Exercise and Diet for Fencers

[Rapier_wit]

Since I just recently started fencing, I've noticed a pretty drastic change in my eating habits with needing for fuel to work-out. I've tried looking up books and other resources on diets for fencers, but nothing has come up. I'm mostly a dancer/martial artist and they have a certain dietary regimen that differs from that of the normal endurance athlete. (Ex: Dancers are supposed to eat a lot of fruits and yogurts whereas most athletes are supposed to stock up on the carbs, meats, and proteins) What would be the best all-around diet for me to stick to? (Right now I'm on mostly an Asian diet)

Secondly, I need some help in putting together a solo exercise program. On Tuesday/Thursday I take dance in the morning and then have fencing on night. On Fridays I have nothing in the morning and have fencing at night. On those days I'm pretty good on stretching and exercising. It's the other days I need help on. Since I'm doing a lot of legwork in dance and fencing, should I focus on upper-body the other days?

[bmcfencer]

For someone who's also a dancer I would say do corework and maybe pushups, but I'm certainly no authority. I do graham pleadings every morning and that helps keep me centered.

[RITFencing]

As far as diet is concerned, the night before I compete I try to have pasta to get enough carbs into my system. During competition I eat bananas when I'm hungry for the natural sugar and potassium, and I make sure to drink lots of fluids, druing practice or competition. Last weekend at a small open I went through maybe a gallon of water. Remember that if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated.

[achilleus]

A couple of quick points as my time is short...

Fruit is a carb.

The body processes yougurt as both carb and protein.

So when you say dancers eat those two, but fencer should focus on carb, meat, and protein your saying they eat the same things...

That said, I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins (yogurt and cottage cheese included), and a little bit of good fat (olive oil, etc...).

I don't eat many grains (like pasta, bread, etc...) but when I do I go for the whole grains. Basically, as unprocessed as you can get 'em.

Since you're working out more, and most likely building muscle, you'll be hungrier, and your body will need more protein than you're used to. Other than your diet should be fine. Oh, and an Asian diet is fine, just be careful with the sauces. Sauces often contain high amounts of refind sugar...

[sabreur]

Beer.

Raw meat.

Raw vegetables.

Red wine.

A run with the Wild Hunt every full moon.

Other than that, a basic, balanced diet works fine for fencing--if what you are eating as a "dancer/martial artist" suits you now, it will continue to suit you as a fencer.

By the way, fruit and yogurt are pretty much carbs and protein. (Damn, the great runner beat me to it again).

Since you are just beginning, you can't do enough footwork. If you want to add upper body work, do footwork with a weapon, and practice parries and ripostes. Doing a set of five parries in each line with a riposte to each possible line (i.e., in sabre, 5 x parry 3, riposte head, 5x parry 3, riposte flank, 5x parry 3, riposte chest) will wear out your weapon arm. Do coordinated, dynamic footwork/handwork (retreat-parry, advance-riposte).

Other than that, body weight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, etc.) should be give you all the upper body work you probably need.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Theres no need to go extreme right now. Just a basic workout of pushups, chin ups, jumping rope, footwork and weapon work. Thats really all you need at the moment, you can get into the more advanced stuff later on, but right now your concentration should be fencing and basic conditioning. Eat more proteins and carbohydrates. Most people fail to realize the importance of a good nights sleep for the athlete, so get as much as you can. Take it easy also, you don't want to burn out.

[Mr Epee]

Diet is very important, and does make a difference.

Your body's reaction to a specific diet could be very different from mine, because people have different physiology.

Originally Posted by RW

Dancers are supposed to eat a lot of fruits and yogurts whereas most athletes are supposed to stock up on the carbs, meats, and proteins

I get the impression that you are dropping a few trendy ideas around, but have little idea as to what the terms mean.

Find a good book on nutrition, read it and see how you can apply it to your own situations.

I'll recommend The Zone; by Barry Sears as a good starting place. It does a good job getting some basic ideas across about the effects that various items have on your body.

If you are serious about this subject you will take the time to study and learn something about it. Asking questions on an internet forum will not help you learn much about this subject.

Best of luck with your inquiry

[achilleus]

Originally Posted by Mr Epee

Diet is very important, and does make a difference.

Your body's reaction to a specific diet could be very different from mine, because people have different physiology.

