Gearing up for the 2011-2012 Season

Wow it's been a while, but I finally got my butt back in gear and my writing cap back on. I've been at Northwestern for about 4 weeks now and it has been surreal. The atmosphere is something else. It's like nothing I have ever experienced before. There is a huge sense of independence and freedom to go out there and be all that I can be.

Classes have been pretty good, pre-med is not exactly a cake walk, but it's worth all the hours spent painfully bent over books for hours on end in the library. You build a certain bond with teammates over the shared pain of school work and practice. It really truly brings you closer together.

Speaking of the team, the Northwestern Wild Cat fencing team has been fantastic! I am so excited to be a part of such a strong and unified team that would do anything for one another. It is far beyond just putting on a shared uniform or color. This team is truly that, a team, in every essence of the word. There has definitely been an adjustment period, but in the end everyone is there for each other day in and day out.

Practices have been intense and we have been at work not stop, both in the classroom and outside the classroom. And this weekend I finally got my act together to get myself back into training mode for the upcoming college season. Below I have listed my ab workout from Friday. I am really looking forward to kicking off the season and can not wait to be busing over to Pennsylvania for the Penn State Open in November!

Ab Workout:

1) Push ups         X 30
2) Toe Touches   X 30
3) Alternating Toe Touches   X 20 per leg
4) Upper ab. Crunches    X 60
5) Reverse Crunches       X 30
(3 cycles)

Run 3 miles

Go Cats!

Courtney Dumas

Cross Training

This summer has been great, but I am so excited for the end of August. Especially since the end of August means my vacation to Europe for two weeks. I leave tomorrow! I am so excited! My trip begins in Barcelona, Spain. After a few days there, I leave Spain on a Mediterranean cruise. I travel to various parts of Turkey, Greece, and Italy before I head back home. I will be posting pictures and descriptions of my travels throughout my adventure!

In order to keep in shape I will also be cross training throughout my trip. Today I did a lighter load (no weights or running) in preparation for my travels and to prevent sourness and injury before my trip. Below I listed my workout for the day.

1) sit ups-50

2) six inch leg throws-50

3) lunges right leg-50

4) sit ups-50

5) lunges left leg-50

6) squats-20

7) engarde squats-15

8) fire feet squat jumps-10

9) lunge jumps-15

10) high knee fire feet-10

11) engarde jumps-15

12) double engarde jumps-15

13) engird jump lunges-15

14) forward crawls-5

15) caterpillars-5

16) push up hops-5

17) clap push ups-5

18) sit ups-50

Victory and Defeat

Winning is great, but winning and improving are two totally different things. Victory is only improvement when we learn from our mistakes. That is why a positive attitude is so important in one's defeats. Defeats are not failures, they are only steps toward the greater goal and allow us to learn from our mistakes. Without mistakes we have no improvement and without improvement we can never get better.

Never be a sore winner and always be a good loser. Treat everyone with respect regardless of the outcome on the strip. Analyze bouts to improve your analysis skills.

Courtney Dumas