Venezia!!!!!!

August 31^st, 2011

Ahh Venice, such a wonderful city! I was so excited to finally be arriving in such a renowned metropolis. This beautiful city built on the water doesn’t have any motorized vehicles except for boats! There are hundreds of bridges and water-taxis at your disposal instead!

I arrived in the early afternoon to St. Mark’s Square and to my shock and amazement I found that most of the square was partially under water due to the coming in of the tides. I could not believe what I was seeing! All the stores just brought out mops and platforms. This was an every day occurrence that was just a part of the Venetian lifestyle.

Bustling vendors, swift moving tourists sloshing through the flooded pathways, and dozens of pigeons, surrounded the square. It was quite a scene. You could see the Byzantine influence scattered across all 118 islands connected by the snaking web of 150 canals and 400 brides.

The characteristic winged lion of St. Mark could be seen every few feet as it symbolized the city’s emblem. The richly decorated Basilica San Marco stood next to the great square, built as a Greek cross with several eastern domes; it truly exemplifies the Byzantine influence on the metropolis. The Basilica is so richly decorated that it really embodies its name, the “golden church.” Inside the great beauty stand bronze statues captured from the Hippodrome of Constantinople and intricate mosaic tiling of the domes and floors.

It provides the perfect setting for the great Venetian composers like Vivaldi and Monteverdi. Beyond the breathtaking beauty, the acoustics inside this masterpiece are so unique that the musical works of these great composers do not sound the same when preformed elsewhere.

This beautiful city is so unique and I truly enjoyed my time exploring its pathways and distinct culture. The famed Gondola ride was fantastic and picturesque. The boat ride through the web of winding canals gave me deeper insight into the city of Venice and a greater appreciation of the ancient tradition. The agile craft maneuvered swiftly and with such ease through the tight turns and narrow canals. The personalities of the Gondoliers alone were hilarious. I swear I couldn’t stop laughing. They sang some Dean Martin, explained the history of Venice, and even hollered at one another, cracking jokes the entire way. What an experience!

By the time the day was through I had managed to explore Venice and their gelato stores-that desert was the best ice cream I have ever had! The lunch was amazing! I don’t think I can ever get used to regular food again after my adventures in Italy! The pasta is really something else. But alas, all good things must come to a close. I had reached the final chapter in my European adventure. It was time to go home and to get back to fencing. Ciao Italy!

As always, I would love to here your feedback and questions! Please leave your comments below!!!!

Courtney Dumas

At Sea Day #2

August 30^th, 2011

I woke to a bright and clear day, the sun shinning and not a cloud in the sky. Temperatures were blazing and the pool and the shade were the only relief from the sun’s gaze. I grabbed a quick breakfast buffet style and hit the gym for a nice long workout to help make time fly on this at sea day.

I warmed up for another intense spin class this morning as well. The focus of this class this time around was isolating the muscles used for speed and pushing your body to bike at 80 percent of your fastest level and continuously increase and decrease the speed from their. The class also isolated the muscle groups used to train endurance and strength. I had to bike at resistance levels that were 60 percent of the highest resistance I could go and then increase and decrease levels from there on cue. Finally, the third aspect of the class involved muscle confusion by combining both speed and resistance training.

I had to preform pushups and squats while biking at various speeds and resistance levels. The exercise was great! The hardcore hour of continuous biking really got the blood pumping and pushed me to new levels of training. The difficult combination of speed and resistance as well as the added tasks of pushups, squats, and other various exercises forced me to concentrate on the tasks at hand and my breathing.

Immediately after my spin class, I moved on to focusing on strengthening and toning specific muscle groups such as the arms and legs. (The workout is listed below). Today I made sure to push my body farther than I had gone any other time along this trip in order to continue to confuse the muscle groups and to train for the upcoming fencing season. I was pumped up from my spin class and was itching to jump right into the weight training.

After the exhausting workout I hit the pool deck for some R and R. I was looking forward to Venice and thought that killing time would make the venture move along a tad bit faster. So I caught some sun and even had the opportunity to see Kong Fu Panda 2 poolside!

Thanks for reading, please leave any questions or comments you have on my posts, adventures, training, etc. below!

