What better way to get stuck in and burn off those extra pounds by hitting the gym? Hell, if darts players are now pounding the treadmills and pumping weights to boost their match concentration, then you’ve got no excuses. In the long-term you should be looking at a programme that includes weight training, cardiovascular training and flexibility work. An example of a regime might be:

Monday 40-minute swim, stretch
Tuesday 50-minute weights Session A
Wednesday 30-minute cycle ride, stretch
Thursday 50-minute weights Session B
Friday 30-minute swim and some yoga

A little word on the weights sessions – do them in a circuit fashion for five sets of 10-12 controlled reps at the maximum weight you can properly handle with a rest of 60-90 seconds after each full rotation.

Weights Session A
Squats
Overhead press
Lateral pull-down (or pull-up)

Weights Session B
Deadlift
Bench press
Bent-over row

In the short-term, immediately before and during a tournament you don’t want to go over the top exercising, but a morning swim for 15 minutes and, if you have time, a light weights session in the evening, will help clear the mind and work out the stiffness of sitting over the baize all day.

Performance-enhancing drugs

We’ve covered smart drugs before and they will be useful in conjunction with these basic measures. Products such as ginkgo biloba or Spike by Biotest are useful for their long-term lift in brain function, but it’s important how you take them.

Products like ginkgo or ginseng are going to work better in the long run so take them before the tournament as they’re slow getting to work. Spike is the type of product to be taken around halfway through the day as it’s fast acting and will last for the day’s play.

Alternatively you can whip up your own brain-boosting cocktail. This may be useful if you’re fl agging or for really increased focus for a big game without having to resort to loads of caffeine and sugar.

Brain-boosting shake
1 pint of weak green tea
200-150mg DMAE
1-2g of Taurine
3g L Tyrosine