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It's interesting trading tips on this topic. I've never had the problem of a lack of adrenalin going into a game, if anything have too much and I crash from adrenalin overload within minutes/seconds of tipoff! Over the years what I learned was if I have enough carbs before the game AND I go for a slow steady jog right before, it soothes my nerves a bit and I can play better without crashing. 

About playing with an attacking mindset .. that's interesting.  I think I've found myself avoiding intentionally amping myself up to play hard, it would make me perform worse because i'd crash harder? Though I do agree with you that you must play with that killer mindset because your opponent will be trying to destroy you and there is no points for mercy in competition.

This time I was thinking I should just treat is as a fun game .. and try to enjoy the experience since it is my last one. But the double edge sword is that you think "play each game as your last" and it takes you away from fun and towards attacking, which i'm not sure really helps me play better because it paralyses me from an overload of adrenalin. I do think the more games I play in a season, the better I get at handling this though. My best games have def come when i've wanted to and tried to win from tipoff to the final buzzer. 

 Not sure i wanna try sleep deprivation in the leadup .. haha. i usually find that being tired doesn't really help when you hit the bed, you're wide away. Sleepness doesn't really respect tiredness when it's from being too wired up. But otherwise it def helps. Ive never tried the Epson salt thing .. but i can try. Thanks for the suggestion. Also might use my TENS machine prior .. not sure if it helps me relax but i enjoy the experience. And good idea will try to have a nice relaxing day in the leadup. I fly in Monday evening and will have Mon-Thu on holiday mood .. will try to relax and plan some things in advance.

And i do want to get enough sleep the night before.. i will perform better in subsequent games. It's no fun playing 6 games on no sleep over the space of 2-3 days!

Mate I don't have any suggestions on your training and I think if you can go into the tournament healthy and confident in your body you should get a huge boost just from the adrenaline alone.

In previous years i get so wired up prior that i cant even sleep a wink.. which kills my performance .. lol. If i can go into a big game relaxed and peaceful it would do me a lot of good. Always trying to figure out how to solve that piece of the puzzle. Any suggestions on that welcome!

I would just suggest you make sure your recovery is spot on and also get a ball in your hands as much as possible over the next 3 weeks. No good being the best athlete on the court if you have no touch.

Good advice. Will try to spend some quality time with the basketball! I would like to have my jumpshot going and also decent ball handling in case i end up playing PG a bit (my dream). And simulating game conditions as best as i can when i practice (alone). That reminds me, another thing i noticed yesterday, after taking off the weight vest i did some game intensity type moves . .eg driving .. oh man, i was sooo quick. That's probaly what it feels like to be a good guard.. i felt i could accelerate effortlessly and just speed my way to the rim. This weighted vest is a game changer ... i only wish i had got one sooner!

BS 1Fx132.5 (rPR; 1.75xbw), 1x127.5, 2x122.5
JS 2x8x155 (PR)
BCR 15x190 (LPR)
Depth Jump 3x6x20"

Push Press 4x65, 5x64.5, 4x64.5
Weighted dunking 5x86(PR), 5x87.5(PR), 6x89.5 (PR)
CND - 10 min @ 9km/hr

BW: 75.7kg / 166.89lb (2016 PR)

Squat notes:
Damn my quads were useless .. i wonder whether it was the TKEs or somethign else? but still got a relative PR so cool. Oh and my JS warmup with 100kg was interesting.. was getting pretty good air.

Conditioning notes:
Skippped HIIT sprints, did TM running instead. See peaking thread for detail.

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Activity & Nutrition:

Found myself reading a blurry scanned pdf copy of Vladmir Zatsiorsky's Science and Practice of Strength training 2nd edition. I wish i had a book copy but i can't find one that's reasonably priced online. Any other recommendations for books in this vein? I have Yessis "Explosive Plyometrics" which is easier to digest .. still a bit blurry tho haha.

BS 2x6x102.5
Thick Band TKE 2x30 (PR)
Thick Band Glute Bridge 2x20

BP 2x92.5(LPR), 5x85, 6x80, 7x77.5(LPR)
WCU 6x88.3, 7x85.8
LPD 3x8x42.5 (LPR; reintro)
CROW 3x12x42.5 (LPR; reintro)
CND - TM jog 10 mins @ 7km/hr (LPR; reintro)

BW: 76.05kg / 167.66lb

Notes:
Felt really miserable .. took ages to unrack the bar etc .. was just not there mentally .. i think it's the ketosis fog .. im not sure i shud be fucking with lowcarb diets right now.. but i know they give more fat loss.. but bad workouts just aren't worth it. Hmmm. Will refeed today and revise this low carb thing. I think when i've got under 75kg i'll just switch over to a gentle recomp - that might be a good compromise..

Took a light squat day .. will go heavy weds and hopeful i'll LPR 2x132.5kg.

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Nutrition & activity notes:
Even though this is the end of the 3 week block .. and i legit have a right to have a refeed.. and i feel like shit physically and mentally, so it should be the ideal time to do one but i feel undeserving cause i didn't reach 75kg :/ ... and i know that's silly and i shud just go for it and whatever, esp when i was super strict and ate clean and trained hard for 21 days but im still uneasy about it. Already done ~11k fitbit steps just in case i was gna do a refeed that way my TDEE shud be around ~2700 for the day.





update. Compromised and had a slice of banana bread. Went up to 2300kcal for the day. Will do a proper refeed in 3 wks time. But in the meantime nothing changes until i go sub 75kg.

Forgive my uneducated opinion but when you cut at this rate aren't you doing so with complete disregard for any muscle you may have built?

it isnt that high a rate. 1lb/wk is a pretty standard rate? roughly half a kilo a week..

I've settled upon 74kg/163lb as my final goal bodyweight for this cut. Then i'm taking a diet break, no exception. I  know I won't be satisfied with how lean I am and i know i wont be at 163 either but i'll stop there. Will come back for another cut later down the line in April to 72.5-70kg, depending on how low I need to go.

The reason i'll stop at 74kg is if i keep cutting too long, i'll probably succeed but when i come off the cut my hormones will be crazy and try to pile the fat back on like what happened in 2014 when i gained all the weight back in a matter of weeks through binging. This time i want to save discipline and will power and so on for the most important part of cutting -- maintenance.

So now I need to figure out how to get this shit done asap so i can stop cutting and get my body in a more anabolic environment for performance sake before the tournament. The final phase begins tmr, will weigh and start a new cycle -- probably looking at a worst case scenario of 76kg -> 74kg but we'll see how it goes. For the record today the scale read 76.3kg which is about where i've been stuck for ages.  Looking at another 10-21 days of dieting. If i'm not at the goal weight i may just stop wherever i am? Will see.

I wouldnt even call yesterday's <200g carb day a refeed but today my bw spiked like a proper refeed would have triggered .. weighed 169.76lb / 77kg. FML. Just when i was thinking i need to hit a low of 74kg / 163lb by competition time! Hahah. All good. I must say the saving grace for me right now is doing weighted dunking. I can't help think it's the thing which will bridge the gap from cutting making you lighter and more athletic .. but also at the same time weaker and less powerful because dunks are less challenging. I def think i can be landing powerful dunks at a weighted 90kg by competition time at which point if i'm also decently light 75kg (ish) i shud be able to jump higher. But i do find myself thinking this is submax .. instead of "wow im getting so high" .. so that's  a concern. I believe i jump to the rim as opposed to as high as possible on my dunks .. like if the rim was higher id jump higher and if the rim was lower i'd jump lower .. because my body makes the rim a target and inverse inferences how much force to generate. Is there a mental trick around this to jump higher regardless of rim height?