Sloe Times

The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become. -- Ben Herbster

The day you take complete responsibility for yourself, the day you stop making any excuses, thats the day you start to the top. -- O.J. Simpson

I am not the picture of health. The irony with that statement is that I know (from experience) that if I were in shape that I would have more energy, be able to focus better, and not really wonder when my heart attack is coming. On top of that I look good when I'm fit.

So you might be wondering what the hell this has to do with playing poker so I'll get to the point. One of the biggest villains against consistent play is fatigue. More mental fatigue than physical, but both take their toll. Mind and body are the behind the scenes distractions that can knock you off your game. And since I would like to find myself at the final table in major tournaments I need to find ways of helping what little talent I have and making the vision a reality.

I just checked the scale, I'm weighing in at an even 272 lbs. In the back of my mind I hear Kyle saying "Dude you're a fat ass!" To put that into perspective, when I hooked up with my wife some 10 years ago, I was 90 lbs lighter and honestly structurally smaller (shoulders didn't widen out until my early 20s). If I hadn't been maintaining a 270-275 lb weight for so damn long I'd console myself that it's just age and actually eating real meals that crept up on me. The reality is, that it's a lack of activity. I'm a firm believer that if your body is sedentary, your mind becomes sedentary. No reason to think quick, your reflexes are already shot and blood just isn't flowing through your brain like it should. Again, with this stuff weighing (no pun intended) on my mind, it's just one more distraction for when I'm sitting at the desk or on the couch playing poker. For the record I once tried to rig up my elliptical machine so I could play with my laptop on the book rest... ummm lets just leave it at this is not a good idea.

It seems the best solution for this particular problem is to make an effort to eat right/better and make time for working out. I happened to catch a piece of that show "Biggest Loser" a few weeks back. Did you know that those folks work out 4 hours a day? Granted apparently they're off at fat camp so there's not much else to do but still, how can you just put your life on hold and go off and mess around like that? Well, I can't just put my life on hold just so I can work out so something has got to give or I'll have to finish developing the 26 hour day.

On the eating better front this isn't too hard. I can get oatmeal at the office from the deli down stairs in the morning each morning I go in. I need to bring that routine home and have a stash of oatmeal in the cupboard for weekends and WFH days. I've recently started picking up the "Healthy Choice" frozen meals for lunches at work... cheaper than buying lunch out every day in Chicago. Ok, that takes care of two major meals but there's a couple of other things... snacks and dinner. I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and just buy a bag of fruit or something and basically have a fruit basket at work to resist the urge to hit the candy aisle at Walgreen's. Dinner is a tough one. Not to hard to pack the meat in I like chicken and beef so just about anything made with one of those would be fine, the trouble is that since I don't cook (me Tarzan, you Jane. ook!) I need to convince the wife to make healthy things that she generally doesn't eat (veggies) and not in portions that could feed everyone in a large 3rd world nation because I'll eat em if they're there.

How about working out? According to Men's Health a fit person can do 40-50 push ups in 2 minutes, 35-40 sit ups per minute, 45 squats before form breaks down, have a cardio step score of 60-100, be able to flex 2-6 inches past your feet with your hands out, do the shuttle run in ~10 seconds, and have a vertical jump of about 20 inches. I think I want to avoid getting a gym membership again, though having a personal trainer to help keep motivation up would be helpful. The grandparents sent $50 for Christmas, I think I'll be picking up some free weights to be able to do strength training at home. Between the jump rope and elliptical machine I think I've got cardio covered. The last time I had a work out routine it involved hitting the gym at 5 or 6 in the morning with a buddy. I like working out in the mornings, it really sets you up for the day and gets to blood pumping. So, the day is going to start at 5 and alternate between cardio and weights for 30 - 60 min 6 days a week. Even the great googly-moogly had to rest on the 7th day. Spring is coming and I think I'm going to make a serious effort to join the soccer league that has indoor and outdoor fields near by. I've always found it easier to do the things I should when I have an obligation to something or someone.

The toughest part about dieting and working out is building the routine and sticking to it. The benefits on the other hand are undeniable. It's hard to let things drag you down when you feel good and for poker that means a step towards tilt-proof and keeping a sharp and focused mind on the game. The holidays suck. Especially if you don't have much self control around good food (me) and a major sweet tooth (also me). It also doesn't help when family unconsciously sets out to sabotage you by buying you things like Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (have I mentioned that these are my all time favorite candy/snack in the world next to Gummi Bears?), cookies, and chocolate goodies. So to that end, I'm not even going to try and fight it and end up kicking myself for being an undisciplined wimp. I'll do the traditional thing and hold out for new years day where I've got some space to build the habit, routine, and discipline to control myself around those types of things.

The important thing is keeping the goals realistic and manageable. For example, if I lost 1 lb a week by the end of 2005 I would be at my goal weight. Seems easy enough. I know that on the front end the pounds will fly off relatively quickly where on the back end I'll have to fight for every pound. The irony here being that by doing strength training I'm going to put muscle mass back on (yay!) and muscle is heavier than fat (boo!). However, strength training burns fat faster than just doing cardio and losing that belly fat is a high priority to reducing other major health risks/issues.

To bring this little show to a close here is my goal. My goal, to improve not only my poker skills/play but my life in general, is to lose 50 lbs by this time next year by developing discipline in eating and in exercise. To be able to do all of the things a fit person should be able to do (as listed above) or at least as close to it as humanly possible. To do this I'm going to cut back an hour a day where I would normally be surfing the net and dedicate it to working out at least 6 days a week and not let my diet slip out of laziness or convenience.

posted by Andres Silva  # 12/22/2004 04:20:00 PM