Help with Speed

Ok, here is my problem. I am having trouble hitting 16th's and 8th's over like 195 BPM because my legs keep locking up and I can't move them that fast. Can anyone tell him how to improve on this or have a way to get my legs from doing this.

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All I can really say is keep doing it until you can. That's how I managed to do that anyway.

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Practice those movements at slower speeds (use Edit Mode to create training edits if necessary), and then work your way up to 195 and over.

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I have that problem too.

In theory and practice, I can move my feet fast enough for Fascination Maxx.

On the pad, my legs lock up.

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Even something like Stepmania could be used. If you have something like FAXX, change the speed of it in the song options. Something like 0.9x speed is 360 BPM, which you can start from if you're good at this speed.

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The locking up probably occurs because the muscles in your legs are too stiff to individually flex over 6 times per second. (FaXX is 13.3 steps per second at the 8ths) The problem *COULD* be that your brain isn't reading the arrows properly, but if you have experience with StepMania and can hit ~800 BPM properly with your fingers, it's not a processing error.

You could probably improve the ~800 BPM pad stuff by performing some of the following:

-Wear shorts, because the friction between your legs and longer pants will only cause you to use more force to move your legs.
-Have a supplemental energy drink 30 minutes prior to DDR, like Boost or something in general with caffeine, to increase your concentration and to replace burned calories in your body from the excercise.
-Eat half a full (balanced) meal about 1-1.5 hours prior to playing, to ensure your body is not fatigued from hunger, but has time to digest the food so cramps don't mame you for about 15 minutes.
-Hit the arrows with your heels. Try standing up straight (almost stiff, just not hunched over) without both hands on the bar (one hand extended to steady yourself is fine), placing your heels a little ways away from the middle of the actual arrows. Try to physically raise the ball of your foot so the heel juts out, which causes you to use muscles you don't normally use to hit the arrows, and these muscles shouldn't be tired from excessive use. This technique is not very good for stream where the 16ths are all over the pad, it's better for stationary ~800 BPM runs, like the short bursts after the last 100 BPM slowdown in Pluto Relinquish.
-Minimize movement by following what those best ITG players do, where they barely move their feet and seem to touch the inside of the arrow. This conserves energy and allows your muscles to be used much more quickly since all the energy in that muscle isn't used up for heavier stomps and farther movement.

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Great tips, GSB. I don't have any shorts, but some of my pants can convert to shorts.

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Quote: RoyBoyCF
Great tips, GSB.

Agreed! I do try to wear shorts when I go play, but I rarely eat beforehand. I also usually tend to bring some sort of energy/sports drink.

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I second the eating 1-2 hours before hand. If I don't eat for too long before, or if I eat too soon before, I end up with an aching side when I start doing the hard 9's and easy 10's.

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I forgot to mention, limber up right before playing the hard song. It should be a no-brainer, but not everyone does it so I wanted to throw that out there. Just stretch your legs a bit, kick your legs backward a bit, stretch your hammies calves by putting the balls of your feet on the edge of the pad and letting your body weight pull your heels down in midair. I always do that before I play something 300+ BPM and it helps a good deal.

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Yeah, if you're young, now is a good time to develop the self discipline to do stretches before and after.

Always warmup on some 7s or 8s before stepping into the 9s or 10s. I find that if I try to jump right into hard 9s (like "Land of the Rising Sun" or "Tribal Style" :cha, I end up with cramped legs after only 2-3 songs. But if I do some easy songs first, and step it up gradually, I can end the night with something that's at the edge of what I can do.

"stretch your hammies by putting the balls of your feet on the edge of the pad and letting your body weight pull your heels down in midair."

Are arcade pads way thick or something? My cfs aren't nearly thick enough for that. I have to put one leg out, and bend the toe up as much as I can, and lift it straight out.

Getting your heartbeat up with a bit of limbering helps with those hard songs, but don't overdo it, or you won't have the stamina to finish the song.

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Thanks for the tips everyone. I actually have a Pump it Up tournament where I live and these tips are going to help me. Its strange though I can pass all the 10 footers with great ease but when it comes to parts where its 16th's or 8th's with just two arrows I just can't do it.

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Quote: null
-Have a supplemental energy drink 30 minutes prior to DDR, like Boost or something in general with caffeine, to increase your concentration and to replace burned calories in your body from the excercise.

Actually, if you are drinking caffeine that will really start to dehydrate you while you play. The more you water you lose, the harder it will be to concentrate.

I'd really avoid caffeine.. otherwise good tips.

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Arcade SN pads are much thicker than CF's, I wrote that presuming the person reading it was trying fast stuff at an arcade. (FaXX, FELM, Chikara D-Expert) There are other ways to stretch your *calves*, which is what I meant to say.

Also Shadowcol, i bring a water bottle with me to the arcade every time I play, and fill it up multiple times to drink about 3 containers of water for a good workout.

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Oh, for water, I'll usually go through 1-1.5 liters of water during my 1-2 hours of dancing.
And of course, I have a 20" fan pointed at me.
Just like swimming and hitch hiking, make sure you know where your towel is.

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Yeah, my friend on MSN told me water is very important for stamina. Bring at least 2 litres if you plan on playing for more than two hours. It's helped me a bunch.