Fencing Belly!!!

[Gav]

I've just returned from the off season and to my horror my breeches don't properly. Short of buying new breeches I thought I would ask the board for their favourite gut busting excercise programs. I've noticed that some of the older fencers (and the Sabreurs - obviously) suffer from a condition known as Fencers Pot wehereby they are afflicted with skinny arms and legs and yet have a tubby tummy!

I will lose this belly soon (when competition season starts proper) but in the meantime - HELP!

[Moonitic]

Crunches, dear Gav.

[HilandDoug]

Yep, Moon is right, Gav. Crunches are the only thing that'll work. I know from whence you speak, and need to fit into my breeches soon as well. I wonder if that's where we get the phrase, "It's crunch time"?

[neevel]

Since giving up beer is not what I'd call a viable option , I agree with Moon & Doug-- good old fashioned ab crunches are the way to keep the belly flat. No need to run out and spend a bunch on the latest 'Gruntmaster 6000 Miracle Six-Pack abs of Krupp-Cemented-Steel' exercise gadget.

Of course, you could just come the the same conclusion that all those guys who've given in to the beer-belly have: why go for a six-pack, when you can have the whole keg?

-Dave

[Bugaboo]

Ab-focused exercises (i.e. "crunches") are only part of the solution, of course. It depends on what's causing the flabby tummy -- extra fat tissue or weak muscles. Probably both.

Remember, there is no way to lose fat from specific parts of your body. Targeted weight loss is a myth. Each body accumulates and loses fat cell stores in its own order (thus, some folks have thunder thighs while others might gain an all-over chubbiness ... I haven't seen a fat head yet, though). So your BEST bet is to increase your overall activity level and be patient.

Keeping that in mind, however, there's something to be said for muscle toning. A tight tummy will definitely help hold a little extra fat tissue away from your belt line. And other weight training will buff up the shoulders, chest, arms, legs, etc., which will help visually balance the rest of the body.

I remember someone explaining that after a zillion sit-ups you might get "six-pack abs" ... but you'll still have a thick layer of fat hiding that incredible muscle.

[flechenbones]

I have to agree with Bugaboo about the myth of weight loss targeted to specific body areas. Instead of crunches, your time would probably be better spent focusing on modifying behavior or consumption patterns. I have never had to shed a very large amount of weight but I can bring my weight back to normal if I add a couple by some of the following suggestions.

- Drink more water
- Break meals into smaller more frequent meals
- Plan my schedule to include exercise before meals (even if its just a brief walk - anything to raise the metabolism)
- Don't eat within two hours of going to bed.
- Try to monitor what I eat more carefully (fat content)
- Use smaller dishes (makes it harder to pile on food - and if its on my plate or in my bowl it typically gets finished off)
- Increase the amount of exercise, even if just slightly.

These should help and I'm sure other fencers have additional tips. Best of luck.

flechenbones

[HilandDoug]

(scribbling furiously before realizing that in the 21st Century we just click "print")

[sabreur]

I hate to be a spoil sport, but giving up beer, and alcohol in general, except on special occasions (I have special occasions twice or three times a week) will go an awful long way toward getting rid of the tummy.

The other thing that helps is regular aerobic exercise (not fencing), 30 minutes minimum, 40-60 minutes is better, three or more times a week.

And as someone who is 43, and has been fighting the battle of the bulge all my life, I will tell you that, as time goes by, it becomes easier and easier to gain a bulge, and harder and harder to lose it--which is why I gave up my nightly beer.

Regards, MR

[flechenbones]

Sabreur-

Good point about the beer- empty calories. I heard recently that drinking a soda a day results in calories equivalent to about 16 pounds after a year.

Couldn't agree more about exercise. Regular aerobic activity is optimal. The pointers I gave above are relatively minor behavioral modifications that can help. Many diets and exercise programs are abandoned because people go overboard. You can't lose it all right away so don't try. Slow, consistent (& sustainable) behavior modification that results in shifting the balance between calories consumed & calories burned is attainable. Or at least it has worked for me.

flechenbones

[sabreur]

Assuming a can of soda has 150 calories (about the same as a 12 ounce beer), times 365 days in a year gives you 54,750 calories. A pound of fat has about 3500 calories, which means that can of soda a day over a year works out to about 15.6 pounds.

This is the really depressing thing about losing weight --little changes make a huge difference over extended periods of time. Two cookies less per day, and you drop fifteen pounds in a year. Two cookies more a day, ....


Cheers, Mark Ray

[ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: sabreur ]

[Gav]

Thanks guys. I need to find a "Gruntmaster 6000!" lol

I'm normally quite fit and its been quite a shock to see this gut appear out of nowhere. I just ordered new clothes as well and the damn things arrived and don't fit. AARRRGGHH

Extra incentive I suppose.

P.S. I don't drink anymore (or rather only rarely).

[ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: Gav ]

[DJ Apostrophe]

im having the exact opposite problem ironically... i ordered a new pair of knickers for the bay state games... and they were loose then... and since then ive lost about 15 pounds and its still coming off... so i now have to get a new pair of knickers... and i only wore them once... whoopsie.

[Gav]

Eat more hamburgers, pizza, lard...

You'll soon put the weight on!

[Iwant2bafencer]

I agree with moon and Doug. That will get it off. It's what I did a little while back. Start kind of low first, but I got up to doing something like 80 or 90 a night. It's easy (For exercise) and doesn't cost you a thing!

[TheScribe]

I think that if you want an overall great arobic workout, than one of the best things you can possibly do would be to take a couple classes of power yoga, In a room thats about ninety degreees, power yoga makes you feel like a greeseball, but once you take a shower, I sware i always feel like im floating around.

[Jeeves]

In the end it will always be, calories in VS calories out. The average brain needs 750 calories to function per day. The rest is what we burn for locomotion, etc. Basically burn more than you take in on a consistent basis and your weight goes down. 750 baseline, + locomotion calories burned doing crunches etc, needs to be > average caloric intake.

[weezelbit]

Yeah,
calories in and calories out. The best I ever did for weight loss was to cut out as much fat as possible from my diet. Not even a bit of butter for my bread (but I've heard that "marmalade is nice if very thickly spread"). But then my hubby started complaining about eating all that peasant food - bean stews without meat, lentils, pasta and veggies etc.

Of course, after my baby, I said I would go back to fencing when I could zip up my fencing pants. I gotta say, breast feeding is the road to weight loss - and you can eat like a horse. Of course, it's not the diet for everyone.