How many sticks until it actually clicks?

[Kabelo Mahlangu]

For anyone further along. I’ve been practising on the training arm most evenings and I still miss more than I’d like. Roughly how many attempts before it stopped feeling random for you? Trying to set a realistic goal instead of just hoping.

[Daniel Roux]

On the road it took me a good few weeks of daily sticks before reliable. The arm is more forgiving than a scared patient with rolling veins, so use it to overlearn now. When it’s a real arm you want the technique to already be boring.

[Priya Naidoo]

I logged mine because of course I did. It stopped feeling random around 40 to 50 sticks, but spread over a few weeks, not one heroic weekend. Spacing it out mattered more than the total.

[Dr Anton Scheepers]

Priya’s number is about right and notice it isn’t huge. The thing nobody says is that spaced practice beats cramming, because sleep is when the motor pattern sets. Ten clean sticks a day for a week will beat seventy in one sitting. Keep the bevel up, anchor the vein with your other thumb, and ease the angle down once you’re under the skin. Slow on entry. Confidence is a byproduct of reps done with attention, not a separate thing to chase.

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