Trader Fitness

Discussion in 'Psychology' started by hippie, Dec 2, 2010.

  1. This is what I learned the last several months. Please add your suggestions to the discussion.

    1. Get enough sleep & rest - tiredness lead to mis-perception of risk.
    2. Eat right - don't trade w/o some breakfast.
    3. Exercise & meditate regularly to maintain fit body with calm mind.
    4. Get a life outside of trading.

    I grade my physical & emotional well-being as well mental preparedness before each trading sessions. If I am not up to snuff, I go on sim or simply take the time off. There had been previous occasions that I forced myself out of bed for the Nonfarm Payroll jobs report only to take insane trades. Once, I even mistook a live DOM for sim. So no more trading tired or sleepy for me.

    I am in Pacific Time Zone, getting up in the pre-dawn hours is quite a challenge for me. I am still trying to be a morning person - I am not there yet. Trading has forced me to put in the effort to maintain personal fitness more than any time in my life.
     
  2. Best place to trade is Europe, time zone is perfect. You trade everything except Asian markets but who cares about those ?
    On the West Coast, getting up at 6 am to trade was a pain, you can never go out at night if you are like me. Bedtime was 11pm at the latest.
    My fitness level was getting atrocious, I got a dog so I have to take one or two walks per day at least.
     
  3. I feel obliged to offer a counter, and contrary, opinion that older traders can perhaps relate to. I am 65. Death is no longer optional for me. Nor is fitness. I am a fat old fuck. I get dead drunk every night on grocery store champagne ("Buy Six and Get 10% Off!") bought with the day's ill-gotten trading gains. The next morning I wake up amazed that I am still alive, although increasingly it is without a hard-on. I stagger to the fridge, pour some hair of the dog in an old candle jar with some of the wax still in it, and set my trading screens mostly by feel, as I cannot see very well through the bloodshot eyes. Then I make money as only the truly wicked can ("The evil prosper and the good die young.") A life? I have no idea what to do with myself when the markets are closed. So I backtest new ridiculous (they can't be re-diculous because they have not been proven to be diculous yet) strategies until I pass out from fatigue, drunkenness, or both. It takes a really strong constitution to do that. My idea of fitness.
     



  4. Have a hash cake for breakfast, smoke some bombay black for dinner.

    If you do only this, all 4 points above will be taken care of; point 3 needs elucidation as exercise for the mind is a given, but the physical part will come from some dinosaur fckin.

    You'll be fit,
     
  5. uptickk

    uptickk

    Do you mentor...
     
  6. Are you seeking recommendations on good cheap champagnes?
     
  7. ddlee

    ddlee

    Thanks for the laugh Uptick and Deco