I'm making this post mainly because i'm interested to see how many people stay active while playing this fun game everyday and if how much it helps you. I'll give a short backround just for personal preference. Personally before I got into poker I was extremelly active, worked out, playing sports throughout high school and even into college (BRAG clearly). As shitty as I like to admit it, poker has definitley pushed me away from that athletic kid I used to be, even though i'm not bitter about it at all. I have to put a ton into this game to get something out of it, which I have over the last 8 months that ive played full time and love the game more than I thought I ever could have. I have brought my game to a level where i'm extremely confident at each table I play, to the point where I probably put too much stock in my game but as a poker player I think all of us do that in some way, shape, or form. I have devoted a ton of time to getting better as a player while going through the ups and downs the game constantly brings and it has made me that much more mentally tough from when I first began to play this game. Also i have had to put a ton of time into learning cash games, HU and 6-max which has been a long process to evolve but is getting there over time. All of this takes a ton of time and effort to become the player I want, but overall I have sacrificed that athletic lifestyle that I used to have, and really never have had while playing poker full time.

Anyways onto today where I kind of feel stuck with my game lately and I'm hitting a wall almost picking up a score here and there every month but nothing that is truly satisfying how much effort I'm putting in, even though I think i'm playing reasonably strong poker up till this week probably. I think that is correlating to my lazy life style a decent amount though waking up at 1 or 2 during the week, scanning the forms, grinding cash or mtts depending on how I feel during the day which probably isn't good either and then usually playing mtts all night. Rinse and repeat daily this summer. I personally think i'm a pretty driven person but don't put all my energy and time where it needs to be to become the all around poker player I want to become.

My question for you guys is how much to you think staying active working out, playing sports, getting out of the house daily, developing better sleep patterns, and so on helps your poker game and the development as a player short term or longterm? Thanks guys.

I quit my job a little over a month ago to play full-time and what's happened to me is the exact opposite of what I expected. Since quitting a job where I ran around all day long, I've somehow LOST 10lbs (i'm only 135lbs now) after being less active than usual. I'm told by family it's because of my high metabolism but I think it's just because I forget to eat sometimes when I'm playing tournaments all night.

However I usually wake up around 2-3pm and go for a run, make a protein shake and work out a bit and try my best to eat healthy snacks (yogurt, fruitcups, apples, etc) instead of the junk I used to eat. I've found eating healthy and being active really can help your poker game and keep you focused.

But if anyone has ideas on how I can gain weight in a healthy manner, I'd appreciate any advice. My norm was about 145 before I quit my job.

I think it's different for each person. But I think developing good exercising, eating, and sleeping patterns is extremely important to becoming a good player in the short and long run.

I'm like you, in that I was an athlete in HS and College. If I miss a workout or a run, I feel guilty the rest of the day, and it just bothers me. I'm definetly in a worse mood, and it shows at the poker tables, as I sometimes feel anxious and my decision making worsens, therefore hurting my overall game, and life. I think exercising gives me an advantage at the table, so not excersing would be not giving poker 100% effort.

I just started playing full-time, and I understand how little time in a day there is for exercising, and sleeping, and even preparing healthy food. But IMO it's well worth cutting an hour or two out of playing to exercise, eat well or sleep.

For some people not sleeping, exercising, eating well, etc... doesn't bother them or their results in the short term. But if they did develop better habits how could it hurt their game? it really would only help their game. And in the long run, habits always catch up to you. And I think developing bad habits now will hurt every player in the long-term, physically and mentally. If you feel unmotivated to exercise, think about what you will look like in 10 years if you continue to not.

Exercising clears your head, releases endorphins, and increases libido. It's fun and it's really a high like nothing else. I say let's do it as much as we can while we're still young and able.

im in same exact boat OP.... at this point im tryin 2 get in shape and fit enough to play soccer again and im going to the combine this upcoming january... ive hit a wall in poker now and im tryin to open up other opportunities cuz you never know with poker

Studies have shown that regular workouts improve job performance. If poker is your job, WORK IT OUT MAN!!

glenn, i know ive probably told u but ill say it here again anyway. My goal this summer was to improve my poker game and my overall well-being. I decided beginning of summer that a) id start eating better and b) that id work out at least 5 times a week. I came up with a schedule that worked, it included me waking up 12-1, eating relaxing then going to the gym from like around 4 to around 6 give or take a half hour to an hour. Then i'd just play a night time schedule and put alot of volume in. I wouldnt rly play weekends, id go out and have fun and then come sunday its my day off from the gym so i just play all day. Joining a gym would do you a great deal of good, grind cash in the day time between the gym and do mtt's at night or something. GL

This is a great topic to discuss and beneficial for anyone who takes poker online or live seriously. I was also a D1 athlete in college and have always maintained a very active lifestyle. When i decided to take poker to the next level and pursue a full time career with it, i laid down some guidelines that i wanted to live by. Always put yourself and relationships before your job and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I have a very consistent daily routine that helps me play my best poker while also keeping myself in shape physically and mentally. I usually wake up about 10 am and go workout, usually about 20 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weightlifting. Then come home, make a healthy lunch, and sit down and play my daily schedule of tournaments/cash dpending on the day. Some days depending on how i feel i may just play during the day and take the night off or i may pull a 12-14 hour session. One thing you need to develop is knowing yourself and when you are playing your "A" game. This is a very hard thing to control sometimes, but once you know when you need to take a few days off it will immensely affect your play.

There is a bad stigma regarding online poker pros as being out of shape computer nerds with no social life. From the many players that i have met, that is simply not the case. Im sure ther are some out there, but when you put your physical and mental wellness first, your developement as a player will benefit.

Gut

Manipulating your weight is just a matter of your diet and how you train. If you say you are losing a few pounds while playing I am assuming that you aren't taking in very many calories. If you want to gain back a few lbs then weight training and eating a lil more is the way to go. If you are really serious about it then you should monitor your protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake. Getting adequate amounts of sleep is very important because your body needs time to repair the damaged muscle tissue and build it up a lil bigger than it was before. Muscle is obv way heavier than fat so weight training will help you manipulate your body composition quickly. How you weight train will determine how you sculpt your body. As a general rule heavier weights and fewer reps will contribute greatly to strength increases while doing lots of reps at lighter weights will build muscle stamina and get you super ripped.
There is a huge misconception about weight training. The one dude said earlier he gained 35 lbs of muscle but this is certainly not possible over a short time without the aid of steroids and even then it would take some time to add that much muscle. The truth of the matter is that it's impossible to gain 35 lbs of PURE muscle in one year but a lot of people are gonna say I am wrong. The earlier poster never said he gained that much muscle in one year I just wanted to point that out because you hear all the time about people gaining crazy amounts of muscle in really short time frames. Rudi Johnson supposedly gained 15 lbs of muscle in his legs during the offseason and when I heard this on sportscenter it made me laugh. There is no doubt that he may play this season 15 lbs heavier than he did last season but I guarantee you there is NO way he gained 15 lbs of pure muscle in 3 months. Your body just can't produce muscle tissue that fast not even for the quickest of gainers.

I am not a full time player or semi pro by any means....in college I was always active, played baseball and other sports on the side. Now I just got out and I got that 9-5 and im playing poker all night...the key for me was....getting a job at the gym. It really does wonders lol. It sucks working out where you work but when you do it on the clock, nothing beats it.

 

Originally Posted by JAAAAA!!!!

I actually end every day with a three mile run, usually I run out the front door of my house somewhere between 11:30 PM and 1 AM.

So f-ing peacefull.

You can't run from your bad beats sir.