Preps For Summer Nationals

[Sarah]

Hey,
I'm starting to do a daily routine preparing for the Summer Nationals, I went last year and I didn't do as well as I had hoped (it was my first time), so now I know what it takes to do well. I have part of a routine set up but I'm not sure if it's enough, could you tell me what you think of my routine and give me some ideas? Thanks!!!

Routine:
-100 sit-ups
-50 push-ups
-50 cobras (lie on the ground and push up the front half of body)
-30 mins running
-5 doggies (shuttles, suicides...)
- footwork drills
-basic fencing drills
-a lot of stretching

I think that it is pretty good, (right now I'm only doing the situps, snakes, and pushups because I'm moving to Tx)

Sarah

[lfortier]

Hi Sarah! Even though I will be going to my first nation next month, I'll tell you what I think of your routine anyways. To me, it sounds very good - what your doing will build your endurance and strength everywhere- a must for someone going against NAC level fencers, and tje stretching improves muscle elasticity and tone, preventing injury- Just remember to hold a stretch for 20-30 seconds but no more than 40 or it'll injure/won't do anything for you. To get better at hand-eye cordination, just juggle or toss a tennis ball in front of you, catching it with your dominate hand, 'cause you can never be too good with that skill. You could also consider improving eating habits, like the high protein diet (which, btw, worked wonders for me) that builds muscle and body tissue.A healthy diet changes EVERYTHING! Remember to stick with your routine, keep it challenging, and DON'T overdue yourself. Good luck, have fun, and be happy!

[Sarah]

Thanks! I try to have a healthy diet, right now I'm only eating Cheerios and drinking grapejuice, but that's because I'm in the middle of a move, from Hawaii to Texas! Thanks!

Sarah

[Mo]

A prep camp for Summer Nationals is a good idea. Most big fencing places have them, they usually end a couple days before the competition. Look on the USFA page for weapon programs.

Take lots of lessons and work hard.
Have reasonable expectations and have some fun.
Eat some protein for goodness sake, Cheerios and Grapefruit juice works for breakfast but there are other meals to consider.
Nutrition for fencers is important

[i'mnottelling]

It's good that you are starting a routine. My first idea would be to consult your new fencing coach in TX. The workout routine varies with different coaches and different styles. With that said, I would suggest that you add exercises for improving speed and quickness. Have a partner stand at your lunge distance and drop something, (glove, tennis ball, etc..) and you lunge to catch it. Another variation is to have someone behind you toss an object in front of you. The idea is same as before, catch it with a quick lunge.

These are just some ideas, I'm sure many people here will have some more input.

i'mnt

[angrylemur]

I would advise splitting up the activities a bit. When you work a muscle with something like a pushup, you give it a stimulus to grow and make micro tears in the muscle fiber. If you don't give it a chance to recover and rebuild, the exercises can end up being counter productive. I would say a good workout every 2-3 days combined with lots of fencing would leave you much better off.

The most important thing, though, is by far nutrition. Your body needs protein to repair muscle tissue, so high protein intake is crucial (meat, fish, poultry, milk). Also, try to get a good amount of Essential Fatty Acids (good sources are fish, nuts, flax seed oil, peanut butter), and plenty of carbs (rice, potatoes, oats, pasta, etc). Try to get about 6 meals spread throughout the day, because frequent eating will speed up the metabolism.

Like Mo said, a prep camp is a good idea, and you should also explain to your coach how serious you are and that you'd like some more lessons or him/her to be a bit more critical of your fencing.

Anyways, good luck at nats.

[135711]

you're moving from Hawaii to Texas, where about in Hawaii, and who did you fence with? There are several clubs there, two on Oahu and one on Maui. I had thought of moving over from Oahu to Maui to fence with the Maui people, but they're totally saber, so I passed, but it looks like a good group, I understand he's a very strong fencer, if you fenced Oahu, you may be interested in Salle Honolulu for Foil, they also have a few strong saberists there. I fenced at Salle Honolulu, I went twice a week, for a year, I had a lot of fun, but, I did move to the other club. I felt he could do better without me. I can't talk about the other venue, it's too upsetting for now, maybe in another few months.

But, Hawaii is great, the roads and weather are superior for running to stay in condition, but I was never a water enthusiasts, so I didn't get too upset about the move. I found clubs here, they're all nice and I've been fencing with more success here. It's probably because I'm on familiar soil, I am from the mainland and have roots here.

[Boo Boo]

I would strongly echo angrylemur - take one or, preferably two, days off a week: your body needs rest and recovery to be able to train at its hardest.

Can I ask if you are a fit person? If you are fit, then this routine will be okay. Otherwise you need to build up to it. If you don't you will wear yourself out, probably injure yourself and quite probably loose interest in it fairly quickly.

How far away is your Summer Nationals? I am guessing June or July (British Nationals are in July - I don't keep track of the US Nationals...). If so, it is a long way away. Your body can asimilate very quickly to the training you do: if you do the same training every day for the next three months, then the benefit you will get from that training will decrease. To stop your body getting to used to the training, you need to vary it. One good way to do this is "periodisation" (ok, "periodization" if you prefer ;-)). This is often done for a longer term (i.e. six months), but you could do a min-period in 3 months. Have a look at:
- http://www.fencing.ca/planning_clini...n_text_eng.pdf

Your training phases should be made up of general preparatory, specific preparatory, pre-competitive, competitive and transittion (recovery) phases. Each phase can then have a different emphasis on strength, stamina, speed, skill and psychology in order to "build up" your training in the way to put you in the best condition to meet your goal (i.e. doing well at the Nationals).

Okay, that all got a bit heavy. Ask your coach about periodisation of training and do some more result.

Hope that helps,
Boo

[Sarah]

Hey guys (and gals)!
Thank you so much for your input, this should help a lot! I'll take the week ends off and I will try the periodisation (periodization???) thing. I'm changing my deit to include more variety (ex/ veggies (yuck)), the main reason I'm only eating Cheerios is because that's the only thing we have! But in Texas I'll be very healthy! Yes, I am in good shape, I just need a bit more endurence for my arms and upper body, my legs are in great shape from when I played soccer (futball, or football). Thanks again!!! (I'm sure that all your ideas/suggestions will be a great help!! Thanks!)

Sarah