Should I push through tiredness when training?

Hi Adam,

This is a great question! I believe that to reach a world class level you need to practice around 10,000 hours. In addition, these 10,000 hours must be quality practice where you are really focused and alert.

So I guess the answer to your question is, it depends.

If you're an older player who has already racked up an enormous amount of training hours then you are probably better not practicing when you feel tired. You've already done the hours and you just need to maintain your standard. I think that a lot of people who have been playing everyday for the last 15 years can get bored a lot quicker at that stage of their career than when they first started. So if they are bored and tired and not focused, then the practice will not help them get any better.

However if you are starting out and trying to reach the top and everytime things aren't right or you are feeling a bit tired you stop, then you'll never get enough practice in to become really good. In this case you probably do need to push on through. But the key here is to push on through by making sure you are still alert, still giving all you can and still learning. It is a great skill to develop to turn things around when you are not feeling well. As you mentioned, in matches you don't have the option of stopping.

So in general if you really want to be the best player I would say you need to keep going. There is no short cut, you need to do the work. However everyone is at a different stage of their career and one rule never fits everyone.