I get the impression that you are dropping a few trendy ideas around, but have little idea as to what the terms mean.

Find a good book on nutrition, read it and see how you can apply it to your own situations.

I'll recommend The Zone; by Barry Sears as a good starting place. It does a good job getting some basic ideas across about the effects that various items have on your body.

If you are serious about this subject you will take the time to study and learn something about it. Asking questions on an internet forum will not help you learn much about this subject.

Best of luck with your inquiry

Amen Brother!

Great advice, and The Zone is a great book that is utilized by many athletes....

In addition, for women, the idea of carbo loading is bunk. Personally, as a guy, I find that I don't need to carbo load as long as I plan properly for the tournament. I bring enough gel packs, energy bars, energy drinks, water and real food make carbo loading pointless.

[Rapier_wit]

On note to the flub-up on my terms, yes I will admit I got the terminology wrong. I had just gotten finished reading a few nutrition books and my head's swimming with too many terms. So, yes, you can go ahead a laugh at my incompetence.

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it. Ack! Push-ups are my absolute nemesis. I've gotten so tired of doing those things in ROTC, that and having to run three miles at 6am (considering that I have to get up at roughly 4am to get to school). I definitely need to work on my upper body. I have what DE_Strip_Tease would call, the "gay-like limp wrists" or dancer's wrists. I can barely hold my sword correctly because my arm gets tired so quickly it's pathetic.

BMCfencer - What are/is graham pleadings? Is that modern dance (ala Martha Graham?)

RIT - The before the tournament I stocked up on the colcannain and had trail mix, a bananna, and three bottles of water at the tournament itself.

Achilleus - Hmm, then howcome I'm still hungry after I eat yogurt? Gotcha. I tend to lay off on the sauces anyways, especially the spicy ones. I can't stomach spicy things.

Sabreur - Does howling help too? I hear it's good for the digestive system.

DFP - Ah but you know me not. I am all about the extremes! Well, most of the time. I just can never seem to get over to the gym to work with the weights and machines. Of course when I worked with them for a year before, they did wonders for my leg strength, but didn't do didly-squat for my arms. Fortunately, sleep is never something I have to worry about. I go to bed around 9:30 and wake up at 5:30. Before the Scenic City tournament I went to bed at 8pm, but then again, that was because I had to be up at 4am to get down there...

Mr. Epee - Yep me and trends don't communicate very well apparently, but I'm working on it! I've checked out about five books from the library on nutrition, nutrition for women, and nutrition for the female athlete. Hopefully I'll be able to get more out of that. But thanks just the same!

[bmcfencer]

Graham pleadings are those bizarre ab excercises Martha Graham invented, yes- nothing I can possibly explain here. I'd have to be able to show you.

And I happen to know that howling does help. My fencers do that a lot when we're walking back from practice, just to freak the neighborhood out.

Also I've found after all the research I've done on nutrition that the thing that works best for me is to eat everything that looks good until I'm full and try to avoid deserts. But then, I'm a vegetarian and I dislike refined foods or anything greasy.

[achilleus]

Originally Posted by Rapier_wit

Achilleus - Hmm, then howcome I'm still hungry after I eat yogurt? Gotcha. I tend to lay off on the sauces anyways, especially the spicy ones. I can't stomach spicy things.

Because fat is what sends signals to the brain to tell you that your stomach is full. This is why greasy, fatty foods fill you up faster and sit heavy in your stomach. And also, yogurt being both carb and protein isn't a lot of food, especially because yogurt is processed pretty quickly by the body.

Quick example, if I were eating yogurt (and nothing else) for breakfast I would need about 3 cups of low fat yogurt (plus some good fat like almonds) to cover the nutrients I usually take in during one meal. Or, I can could have say, 1.5 cups of cottage cheese, with an apple, and orange, and two cups of strawberries, plus the almonds. Nutritionally, the second meal is much better for me, much more vitamins, anitoxidents, minerals, etc...

The second meal is also a lot more food, and will give me energy over a much longer period of time because the carbs get processed much slower than straight yogurt. Plus, IMO, the 2nd meal, tastes a whole lot better. But nutritionally, the amount of carb, protein and fat I would take in would be the same...

Keep in mind I'm big, and I work out a lot, so while the above food may seem like a lot, I'm usually hungry in about 3-5 hours after a meal...(yeah I eat constantly.)

