I have been a gamer since I was 5 years old, and damn did I look it all the way until I was a junior in high school.  I didn’t much care about my appearance, nor did I care about my diet or exercise plan.  Don’t get me wrong, I played tennis at a near collegiate level, and I played soccer all my life.  I was good at these things, but they were never things I had to really work hard on.  When I was a junior in High School I weighed the same amount as my skinny mother.  I was near 6 feet tall, and built like a string bean.  Great for tennis, sure, but it wasn’t a good look.  Junior year I started pounding away in the gym, lifting weights and eating as much as I possibly could.  I would drink a 24 ounce water bottle 7 times a day.  This would eventually lead me to gaining a significant amount of muscle, and evening my height and my weight out a bit.  I still work out 5 times a week, and I am addicted to it.  I love the satisfaction that it brings, and I love how good it makes me feel afterwards.

Why am I telling you this on a League of Legends website?  Well, it’s simple.  When you workout, whether it be playing a sport, lifting weights, or doing cardio, your body releases endorphins.  These endorphins make you feel great, but they also have a positive effect on your mind.  I always have my best gaming sessions after a good workout.  The good feeling involved with working out can carry to your gameplay, and the new found focus can bring reaction time and decision making to a new level.  Diet is also an important piece of your daily life, and if you have a good diet your mind will excel. I tend to plan gaming sessions around my workout times, so that I can benefit from the post-workout effects.

“Do you even lift?” – Alistar (Quote may not be accurate)

I recommend that if you don’t play a sport, lift, or run, you try some things out.  I can almost promise that you will get addicted to your new found fitness hobby, and it will carry positively to other parts of your life, even League of Legends.

Do you workout?  What is your favorite routine / lift / machine?  Do you notice a change in your gaming afterwards?

Try it out, and leave a comment if you do!