Endurance

[Li'l Bebe]

I've noticed recently that I've become absolutely exhausted when I fence much sooner than before this nationals. I'm only 16, so i don't think age has much of a factor in it. I'm currently cross-training two or three times a week with a strong emphasis on endurance and core training, but it seems to be making it worse if anything. I'm fencing around the same amount of time as I did before Atlanta (4-6 hours a week practice, and a tournament just about every week), yet now I find myself dragging at the end of the night when i used to just be sweatier.

Any ideas on how to increase endurance in your fencing?

[Sciurus-Rex]

Tired?
It might be a matter of calorie intake and/or blood sugar regulation. Endurance don't mean much if you've got no energy stored.
And enough rest.

It's the other side of the equation that a lot of newly developing athletes don't think about: If you're going to be working harder for longer periods and developing muscle, you're going to need to increase your food consumption and make sure you give your body time to recover.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I'm willing to bet its a dietary problem or a sleep problem.

It could also be that your endurance training isn't correct for your sport.

[Fechter1]

Could be any number of reasons...
For example: Did your extra-fencing workload (i.e. school, etc) increase since then? I'm willing to bet that it has, which might reduce the amount of sleep you get (DFP mentioned this first, credit where credit due). Or the simple fact that mental exertions (again, school) count against your total energy reserves to an extent.

While you might put in the same hours, your effort might have increased (working harder, doing more in the same timespan than before). Look at your training plan, and your fencing style and compare them (if you can) to before SNs.

I'll also second S-Rex's mentioning your food intake, something might have changed in that respect (school lunches...).

Did you, by any chance, gain a little weight over the summer? Takes more energy to move those extra pounds, ya know...

Most likely, it's a combination of these factors.
That's one reason why most fencers plan a day (sometimes more) rest before bigger tournaments, especially those who have to work for a living...

[The Rose Knight]

I'll third Sciurus Rex' comment about food intake. I'll also add to it that you need to take in healthy food, not junk food. If you're already eating healthy, more food and more rest. Especially if you are like I was at 16; I burned every callory I took in just standing still. Not a problem these days, but back then, I had to eat a lot!

[HDG]

Could this be overtraining?

[Beowulfman6]

I would second that. Overtraining can be very detrimental to athletic succes- especialy young athletes. It's easy to do, I having done it before, especialy when I was your age. Take a week off and if your performance improves when you come back you were overtraining. If it improves after a month off you were killing yourself slowly . All of the recomendations about diet are worth listening to as well.

[Josedariom]

How many calories do you think a young athlete the thread starter and me should intake per day if we were training about 3 hours a day for 5 days a week?

[Beowulfman6]

How many calories do you think a young athlete the thread starter and me should intake per day if we were training about 3 hours a day for 5 days a week?

It's impossible to say based only on that. It depends on how hard you are training, body composition and size, and each persons unique physiology/metabolism. The issue here may not be one of insufficient caloies, but insuficient protein.

Of course, I'm no nutritionist.

[nahouw]

Could this be overtraining?

I would also vote for overtraining. You also need to have rest for the body to recuperate . If the fatigue is only during competition, then you need to have small snacks during the competition, because then it is probably due to lack of fuel (food). As to having more calories while you are training, you can add a fruit or an energy bar after you workout, and see if that helps out.