The key is eating the right amount of good fats for the amount of protein and carbs you take in....

But really, follow Mr. E's advice....

[MyrddinsPrecint]

i'm living in this perpetual state of not having enough calories in my system.

over the summer, i dated someone who made sure i was fed, fed well, fed balanced meals, and fed frequently and muchly on a regular basis. --- i gained weight, looked healthy, etc etc. it was a really great time in my life.

now i'm back to school, back on meds, and it's all shot to hell. none of my pants fit anymore, i need a belt so they don't fall off me....

anyone have any suggestions on how to up my caloric intake, in general?

........ i'm insanely lactose intolerant, which doesn't help.....

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Originally Posted by MyrddinsPrecint

anyone have any suggestions on how to up my caloric intake, in general?

Take in more calories?

[RITFencing]

Get good at baking/cooking. I have a lot more incentive to eat when the food around me is tasty, and if you make it yourself, you can be more sure of it being good for you. Plus, making food is fun, and can make you friends, especially at a college.

[achilleus]

Originally Posted by MyrddinsPrecint

i'm living in this perpetual state of not having enough calories in my system.

over the summer, i dated someone who made sure i was fed, fed well, fed balanced meals, and fed frequently and muchly on a regular basis. --- i gained weight, looked healthy, etc etc. it was a really great time in my life.

now i'm back to school, back on meds, and it's all shot to hell. none of my pants fit anymore, i need a belt so they don't fall off me....

anyone have any suggestions on how to up my caloric intake, in general?

........ i'm insanely lactose intolerant, which doesn't help.....

I'm just gonna say this off the top of my head, but how about eating balanced meals on a regular basis? Since that worked over the summer, perhaps it might work now?

If it's the meds that are messing with your body, than you should consult a professional on how best to deal with the issue...

[Mr Epee]

Originally Posted by MyrddinsPrecint

i'm living in this perpetual state of not having enough calories in my system.

over the summer, i dated someone who made sure i was fed, fed well, fed balanced meals, and fed frequently and muchly on a regular basis. --- i gained weight, looked healthy, etc etc. it was a really great time in my life.

now i'm back to school, back on meds, and it's all shot to hell. none of my pants fit anymore, i need a belt so they don't fall off me....

anyone have any suggestions on how to up my caloric intake, in general?

........ i'm insanely lactose intolerant, which doesn't help.....

I had someone like that too.

WHEN I WAS 12!!!!!

I called her my Ma, and she called me her Son.

I'm guessing I know why this relationship didn't work out.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Originally Posted by achilleus

I'm just gonna say this off the top of my head, but how about eating balanced meals on a regular basis? Since that worked over the summer, perhaps it might work now?

If it's the meds that are messing with your body, than you should consult a professional on how best to deal with the issue...

I do the best I can on a college meal plan, but where at home, i can easily work around milk/cheese/butter, it's very difficult to find things at school that avoid them.

all the meds do make me forget i'm hungry. over the course of a while being back on them, i'll readjust and get better at eating even when not hungry... but it takes a while, and i lose weight until then.

Originally Posted by Mr Epee

I had someone like that too.

WHEN I WAS 12!!!!!

I called her my Ma, and she called me her Son.

I'm guessing I know why this relationship didn't work out.

i don't get involved in long distance relationships. ....... his dad used to own a restaurant in new orleans before he was born, so between he and his dad, there was a massive culture of "let me cook for you, it will prove to you that i love you" ........

what that boy could do with
leftovers..

[achilleus]

Originally Posted by MyrddinsPrecint

I do the best I can on a college meal plan, but where at home, i can easily work around milk/cheese/butter, it's very difficult to find things at school that avoid them.

all the meds do make me forget i'm hungry. over the course of a while being back on them, i'll readjust and get better at eating even when not hungry... but it takes a while, and i lose weight until then.

Scheduling, scheduling, scheduling...

If you have problems noticing you're hungry, schedule meal times into your day, and eat regardless. If the times are roughly at breakfast, lunch and dinner, trust me, you'll need the food. Also, schedule in snacks throughout the longer portions of the day...

As for eating the right things, especially if you have special requirements, yeah it can be tough. If you can by food and store it, you're set, if you're stuck with dorm food, you either deal with what they serve, or complain to the appropiate people about the lack of foods that meet your requirements...