Beginner's Tournament Guide

[Superscribe]

Yes, but that's not carbohydrate loading, which involves first a period of depletion of carbohydrates followed by a loading period. It's a very technical and specific process. You're just talking about a high-carb diet...

Greg is right, in my experience. I experimented with several versions of loading at one point years ago and noticed zero practical benefit from it in fencing.

Tourney day (- 2)
Run my tush off.

Tourney day (-1)
Run my tush off in the afternoon.
Lunch is high in simple carbs and whole grains
Dinner is high in simple carbs and whole grains.

Tourney day
Feel great.
Munch on light snacks all day.
Strength and speed and the end of the day is comparable to strength and speed at the beginning of the day.

The above is what i've done, and what i notice, and why i sometimes carbo load.

[ladyofshalott99]

I liked the guide: it was well-written for the intended audience, and the humor was a nice touch.

The only thing I would add would be for beginners who are going to sanctioned USFA events: Double-triple-quadruple check that you have your Membership Card/Keyfob with you.

I've been fencing for more than ten years, and I can't tell you how many times I have been so caught up in prepping gear, getting to event on time, dealing with anxiety, etc. that I've gone and left my USFA card in the hotel room, or worse, at home. (This might also be a side-effect switching purses/wallets periodically, but then again, my card didn't make it home from Texas....)

There is nothing more unsettling than to realize your card is missing. True, in my Division, all events are *supposed* to have a printed membership listing available, but I just went to a neighboring Division's event this past weekend that didn't follow that, and was almost S.O.L. because of it.

My $0.02.

[GuyW]

Carb loading the night before?

Any MDs or nutritionists here to brief us on the latest published peer-revued scientific studies on that matter?

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[Purple Fencer]

Carb loading the night before?

Any MDs or nutritionists here to brief us on the latest published peer-revued scientific studies on that matter?

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Y'know.....we have a nutritionist parent at SwordPlay....I'll see if I can get her thoughts.

Did Guy tell you I said "hi"to you after he got home from Long Beach the other day?

[GuyW]

Did Guy tell you I said "hi"to you after he got home from Long Beach the other day?

No....he wasn't too communicative when he got home, for various reasons....I expect he'll see you Saturday in Berdoo....hopefully this time he'll actually be awake...

On topic, I currently lean toward eating a balanced diet of actual food, with calories taken from proteins, good fats, and non-starch veggies. Dump the sugars, empty starches, caffeine, and chemical concoctions that processed food is today.

Carbs are apparently gone in 2-4 hours, so what a previous-nite binge accomplishes is hard to understand (I never saw the difference in long distance running)

Minor adjustments in diet before, during, and after a fencing tournament are probably helpful, although agreement on what will be elusory.

Adequate hydration via clean water is mandatory.

http://betternameless.wordpress.com/...-pollan-talks/
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[Purple Fencer]

No....he wasn't too communicative when he got home, for various reasons....I expect he'll see you Saturday in Berdoo....hopefully this time he'll actually be awake...
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Well, if Alex was yelling at him in addition to his own son...

[Purple Fencer]

Ok....update.

I gave a copy of this thread and Craig's guide to Judy Bennington, the nutritionist fencing parent I mentioned (some of you may know her sons, Shane and Taylor....I think Shane was the one bitten by a brown recluse spider the day before the first OC tourney last year).

She'll get back to me in a while and I'll post it....

[swordwench]

The only thing I would add would be for beginners who are going to sanctioned USFA events: Double-triple-quadruple check that you have your Membership Card/Keyfob with you.

Excellent point. I keep my larger card *in* my fencing bag, and my keyfob on my key ring along with my library card and assorted supermarket cards. Don't have a set of keys yet because maybe you're too young? Get a key ring and attach it somewhere ON YOUR FENCING BAG.

[Baggio]

How about DE's for children under 12 or veterans having a different format? Just a thought.

[Inquartata]

Tourney day (- 2)
Run my tush off.

Tourney day (-1)
Run my tush off in the afternoon.
Lunch is high in simple carbs and whole grains
Dinner is high in simple carbs and whole grains.

Tourney day
Feel great.
Munch on light snacks all day.
Strength and speed and the end of the day is comparable to strength and speed at the beginning of the day.

The above is what i've done, and what i notice, and why i sometimes carbo load.

