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So while trying to motivate me to play more Starcraft, my buddy "TheyCallMeLukas" suggested we do a marathon type challenge and do a "Practice Like the Pro's" for a week. So while we talked it over and got some of the finer details down on What it would be like for the average man to get tossed Into a pro routine with no preparation. So A pro vs Joe challenge was born!
GOAL: Attempt to experience and imitate playing Starcraft full-time, just like the Pros. we will be playing 45 hours of Starcraft over a 7-day period. we know most Pros play a considerably longer amount, but as we still may have real-life obligations we decided 45 hours would still fit the requirements of playing "full time."
The following rules and requirements where created to help us not only simulate the Pro Practice regiment but also better us as gamers, and track our physical and mental state during the week.
Rules and Requirements:
•1. 45 hours of Practice total (Minimum of 6 hours and 25 minutes a day for 7 days.)
More hours pr day is allowed, which in turn can reduce the total number of days you have to practice. ie: If you practice 8 hours on 3 days you only need to practice for 6 days instead of 7. End goal is just to reach 45 hours for the week
•2. 1 hour of exercise Monday through Sunday (5 hours minimum), must work out every day we play.
Seeing how we are both runners, that is most likely going to be how we say in shape, but just about any physical exercise will satisfy this requirement.
•3. Record diet.
This is a little more abstract, but the thought behind the recording of the diet is to help track our physiology during the week. Things like eating Only junk food like chips vs healthy food like fruits, may play a roll in how we last during the challenge. So to keep a good log of most of our variables we are tracking this.
•4. Record mood. Done at the start of the day, and at the end of the gaming session.
Once again to track our psychological progress through the week we have agreed to just briefly record our mood at the Start and end of the day. We will do this by using universal one word descriptions of our mood. For example: Anxious, Happy, Sad, Depressed are just a few to give you an example.
•5. Record number of games.
This is to help keep track of the progress we make during the week.
•6. Daily goal.
Once again to help motivate us through the week, we will be giving ourselves daily goals to keep up with and Push ourselves to do in order to flesh out our play. For examples one of the things I really want to get better with is using the F-series of hot keys for targeting key locations on the map for me to quickly jump to. The same goal can be applied of the course of several days if needed, but is not recommended.
•7. 2 days of isolation training: no distractions, no conversations, etc.
Not much to cover Here besides, we have to spend two days isolation training. Practicing builds and grinding the ladder. WE are putting it upon ourselves to not get on skype and have as little outside influence as possible. This is to simulate the fact that Pro players will often go Practice without disturbance for several hours. Also I am Curious to see how this plays out on our mental state during the week.
•8. Replay Analyses
Save good games, examples of progress, and examples of failures/stress. To become a better player, we need to actively Review games and learn from our mistakes. Doing so will help increase our skills and make us better understand the game. But this does not stop here, we also need to actively go out and try to watch Pro replays to better understand where we should be headed as well. Replay analyses should not consist more than 25% of your total hour-age in the week.
IMPORTANT
If you want to participate, go right ahead. It's a great way to get in shape and get better at starcraft. BUT please remember, Do NOT give up real life obligations or hurt yourselves doing this. Remember get up and move around during your practice sessions. (take mini breaks 5-10 mins) The last thing I want to hear about is someone dieing to a blood clot because they were sitting for eight hours straight.
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Remember this is average players simulating a pro players practice routine. The two of us participating in this activity do have jobs that we are currently planning to work around to fit this in.
If something happens during the week where you can't get practice in, it will be included in the reports. The important thing to remember is that we will not give up real world obligations to complete a challenge. Family, work, and friends all come before the game. With that said, both of us have agreed to try our hardest to keep up and follow the schedule.
Start Date: June 11th, 2012
End Date: June 17th, 2012
Participants:
RelleK (P)
TheyCallMeLukas (Z)
Community Participants:
lloydp (P)
Nafa (T)
We are more than happy to put you down on the list if you guys want to participate. Just remember this is a challenge but most of all have fun, and remember that obligations in your life come first before a game.
 
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Good luck! Also kept wondering when reading your post why you have random captilization for heLp, outSide etc. >_>
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Yeah, whats with capitalising the WE's? It is kinda an interesting idea, but all I can take away from this is the weird grammer.
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May I suggest the instead of quantifying your practice, try to qualify it
So for day one set a goal that you will not miss a single inject for 5 games straight, or something of the similar.
This, in my opinion, helps give better direction to the practice, ultimately producing better results than mindlessly playing 30 games a day.
Your goals should be hard-pressed to be met, pushing you to that 6hour mark, but at the same time giving you a goal other than time.
Good luck! Have fun!
and why is "WE" always capitalized?
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lol, i accidentally bumped the tlpd-ize button and it did all that, ill go back and fix it
EDIT:
its all fix'd
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W00t!
I'll be practicing alongside Rellek.
Good luck sir, have fun.
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On June 10 2012 01:07 Cheater23 wrote:
May I suggest the instead of quantifying your practice, try to qualify it
So for day one set a goal that you will not miss a single inject for 5 games straight, or something of the similar.