1)   Jumping Squats

2)   Press Ups-10lbs

3)   Lunges with the opposite arm extended above with a weight-10lbs

4)   Hand to Elbow Pushups

(Set 1-16reps, Set 2-14reps, Set 3-12reps, Set 4-10reps, Set 5-8reps, Set 6-6reps. No break after 3^rd set.)

Abdominal Workout

1)   Crossover Crunch with arm+leg extended-20 reps, 3 sets (each side)

2)   Sit ups-20 reps, 3 sets

3)   Reverse sit ups-20 reps, 3 sets

4)   Planks-1 minute, 3 sets

Courtney Dumas

The Climb to Athens

August 29^th, 2011

We hit Athens bright and early at 8:30 this morning on the venture to the Acropolis. Our guide led us through the city and to the Olympic stadium from the first modern day Olympics in 1896! From there the bus drove us through the city to the heart of the ancient ruins.

We climbed the 80 steep steps through the Propylara, the monumental marble gateway to these incredible ruins. Along the venture I saw the Temple of Nike and had a great view of the valley in which Athens was built. The whole Acropolis is under massive renovation to restore it to its great glory. It was so amazing to see the ancient ruins and to imagine the civilization once there.

On the north side of the Acropolis stood the Erectheum, the sacred site where it is said to have been decided that Athena would rule the city. At the center was the amazing and gigantic Parthenon. This massive monument was better than I could have ever imagined. It truly is one of the greatest monuments of ancient times. I really felt one with the Athenian culture and really gained new respect for the creativity and forward thinking of their culture.

From the Acropolis we strolled through the modern day Athens to the Plaka, the city’s historic shopping district. We sat down to a great authentic Greek lunch. The food there is truly amazing! It was a little shocking to see that my shrimp still had eyes and a head that looked straight back at me, but it was still fantastic.

Perusing the boutiques, jewelry stores, taverns, and cafes and visiting the local museums and galleries was fantastic! Zipping around the cobblestone lanes of such a colorful marketplace made my day. I loved plunging myself into this great culture and hope that I have the opportunity to visit again soon!

Courtney Dumas

To the Ephesus Ruins!

August 28^th, 2011

My morning began with an early morning workout before the boat docked. I hit the gym nice and early so I would be ready to tour the fabulous ruins of Ephesus, Turkey. Today I wanted my cross training to involve plenty of leg and abdominal workouts in a jam-packed calorie burning workout. I have listed my workout for today at the end of this entry.

I was off to explore the best preserved ruins in all of the Mediterranean today. My day began with a scenic motorcoach ride from the port city of Kusadasi and past the Byzantine fortress in Selcuk to the house of the Virgin Mary. We traveled through the picturesque Solmissos Mountains and saw the Adaland waterpark that claimed to be the biggest in all of Europe, the one problem with it being that geographically, the waterpark was in Asia not Europe.

We traversed the ruins on a downhill walk of the city, stopping and awing every step of the way. Our guide highlighted the best archeological finds throughout our journey through the ruins, particularly highlighting how technologically advanced the civilization was. They even had heated floors for the winter!

I saw the beautifully preserved Temple of Hadrian, the magnificent Trojan fountain-with a man placing one foot on a globe symbolizing the ruling of the world, and the Odeon Theater. All of these sites were so well preserved that it was nice to not have to imagine what was once there, but actually see it right there in front of you with your own eyes!

The mansions were so ornate and advanced with their heated floors and marble walls and mosaic flooring. It was so beautiful and to know that each intricate part of the house was all made by hand without any modern technology just amazes me. Their culture truly was something else. Above all the majestic Celsus Library was a site to be seen. It was three stories high, even though only two stories remain today. The whole front of the building was pretty much still intact! I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so detailed-someone had even carved a menorah into the steps of the marble stairs hundreds of years ago and you could still see it today!

We concluded our fantastic tour of the ruins with a view of the Great Theater and hiked our way back to the bus past the camel ride and all of the noisy vendors. The day finished up with a nice shopping trip through the colorful bazaars before we hopped back on board the ship to travel back to Greece.

1)   Burpees

2)   Lunges with Torso Rotation-10lbs

3)   Bell Ringers-10lbs modified-after the reps hold the position for that many seconds

4)   Mason Twists Rotations-10lbs and the last set was a double count

(Set 1-16reps, Set 2-14reps, Set 3-12reps, Set 4-10reps, Set 5-8reps, Set 6-6reps. No break after 3^rd set.)

