Delta

Slacker and Still Hungover

, 01-24-2012 at 11:36 PM (207 Views)

Late post on Hangover.
Did an "express" training regimen (whatever that means) for ten days prior to the tournament. Worked on mostly decision point and getting back in shape. I kept things simple.

I will say the tournament was much better this year for two reasons: one of the organizer's wife made this awesome spider design on a bare strip using masking tape....I'll have to dig up a picture somewhere. Spider was for venue's mascot (University of Richmond). Reason two: first and second places actually got liquor choices this year. I know the women haters weren't happy, but I was to see the change.
On a side note, I was also happy to see that the terribly crabby, unprofessional man who was the Absolute armorer/vendor last year wasn't there. He sold two BFs, wired, and they broke before the first touch was scored with either of them. I went back after to show timestamp on receipt, and he demanded I pay again for repairs for faulty workmanship. Needless to say, I am thankful I don't fence a point thrusting weapon, and that we wasn't there.
Two things that made me less happy: nobody called right of way correctly (consistently). If was called for and against me. Didn't know tempo. It was frustrating during DEs, especially inthe first five touches, I'd be learning how the ref's bias (sorry guys, there is bias) works, and then, it changes, I adapt, then it changes again, and I learn its arbitrary....pretty much, anyway.
Other thing was entry fee.....it's getting more expensive. The trip was a present to myself for getting into grad school. Lame? Not if money is tight and you care enough about the sport.
Lost to Erb. The kid seriously grew two feet in six years. All of the kids I grew up with sprouted and now I'm the short one. Hmph.

I've also started to lose weight for the first time since....I can ever remember. I'm not talking about the working 80 hours/week and not eating properly losing weight. I'm at the age, where your metabolism decides to kick the bucket in a tar pit, and all those years of consuming 3000+ Calories a day doesn't work anymore. I looked at the scale, stepped back, tried again, and lo'behold! I'm losing weight!

I only use the scale for the first two months of any regimen. It's to make sure I"m burning off the fat while my body catches up to build muscle. After that, I could care less about how much I actually weigh. As long as I'm putting on muscle and not fat (and it's fairly easy to tell when you're doing one or the either), I'm happy. I think the idea of being fixed a number on a scale based on your height is wrong and sad. My BMI (an archaic system that really needs to be pushed out of everyone's hard wiring) was "overweight" since college.....
How am I doing it?
I imagine Demi Moore in G.I. Jane, then I photoshop her face out, then put mine in. TADA!
I only have access to the gym MWF, 1.5 hours and try to cram as much in. I 'm not efficient at it because I still have a few extra twinkies on me and have to take breaks between reps and the gym is always crowded, so rotating exercises between reps makes me the rude, bad hog of equipment.
My legs feel like lead on the treadmill. Sad, sad day for a fencer to have lead legs.

I saw the weirdest thing....on Monday. I saw a girl get on the sled and she started doing leg presses with just the sled. It got me thinking, how much does JUST the sled weigh? I've seen just bar squats, but first time seeing assisted sled presses. I learn something new every day.

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Comments

KidLazy - 01-25-2012 11:14 AM
I'm at the age, where your metabolism decides to kick the bucket in a tar pit

I don't believe this (I believe this happens is becuase they stop trying).

I only have access to the gym MWF, 1.5 hours and try to cram as much in.

I also don't think moden gym works ("works" as in "good for human body").
Allen Evans - 01-25-2012 12:11 PM
It was difficult to get top saber referees for the Hangover (I assume that this is the weapon you were fencing?) There were a ton of conflicts this year, and I know a couple of referees that Virginia hoped to get bagged out. As a side note, I foresee the saber referee shortage getting even more acute in the next four years, but there doesn't seem to be any way to produce saber referees faster.

I noticed a distinct metabolism slow down with I was 40. It was very noticeable to me. I noticed another one just recently, in my mid 50's. I keep pretty good records of my workouts and training behavior, and for me (at least) it's not an illusion. YMMV, of course.

A
KidLazy - 01-25-2012 04:34 PM
more you weight, FASTER your metabolism (mostly). The age thing with metabolism is mainly because of decreaseing muscle mass and increasing stress in life. Agh... why do I bother keep on talking when no one try to understand me.

try google search.

Updated 01-25-2012 at 04:57 PM by KidLazy
Delta - 01-26-2012 10:28 PM
Kid Lazy, I mostly disagree. Modern gym is worse for people who aren't actually motivated to get better. I've seen people go there to build mirror muscles and find other "attraction-worthy" people. Nothing wrong with the gym being your social playground so long as you don't hog the machines and clean up after yourself.
If you go to the gym for the right reasons, determination and sincerity in learning proper technique will see you through....
Also, back in the day, outdoor gyms at public parks welcomed you with freezing cold metal bars that made your hands numb, and sometimes made you lose your grip from a few feet above in the air. I still see a few of those time to time.

As for faster metabolism, your metabolism might be faster in absolute value (compared to a smaller person) simply because you're hauling around extra weight, but that doesn't mean you burn it proportionally faster than a healthy, fit person. As for age and metabolism, decreasing muscle mass is largely a result of a lifestyle choice. It's much more difficult for someone who's 40 to stay in shape than someone who's in their 20s because every body has a biological clock they respond to. Once you pass your sexual and physical peak, the body goes like, "meh, time to decline". If you're very determined, you can stay in shape, and you can see a lot vet fencers, runners, and other triathaloners do it; but they have to work that much harder than the young folk do at getting into shape and staying there. It's always an uphill battle for everyone, but some have a steeper hill.

My background is in biology and biomedical science. I know a thing or two about metabolism, but of course, I still do use google search from time to time. I was complaining because I was used to being active at least 20 hours a week, and now I'm active....less than half that. It was disappointing to see the weight gain from a eating lifestyle you're used to balancing to. Anyway, thank you for your input!

Allen, thanks for letting me know! I really appreciate it. Also, I know the community would appreciate seeing a list of RSVPed refs as well.
Allen Evans - 01-27-2012 09:37 AM
I think tournaments would benefit from announcing the referee pool, but it's not done that often (though, if I recall, it's been done in VA in the past). Again, good saber referees are short on the ground, and always in high demand. Still, I think VA spares almost no effort in making their top events as good as possible. This, unfortunately, is reflected in the fact that these events almost always make NO money for the Division.

Hmm....this might be worth a discussion in another forum.

A