Combating Decline

The past few months or so, I've been getting worse -- about half a year ago, I passed Last Man Standing, but now I can barely pass Temple of Boom because I've lost so much technique. The closest In The Groove machine is over an hour and a half drive, so I don't get to play arcade weekly or anything. I really want to regain what I've lost, and it would be nice to break the 11 barrier by the time Rebirth 2 is released, so I don't have to wait until the last song to play 10's. I don't really have a decent pad, so would putting Open In The Groove on autoplay, using a chair or something as a bar substitute, and stepping on the floor as if there were a pad be good practice, or would that harm my technique or timing in any way? All advice is greatly appreciated

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You can still step on the floor, you should do this nobar.
Also, i recomand you to do some sport if you can (since you can't really play at home).
That's what i should do too (i have a pad but i don't like it).

Long walk, running, swimming pool, bike rides...
Anything that can build your stamina might helps you imo.

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I agree with PanStyle, doing other sports or physical activities helps. I do a lot of running and some swimming to keep my stamina up. In fact, I might run a half-marathon this year. I also eat certain foods when I plan on playing intense DDR or ITG like eggs or citrus, anything healthy that will keep me going. (IDK, my mom thinks I should try to lose weight, but I think DDR/ITG keeps it down)

How much money do you have to buy a metal pad?

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Well, I actually have two metal pads already -- one is at a friend's house and the other one is a CobaltFlux that's not in great condition (it has a very crudely attached new wooden base after the original one broke). It turns out that I might be able to play on the latter after all since I was able to play on it today, so I can play Dance Dance Revolution and In The Groove home versions with it no bar.

A friend told me how bar and no bar are two different techniques with different centers of gravity and different muscle groups affected, so working on no bar will actually build stamina in different muscle groups than bar style would. She suggested that working on both techniques and playing on home pads might interfere with developing technique. I'm not sure if the protruding screws on the CobaltFlux will be a problem for working on technique. Should the bar be a certain height, grip, or anything?

Right now, stamina isn't the reason I'm failing songs -- it seems more like a coordination issue rather than just getting too tired. I just can't handle those intense arrow patterns like I once could, it's as if my legs don't know how to move smoothly anymore or something. I've even declined on playing Open In The Groove on keyboard.

It would probably be best not to waste money on another pad, so I'm not sure if I should try to find a way to hook the CobaltFlux up to the computer (which I may or may not be able to do) and lean on a chair or something, or if I should just mimic steps on the floor with it set on autoplay.

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Why not just buy another proper wooden base for the CF?

The base is nothing more than 3/4" melamine board dimensions - 33-1/4" x 33-1/4".
One sheet of melamine board at home depot costs $20-$30 and has enough to make two pads. Route the wires UNDER the pad for durability, you can even tape them to the bottom of the pad if your to lazy to use a wood router, then drill the entry points between the diamond openings in the ground plate. It will take time but will save you $$$ and you'll have good pads.

I would actually suggest buying NEW industrial strength velcro and replacing all the velcro from your old pad, and instead of using screws you can use cable ties (that's what I use now). It will let you bend your arrows without having to unscrew anything, and no need to drill screws into your new board either. Just make sure they are thick enough because thin ones will break during gameplay especially with shoes.

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Riding horses keeps my legs muscles intact for DDR, but I guess that's probably more expensive than driving to a machine and playing for 2 hours a day :{

Replacing the pad, and learning to play without a bar is great in terms of improving your stamina / balance, and making you a better all-round player, but if you're planning on getting back into ITG fast, and playing with the bar all the time, then it's not going to do much for you over a short period of time. Playing with a bar is more "high impact", and puts an additional strain on your arms. If you're not used to playing without the bar, then it might also feel frustrating to suddenly have a cap on the difficulty of the songs you can play.

It *will* however, help with your timing, and ability to read notes. Just keep in mind that it'll feel weird and sometimes frustrating, but every hour of practice you put in will help reinvigorate your muscles, and help you remember how to read the on-screen notes.

I'd get your body in shape by specifically working the muscles that you use when you play ITG. Maybe get some ankle weights, and run in them for an hour or two every day? Work on your cardio and overall fitness, so that when you get a chance to practice on a real machine, you can put in an hour or two of solid 10-footers, before you start to feel drained, and unable to play at the level you want to.

I should have been more specific in my original post. Since technique is my biggest problem, I guess I was wondering whether just mimicking steps on the floor with Open In The Groove step on autoplay would hurt my technique (or prevent it from improving) since a flat floor doesn't have brackets to help judge what distance and height to move on the arrows. If this would actually hinder improving technique, then I was wondering if I should try to construct some sort of pad replica -- like find some square tiles or something to assemble, so they feel somewhat similar to the center, brackets, and arrows of an arcade pad.

As for my CobaltFlux, the up and down panels keep coming loose because the screws keep popping out, so it's looking as if I might have to try that cable tie idea when I get around to it (thanks for that idea). Even if I get the pad in playable condition, I'm not sure if it would be good for improving technique (because if it were, I might be able to play In The Groove on a laptop without autoplay since my CobaltFlux came with a USB connector).

Thanks for the tips everyone

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