Aside from the scores of hours spent play testing, reading and re-reading over the rules and FAQ, wrestling with all of your ideas and theorycrafting... Does anyone else plan to physically condition themselves for regionals? Back in my days in track and field, everything we did, the training and sequences and regiments, were for the meet. All the prep and practice for staying strong, flexible and warm so you don't injure yourself during the competition were a must in order to be successful physically and mentally.

As silly as this sounds, is anyone else here doing it or considering physical coditioning for X-Wing? I started hitting the gym last November for other reasons, but when I realized that Store Champs will be a minimum of 4-5, 60-75 minute rounds, I upped my cardio and core workouts so I can stand for longer amounts of time without feeling fatigued. It really helped out, seeing as the SC I ended up winning was 7 rounds that lasted from 11AM-11:30PM, and the second I attended we were there for playing X-Wing for a good 13 hours (staying after the tournament for an Endor scenario).

I usually hit the stair master and bike at the gym, followed up by some lower back and core workouts, followed up by upper body strength. The order is mixed on any given day, but I try my best to do workouts that I know will help me keep my back straight and legs standing for long periods of time. I'm a firm believer of "strong body = strong mind". As such, in a big X-Wing tournament of about 5 to potentially 8 rounds, being able to feel physically competent the whole time allows you to focus more on your theorycrafting, strategy and decision-making capability since you'll be able to divert your energy towards thinking rather than feeling tired.

My sole purpose of going to the gym and working out isnt for X-Wing alone, of course. But we all know that standing for the better half of 12 hours for miniatures game tournament is exhausting and I think considering workouts to help you endure those kind of events is helpful, both inside and out of the tournament.

I've been attending as many larger events as possible to get 'used to' playing x-wing for 12+ hours in a row. Usually I bring lots of water (like 6-10 550ml bottles) and nuts/energy bars for snacks, I make sure to drink at least 1 bottle per game and have a bit of a snack each game. It's been helping, but around game 6 the focus starts to drop off a bit for sure.

Regional's around western Canada will likely be in the 64 people range for AB and BC. One place is doing it all one day, the other regional's is doing it over 2 days (Swiss one day, cut to top X for the second day).

I would not be surprised to see the Canadian Nationals be 128 people this year.

And worlds... 4 flights of 128, cut to 16x4 for the final day?

For quite a few players physical prep would be to take a shower and that would be a marked improvement.

Good food, good clothes, plenty of water and not too much sugary stuff, nothing wrong in sitting down during and between matches, especially with low tables. Easier on the back.

My knee is still sore from doing back-to-back store championships last month. Some physical prep is definitely a good idea.

Also, get enough sleep and improve diet the week before. No junk.

Also helps with the travel that may be involved to get to Regionals and back (safely).

I can say that the best Esports teams and players do at least 1hr a day of physical conditioning. Not even game related, but exactly the sort of cardio and core that is mentioned in the OP. We are physical beings, and having a sense of ourselves as physical beings is incredibility useful in most endeavors.

Another thing being mentioned is your sleep and diet as well. It is imperative to have a healthy meal before the tournament and healthy snacks to munch on during the tournament to keep your body and brain running too. And as mentioned already as well, keeping hydrated is important as well. I feel like gameplay performance suffers greatly if we neglect our physical needs, which physical care and conditioning should be a part of meta game strategy.

I drink lots of liquids and hold my pee as long as I can

tried this with eating..............went horribly bad.

The soundtrack to Rocky would help, I'm sure.

Try not showering... I hear that is a popular way to demonstrate ones dedication, discipline and a certain asceticism.

Someone has to make a montage out of this.

Dehydration will knock you out of elims. Bring Gatorade!

I take performance enhancing drugs with me (aka Aleve)

Let the scandal begin....

We have a thing we call X-Wing back around here.

Dehydration will knock you out of elims. Bring Gatorade!

pff you need Brawndo, (the thirst mutilator) with electrolytes it's got what plants crave!

good post...now we need people to set goals and post daily updates.

I am hoping to drop some weight before the regionals...lots of cardio. hopefully 3-5 times a week.

(I am an old man so cardio for me is walking a couple of miles with my kids in the evening.)

Me: So a guy named "Spike Spiegel" made a comment today on the X-Wing forum about exercising being a way to help with performance during the Regional championships"

Wife: First, great name*. Second, that's what we have our athletes** do at Redbull. Show them our Video "behind the Green Wall". It's about some Call of Duty players.

So, uh, here's the link to the video.

http://goo.gl/gFIPpQ

*She and I are fans of both the music and the Anime "Cowboy Bebop"

** She works in the ESports division.

I deliver mail all day, so I'm used to standing. Would be nice if you could actually sit down and play this game though. One of those low to the ground Japanese tables that one kneels at, yeah.