Still not really carbohydrate loading. The full process, with glycogen depletion, takes at least a week; the depletion-less version, several days. Even the "short version" is a two-day process.

But hey, if it works for you, more, ah, power to you. Even if it comes only from the placebo effect. ( Which I'm not saying it does, I'm not a nutritionist. Maybe there's still a measureable increase in muscle glycogen, I don't know. )

[jdavies]

Great guide. I haven't competed for 20 years now and I'm going to my first competition in October. I had no idea about taking 2 weapons, but it makes sense to me. Thanks for putting this together. Also, thanks to the rest of you that provided good comments and interesting perspectives on this!

[Purple Fencer]

From the nutritionist I mentioned.

-----------------------

First, let me establish my bona fides. I am a Ph.D. in Nutrition, and have been in clinical practice for more than 15 years. Although my specialty is Medical Nutrition (working with people suffering from major diseases), a portion of my practice also dedicated to Sports Nutrition. Additionally, I am a parent of two competitive foilists.

I would like to address the question of carb-loading prior to fencing tournaments. From a professional standpoint, there is no legitimate reason to dramatically increase carb intake prior to such matches. The benefit is only realized during times of continuous, strenuous exercise lasting more than 2 hours--for example, marathoning. When exercising, we burn blood sugar first. This source of fuel comes from what we just ate. When that supply is exhausted, our bodies then turn to other sources, such as stored sugars and liver sugars. Our bodies generally won't burn a lot of fat during highly strenuous exercise because it is a slow source of fuel, and can't burn fast enough to sustain the exertion. It is only after long periods of continuous drain that our bodies can become depleted of all of these different sources of sugars (fuel). Given the nature of fencing bouts, which are largely short bursts of exertion followed by sustained periods of rest, it is very unlikely that we could deplete such stores. Therefore, no benefit would be realized by carb-loading. Additionally, it is very possible to have a detrimental effect on your fencing! I say this because carb-loading can destabilize blood sugar. Carbohydrates raise your blood sugar; often, you will experience a 'crash' after eating a lot of carbs, because the body is very cleverly trying to achieve balance, and is overwhelmed by the signals of elevated blood sugar. This 'crash' can make you feel sluggish, fatigued, foggy-headed, jittery, irritable and slow.

I would highly recommend a pattern of eating that includes a lot of dark green veggies, some lean protein, and a small amount of complex carbohydrates (whole grains). Eating on the day of the tournament should include small meals with protein-rich foods (don't forget about plant-based proteins, like raw nuts or nut butters), as well as some carbs. But, beware of refined carbs (sweets, white bread, potatoes, danish, candy, even fruits), unless you need a quick burst of energy just before a bout. A few of bites are enough! You need just a couple of teaspoons of sugar to run your whole body! The more ups and downs you cause your system, the more energy your body will waste on trying to achieve balance.

I hope that helps! Please feel free to contact me with questions.
Happy fencing!
Judy


Dr. Judy S. Bennington, Ph.D.
818-789-7038
foodfun@aol.com

[Superscribe]

Great guide. I haven't competed for 20 years now and I'm going to my first competition in October. I had no idea about taking 2 weapons, but it makes sense to me. Thanks for putting this together. Also, thanks to the rest of you that provided good comments and interesting perspectives on this!

Hopefully you get this before your competition:

bring more than 2 weapons.

[Purple Fencer]

Hopefully you get this before your competition:

bring more than 2 weapons.

QFT!!!!

I had a teammate go through 6 foils in one tournament....blade snaps, wire breaks, you name it....by the time he got knocked out, he was on the #6 desperation blade!

And I first decided to learn how to fix my own stuff when all four of my body cords failed at the same tournament...same problem, too (the usual Uhlmann wire break problem)

[GuyW]

From the nutritionist I mentioned.

Thanks for obtaining that info.
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[Purple Fencer]

Thanks for obtaining that info.
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Not a prob....she's given me permission to include it in my own beginner's guide, which hasn't been updated in awhile....she's also going to give me a few more things, so it might be a couple of weeks before the next update.

I'll be at the Hemet tourney this Saturday if you come up. I will NOT be at Gore for the Gold on Sunday, however....Balestra will be vending that one (don't get me going on why I'm not working an event I've done for the last 6 or so years...not their fault, tho)