods etc.
- Focus on progressively increasing your weights on every excesise each week - Eat most of your protein foods after your workout & most of your carbs (rice,pasta,breads) before your workout. The carbs will help fuel you during your workouts, and the protein after your workout will help repair & replenish your muscles. - Get atleast 8 hours of a sleep a night so your body can repair itself from your workout - Watch motivational videos online to keep yourself motivated / This channel has some good ones - http://www.youtube.com/user/MuscleProdigyTV - Don't expect results overnight. It takes about 3 weeks to see any visual results if you got training & diet down to a T. You have to stay consistent, once you start seeing results you won't wont to stop! & Then it will just become a lifestyle. - Drink lots of water & consume a lot of fruits & vegetables - Stretch for 1 minute before your workouts, and 5 minutes After your workouts, it will help a lot with soreness. Remember that once you start training you will become very sore after your workouts, but remember once you start working out regularly soreness won't be as bad. - Since your weightraining also, once you lose the fat you will have a nice set of muscles to show off too - Heres a good forum that will help you with your fitness needs - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16
You could use the above post if you like, exercise is exercise, it will work if you do it right. But he/she is talking about building muscle, so I would cut down on the calorie intake from that workout, and isolation exercises dont burn as much calories (less muscles used). However its all down to preference. Its what YOUR comfortable with. hell if you wana jog 10 miles and only drink water... be my guest lol or even just do a quick set and eat health you will see benefits if you do it right no matter who's routine or diet you follow. its all down to personal preference. but yeh, check those forums out and dig around. if in doubt ask. P.S - I'm not slating the above post, just pointing you that you wana burn calories not add them or swap them out for muscle. and imo, compound is the way to go for a beginner
I actually included all of the main compound movements, I just included some isolations just to add some icing to the cake. & weightlifting is not just for gaining muscle. If in a calorie deficit it is a great way to lose fat. & When just starting working out it is possible to lose fat & also gain muscle at the same time. So if you want something to show off a lil muscle when you shed all the fat, you'll want to lift weights also =)
I appreciate all of it guys, I'm going to start into these seriously on monday and keep an exact schedule. I like the tips about eating healthy, Buying clean foods is pretty easy step to follow. I need to knock out the easy good like sandwhichs or hotdogs and crap like that. I've started pre-making salads so I can have it easily when I get hungry. On top of that I already eat a lot of fruit but need to keep snacking on it not stupid junk. It's going to be a bit of a grind but I think it'll be easily manageable once I get into the habbit.
Thats it, once you find a comfortable work out and get into the habbit of eating healthy, another tip is keep a bottle of water beside you at the PC... it will get warm and make you drink more still hydrates you the same... but you'l feel thirstier... or low sugar diluting juice but yeh, humans are creatures of habbit, once your create the habbit its addictive speaking of which I need to make a habbit of spell checking my posts... eugh... lol but you got any questions either give us a shout here, or go to those forums and thumbs up for the pre-meditated meals !!!!! try to change things up also, otherwise you'l get bored, one day stick raisins in your salad :O then the next carrot... then the next pineapple? :O
No hardly I'm doing this full time, I made an introduction blog a while back found here about my future and goals. So this schedule is every day, or an entire week, giving myself sundays off if I want to take them
EPT
