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Taking deep breaths before cubing.

Mudkip

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Who else takes deep breaths before a solve? I have started doing this recently, and my times have gotten significantly faster. Like from a 21 avg to a 17. This could because it relaxes me. What do you think?

ps. I'm not really familiar with posts like this, fell free to move this topic if I misplaced it.
 

SpeedSolve

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Funny you bring this, up, because I started doing this too! I didn't even mean too, either. It was at a comp about a week ago, and before my solve I took a deep breath (mostly because I was nervous, it was my first comp, I was the first to go, and The Birdman* was there) and I got up there and got first. With a crappy 38.34, I messed up on F2L twice and on PLL. :fp


* The Birdman is Chris Anderson, number 11(?) on the Denver Nuggets. FYI
 
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yes! I do this in my every official solve.
Just a habit that started from taekwondo competitions (where I shout), but instead that I shout, I just take a deep breath then a big exhale before solving . It makes me feel relax and ready.
 

Broom

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I've noticed that I get nerves every time I time myself whilst solving, and this shows when I jam the cube, drop it, etc. I have to try this, it seems so perfect for me.
 

5BLD

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I find it good to do this but I usually forget.
What's annoying is this 'mental barrier' which I need to break to get into that perfect mind set... You know what I mean?
 

Dacuba

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Every solve where I manage to focus on the cube only, I am significantly better than my average (barely sub15).
Once I mess up one solve, it is hard for me to get back to my perfect mental state. I tried deep breaths for that, but usually I need a pause of several minutes after a failsolve, otherwise I will mess up the next 5 solves too.
The problem is I don't like to make this pauses, but I need them to calm down.
 

DRAGON_RYU

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I feel like your saying to yourself:
It's okay, no need to feel STRESS.
Which increases my stress when I do it before playing guitar.
But mayB cubin' is different.
 

RCTACameron

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At home, I don't usually take deep breaths because I'm not very nervous, so it won't help much, and it just takes to long to do it before every solve. But if I am nervous (like at the end of an average of 100, or if I need to get a good solve to roll into a PB average) I will. I also do this a lot in weekly competitions. In official competitions, I do this on most solves. In the 2x2 finals at Worlds I took 4 deep breaths before every solve. :p
 

majikat

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I do this as well- I also like to meditate in the mornings as well as before a cubing practice session, which I think helps a lot. Helps me to focus my mind completely on the cube...and I try to remember to breathe deeply and slowly even while I'm solving, to keep my mind in a focused, sort of meditative state all through the solve.
 

LeighzerCuber

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Every solve where I manage to focus on the cube only, I am significantly better than my average (barely sub15).
Once I mess up one solve, it is hard for me to get back to my perfect mental state. I tried deep breaths for that, but usually I need a pause of several minutes after a failsolve, otherwise I will mess up the next 5 solves too.
The problem is I don't like to make this pauses, but I need them to calm down.

What you have to do is ignore the solve and think to yourself "Ok that was terrible. Let's try to save this average." I say this due to the fact that every time that I had a fail solve and freaked out over it everything else was down hill. When you ignore it and say,"Well I this is what I have to deal with. On with the next solve." then you don't get that adrenaline flow into your blood stream, thus, you aren't slowing you minds agility. I think that the you can't go to a pb average, but the pb average will come to you if you are slowly improving and staying calm.
 

majikat

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What you have to do is ignore the solve and think to yourself "Ok that was terrible. Let's try to save this average." I say this due to the fact that every time that I had a fail solve and freaked out over it everything else was down hill. When you ignore it and say,"Well I this is what I have to deal with. On with the next solve." then you don't get that adrenaline flow into your blood stream, thus, you aren't slowing you minds agility. I think that the you can't go to a pb average, but the pb average will come to you if you are slowly improving and staying calm.

So what you're saying is,

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