This, in my opinion, helps give better direction to the practice, ultimately producing better results than mindlessly playing 30 games a day.
Your goals should be hard-pressed to be met, pushing you to that 6hour mark, but at the same time giving you a goal other than time.
Good luck! Have fun!
and why is "WE" always capitalized?
This is a good idea. I'll probably do it for a certain percentage of my games.
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I will be doing this starting today now, as i was already going to have fun seeing how going for like 8+ hours straight would be like with only dinner and a couple small breaks.
edit: due to things, i am starting same day as you guys.
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i did this for about a month like 3 years ago... after a week and a half i was exhausted...
the good old bw days...
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On June 10 2012 03:59 XenOsky- wrote:
i did this for about a month like 3 years ago... after a week and a half i was exhausted...
the good old bw days...
and that is exactly what I find so interesting about this experiment. Not only just trying to become a better player, but the shear fact of all the mental and physical drain it has on the player. To tell the truth, I'm nervous, anxious and kinda excited to do this and see the results first hand.
But this is also why I recruited a buddy that had a similar mind set to compare results.
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My former team tried a 50 game challenge last week. None of us made it, the closest was 43 I think.
Edit: didn't clarify it was 50 games in one day.
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On June 10 2012 06:22 DanLee wrote:
My former team tried a 50 game challenge last week. None of us made it, the closest was 43 I think.
Edit: didn't clarify it was 50 games in one day.
Did you only get one try, or several?
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What level are you at currently?
Also, would you be willing to accept additional people in this endeavor?
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Good luck man. That sounds intense. Can't wait to hear how it goes. I'm not sure I can even play for that many hours in a single day yet.
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Both of us are high gold level players.
I have no problem with people joining us, but Rellek has control of the thread :p
edit: In fact, I think it'd be a good idea to have other people join us. We can share thoughts and ideas, or even practice together.
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By all means join us, hopefully we can get this experiment off the ground and get going. Right now I'm getting everything ready and just about to head out the door for some exercise.
Just please remember, Do NOT give up real life obligations or hurt yourselves doing this. Remember get up and move around during your practice sessions. (take mini breaks 5-10 mins) The last thing I want to hear about is someone dieing to a blood clot because they were sitting for eight hours straight.
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Looks like you need some terran presence. I'll take on the challenge aswell.
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Day 1
Overview:
Didn't get nearly as much accomplished as I thought. I focused on my PvZ as it's my worst match up. I tried Stephano's fast max build and discovered I don't have the mechanics to be able to do it too effectively. Day9 lies, it's not easy lol
The concept is simple enough, though. I played for a couple hours in the morning then the rest of the night after a job orientation. Never felt totally focused all day.
I had a lower win percentage than I would have liked (47% on the ladder; 55% including games with Rellek). I suppose it's not too surprising considering I've never played for 7.5 hours in one day before haha I noticed I started making plenty more mistakes towards the end of the day.
Hopefully I'll be more focused tomorrow, and I'll be working a lot on creep spread along with my PvZ.
If any Protoss players want to practice with me, I'd appreciate it! (CallMeLukas code:417)
EDIT: How are the rest of you doing?!
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~Day 1~
1. Total practice time 6 hours 25 minutes
2. Today i lifted weights for the first time in a loong long time. After the hour i
was pretty beat, and soon after started the practice session.
3. Today i ate: A Shake for breakfest, containing alot of various things, point is its healthy.
For a snack i had a ricefruit (a finnish type of milk product with jam). Then for dinner a finnish type of sausage called "mustamakkara"
which in literal translation is black sausage, alongside with potatoes and salad. For desert some ice cream.
Then for another snack some quark. Later in the day i ate
three pieces of toast, with cheese and meat. Alongside some more quark and some peas. I also drank 1 red bull mid game session since i had one left over from watching mlg.
4. Neutral mood at beginning of day, happy after i woke up properly. After gaming session my hands are quite sore from all the lifting and playing. Mood Happy.
5. A total of 17 games. I spent some time studying new builds.
6. Daily goal was just to get a feeling of playing back, been busy for the last month so i havent played much in a while. I feel like i achieved it.
Day 1 TL;DR. Tired, but happy.
As i start Day 2 im actually quite excited to play some more starcraft 2.
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I started off feeling kinda tired, and played quite terribly the whole, for only about 4.5 hours. I had some irl stuff to do afterward and when that was finished I was wayy to sleepy to do anything.
i was only able to exercise for a little more than a half hour x.x
I ate a peach, banana, and peanut butter jelly for breakfeast. for dinner I only had one lambchop, some cauliflower, and mashed potatoes. small dinner.
I felt kinda tired at the start, and was pretty angry by then end cause of how bad I was doing. also drowsy.
I played 21 games in total
my goal ( being like mid-high masters) was to not mess up my builds at all so I get them completely right, but I played quite terribly
day 1 TL;DR: monday was definetly not great, and because of some things that happened I only got a half hour of exercise and about 4.5 hours practicing. But now it's teusday and because I was really tired and fell asleep early I'm up at 6:30 and can make up some time. I am feeling good and am ready to rock n roll.
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EPT
