Stamina suggestions? Forum

[dietcoke0]

So bout 3 weeks left, and now working on drilling and PTs. Still have 11 PTs to go, and some fillers for drills and such.

With a PT, I average about 164, but consistently run out of steam around the 3rd section (I add a random experimental on 1-3) and by end of 4 and 5 I am really glossed over. I can't tell you how many times I miss 1 or 2 on the first 20, then miss all of the last 5. Happens only on LR. RC and LG usually keeps my attention enough.

I noticed however if I drill section by section, timed, I can score into the 170s, which would be nice on gameday.

I know some people saying the adrenaline can push you through, but I don't want to rely on that.

Goal is 168, so not looking for the 170s, but didn't know of any tricks. The best I have now is to take a minute or two, shut my eyes, deep breathes, and try and reset. But I don't want to waste that precious time on the real thing.

[dietcoke0]

Oh and the LR, there isn't a question type I miss more than others. It literally seems to be just the last 5. I know the harder ones are towards the end, but it does seem to be just the end of the test

[iowalum]

Are you doing the LR in order? If you are always getting the last 5 wrong, try doing 15-24 or 10-24 first, then doing the first 10/15 last. This way you will hit (most of the time) easiest questions when you are burnt out. I find that having easy questions at the end gives you a chance to rest.

[mattviphky]

just keep at, it will eventually click, oh and 5 hour energy, not every time, but use it and see if it makes a noticeable difference.

[dietcoke0]

I thought about jumping around, haven't tried that one yet.

And I do use 5 hour almost every time. I try to recreate the atmosphere as much as possible, time in the morning and all, and i usually pop a 5 hour 30 minutes before 9. Although when I'm out, doesn't usually make a difference it seems.

[bport hopeful]

Think about baseball.

[dietcoke0]

Think about baseball.

No idea what that means

[bport hopeful]

Think about baseball.

No idea what that means

Based on that, and the fact that you drink diet soft drinks, you must be a woman.

[dietcoke0]

[bport hopeful]

On a serious note, just keep at it and it will come more naturally. Also, on game day this might not happen as much.

For me, I would find myself not really actively reading when I studied cuz I didnt really care. On test day, I was ready (minus a major fuck up) but was ready to go because it was the real deal.

[Obelisk18]

If you have practice tests to spare or, at least, copied old sections you could do afresh, you might want to try finishing a practice test...and then starting one immediately afterward. Or doing a 5 section practice test, then re-doing 2-3 old sections. The human brain is, in some ways, an ordinary muscle. Any runner will tell you: if you want to improve your 5k time, it's important to run 5ks, but it's also important to run 10ks. I wouldn't want to waste any of the limited number of prep-tests available on an immediate second testing, unless you know you're not going to get to all your prep-tests anyway, but there's no harm in doing old sections to try to stretch yourself and, to go back to the analogy, ensure that your 3rd mile's as fast as your first. Now I say this with a caveat. There's a recovery time associated with mental exercise and working until your brain is bleeding and you can barely make out the letters, is going to effect the quality of your preparation in other areas. So I wouldn't suggest doing this A.) more than once or twice before test day and B.) Until you feel relatively confident that the last hurdle is stamina. Someone who's getting, say, -0 on the first 3 sections, and -4 on the next two, probably doesn't have much left to learn of substance and it's likely worth sacrificing a little sharpness during review, to eliminate the discrepancy between the first 3 sections and the last 2.

[jlhero]

just did 8 timed sections in a row.

well my second pt was 6 pts below my first one.

but at least i got some pratice on endurance.

[senorhosh]

For LR:
Going backwards has helped me enormously.
I was kind of like you, getting a lot incorrect at the end of the section.

So I started doing it backwards. Now I get less incorrect, especially in the 20-25 area.

I realized that as the clock got nearer the 35 min mark, I was feeling more pressured, and thus not reading as well as I could or think as clearly. Since the latter questions are generally more difficult, I figured I'd rather do easier questions under pressure than harder ones, because even under pressure I could get the easier ones correct (if you can't, then going backwards might actually hurt your score).