Let's Get Physical

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I just arrived home after a 6 hour drive from Arizona and am a bit tired from my journey, but I’ve committed to writing this blog everyday for 31 days and with 4 days left I’m not about to give up now. This is the home stretch!

Speaking of “home stretch,” I’m getting back to stretching every morning and want to establish a good physical fitness routine. This is my spring training for the 2014 WSOP and I’m going to need to lose weight in order to build my stamina to be in performance shape for the 6 week, grueling 14-hour days.

If January was my blog month, February will be my physical fitness month. Empowered with the confidence of knowing I can consistently do something for a month, I plan to attack this weight loss with the same passion as I did my blog. I’m setting an ambitious goal of losing 15 pounds this coming month, but I’m confident I’ll meet it.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” 

Some believe that we make your own luck and that luck is just a matter of perspective. I tend to agree. If it is true that you make your own luck, then preparation is vital. It’s hard to win a football game if you’re not physically fit enough to compete. Likewise in poker, if you’re mentally drained at the end of the long days, it will show up physically as well and it is more likely you’ll slip up and make a mistake. Chances are it could be that mistake that keeps you from making the money, final tabling or winning it all.

So physical fitness is #1 if you want to compete at the highest levels. Being physically fit allows the mind and brain to function better as well. How do you plan to prepare for the wsop? When preparing for an important event, my suggestion is to think of working outside-in. In other words, from the physical to the mental. 

Since poker is such a mental game, it’s easy to get it backwards and work from the inside-out.  Spending too much time looking at hand histories, talking shop and analyzing data. The mental activity of today’s players is far greater then 10 years ago and that can lead to a great advantage if kept in balance with the physical. Out of balance one can slip into the mind and find themselves trapped.

For those trapped in the mind and the mental activity of the game, remember this: The way out of the mind is through EFFORT! Get up, get out and do something PHYSICAL. Anything you can do to get or keep yourself moving and physically active. The key to success is in the “doingness,” NOT in thinking about it.

This is a little pep talk to myself as much as it is to my readers. Especially those of us over 40, who come to realize that being lethargic is deadly in competition. So I’m going to get an early start to Feb. and begin building my daily routine tomorrow. It will include a healthy diet and moderate exercise and walking each day. I’ve started this type of things many times at the beginning of a new year and find myself petering out right about now. So this year I've reversed it! I’m also glad I’m motivated not by the date of the year, but rather my own personal desire to want to feel and perform better at the tables. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Enjoy the Journey!

Kenna