I hit the gym three times a week and haven't really upped it for the store championships. However, our group that attends generally hit the café before the event to have a good ol' greasy spoon of a meal and have a laugh before things get too serious.

Regular debriefs after games, sitting where possible and avoiding sugary drinks during the day seems to help. Maybe a single coffee or energy drink before the cut but nothing special really.

Healthy physical activity is always a good thing but I don't know how much of an effect it has on tabletop games. The fatigue I feel after a tournament is seldom physical but rather mental. Keeping your brain on high alert, calculating flight paths, which action to take and optimising odds will tire you out. In the last game of a tournament it is not uncommon to see otherwise experienced people make strange decisions and forget basic rules.

If anything, I've found that lower back and core strengthening is what helps your posture and ability to stand for long periods of time. It's also helped me on my longer rides on my road bicycle, but standing for long periods of time (such as concerts or conventions) prior to my gym routines, I've always felt the most sore in my lower back area. There's also the issue I've found with, as mentioned earlier, "X-Wing Back" where you findyourself strained a little because of a low table or weird setups forcing you to reach out or bend a little further than you usually do. So I'd emphasize on strengthening our backs and core in order to keep you from fatiguing or tiring out during the top cut, if you make it that far.

And the jokes are fun and all, but I just feel like adding a little bit of fitness in your life to improve your gaming ability might be a stepping stone into a healthier lifestyle in general. Nothing wrong with knocking out a set or two of push-ups and sit-ups in the morning and during the day, then maybe upgrading into a gym membership or home gym to fill in free time and working your way into a routine. Like X-Wing, people are too hasty, expecting results immediately, when making a plan and taking small steps into a long term goal is paramount to achieving the results you want.

Maybe I will make a montage of my training leading up to regionals, make it like an X-Wing documentary for regionals with sporting/play testing clips and interview-style reflecting thoughts. Rocky soundtrack and all

Interestingly, yes!

I went to 11 Store Championships this season, and about half way through I realized that I was having really strong opening games, usually going 3-0 or 4-0, but then after a lunch break or something, everything would change.

I wound up brainstorming it, then finding a coach who focuses on other competitive games like poker, etc. and I got a lot of advice and started changing things up. Good sleep, dieting, anything to fight that fatigue. I go through mental and physical preparation for any event now, along with specific snacks, no heavy meals, energy drinks for the last stretch.

I went from just placing in SC's to winning SC's, the difference was huge. I found myself simply able to outlast and outplay the more fatigued players towards the end, and that became a huge factor. They were still making sleepy-person mistakes while I was playing at my prime at midnight.

I also come from a pro-gamer background in years past, playing in World Cyber Games 2006 and other major events since then. I'm in my late 20's now and the physical skillset needed to compete in those arenas has come and gone.

I also have chronic back problems, which already create problems at work. Playing X-wing, a chair is mandatory. I cannot stand an entire match, my back just wont take it. I do what I can for that, but from time to time I have to sort it out with a TO to make sure I get a table with a chair if there's a limit. So far there hasn't been any issue.

Hydrate! You get at least 5 minutes between each match and if you don't have to take a leak every time, you aren't doing it right! Don't bother hydrating the day of, it won't help if you didn't start a day or two in advance. Start a day or two before and drink at least a gallon of water each day, then keep a big bottle of water on you and sip on it throughout the day. Hydration is not a same-day thing. If you are hydrating the same day, you're bodies burning energy to actually use the water. Every single unit of energy your body is using on something other than x-wing is a unit of energy wasted.

These things made a huge difference in my play. I also practice when I am sleep deprived, hungry, watching shows or otherwise distracted to try to build my resilience during actual games.

My sole purpose of working out and staying active is x-wing. My job requires it as well but I don't actually use it for my job.

Playing tabletop x-wing, I find myself never sitting.

You know what? I'm in. I played four rounds of Swiss and then the first round of the elimination bracket last Saturday, and today is the first time my lower back wasn't hurting. Some of that may have been due to low tables and bad angles, but I have no doubt that most of it was a reflection of my poor physical state.

Where should we gather to post about our progress? Off-topic subforum, or maybe a non-FFG site entirely? I'm ready to start today.

I don't condition myself before hand per say, but I know what you're referring to. After my first regional last year, which was my first long event (everything up until then had been <16 people), I went back the next day and started recapping my games (I went 4-2, with the two losses being in rounds 4 and 6, and barely sneaking out a win in round 5, and I just missed the top 8 cut due to SoS). But an evaluation of the games after the fact showed that I was doing a bunch of STUPID mistakes that I couldn't believe I did. Thus I came to the conclusion that I was fatigued and needed to fix that for the next one.

So, I've started drinking basically a bottle of water per match, and been grabbing a handful of mixed nuts in between the rounds to keep my mind sharp!

Am I the only one who wants to see a filmed montage of physical training with plastic space ships set to "Eye of the Tiger" now?

EDIT: having now read the whole thread, I'm not.