Abdominal Workout

1)   Crossover Crunch with arm+leg extended

2)   Crossover crunch legs in the air and bringing the opposite elbow to the opposite knee

3)   Leg lifts and leg circles

4)   Cross body pulses-balance on one side of the body and reach for the opposite leg with the opposite arm and then switch. Then hold the position for the count

5)   Reverse situps

6)   Six inches

7)   Lean back abdominal twists with dumbbell-10lbs

(4 sets of 20 reps)

Thanks for reading, please leave any comments below!

Courtney Dumas

Adventure in Turkey

August 27^th, 2011

The boat ride into Turkey this morning was amazing! The sun was shining bright and the domes of the Blue Mosque and St. Sophia were glistening. It was quite a site! My tour of Istanbul was first thing in the morning once the boat was docked. Our tour guide led us right to the Topkapi Palace where all of the sultans had lived. It was huge!

The palace is decorated with thousands of tiles since Muslims do not and did not believe in depicting the faces of people. Each tile is worth around $2000 to $3000! Here at the palace many religious relics are supposedly held as well like the staff of Moses. The palace is also the residing place of the Topkapi dagger and the Topkapi Diamond. This diamond is no regular diamond. It is 86 karats! It was unbelievable.

Our next stop after a fantastic lunch was the Blue Mosque. The decoration was so beautiful! The lights lit up the room perfectly and the stained glass looked as though hour upon hours of work must have been put into them. The interior of this mosque has over 20,000 blue Iznik tiles that give it its characteristic blue color. I could not believe the detail that went into the production of such an ornate building.

As we moved on to our next stop, the St. Sophia, we had a chance to grab a quick drink before we were off again. St. Sophia or Haga Sophia was a church built by Justinian in the Byzantine period before it was later converted to a mosque during the Ottoman takeover. From there the beautiful building was further converted to a museum with the rise of Ata Turk. The architecture alone of this museum is unbelievable. Its rich mosaic work and fine craftsmanship cause one to stare in awe of its beauty. Most of the mosaic tiles in this fine building are incredibly decorated with real gold leaf! The marble pillars are grand and the coverings ornate.

The amazing thing was that the Ottomans never destroyed the mosaics depicting the biblical figures. They merely covered them with plaster and redecorated the church. Today the massive disks they hung on the pillars still stand and depict the five pillars of Islam. The stucco has been removed and at the head of the building both the Christian alter and Muslim alter remain. One is literally not even a half turn to the right of the other! This museum is an amazing blend of both cultures and religions!

At the end of the tour around Istanbul we were taken to see the construction of fine Turkish carpets. Unlike normal carpets, the threads are knotted twice. From there we were set loose on the Grand Bazaar. I honestly could not believe my eyes. This market place was the biggest thing I had ever seen! There were so many stores and people bustling about and scurrying from place to place. It felt like a giant shopping maze! I’m pretty sure we went in circles for forever, but we finally after shopping for a couple hours found our way back to gate one and our bus and back to the boat.

The next stop is the Ephesus ruins! Please leave your comments below, I would love your feedback and would be happy to answer any questions!

Courtney Dumas

Arrival in Greece!

My arrival into Greece was a bit of a bumpy ride Friday morning. The sea was rough and the wind roared and slammed the waves upon the ship. We had to travel to Mykonos, Greece by tender, in other words- our boat would anchor in the harbor and another boat would come and fetch us. As soon as you left the safety of the ship, you could hear the howling and screeching of the wind. It was one of the most awesome displays of Mother Nature and the sea at work that I have ever seen!

Once we landed in Mykonos, we took another boat to the ruins of Delos. The island had been known for its religious importance throughout the ancient ages. Even the enemies of Athens-Sparta and Persia, respected this sacred ground. During this period of time Delos was the most important port in all the Mediterranean until it was deserted due to the fall of the Roman Empire.

The island was barren as far as vegetation growth, but many of the pillars still stood. It was very interesting to see the temples dedicated to the different gods in which they believed in. Much of the builds were made of local slate and granite. They were nowhere near as extravagant as the marble used to build the Parthenon. Nonetheless the layout of the town with its market place and intricate mosaics were still incredible. After the tour of the ruins and the Delos museum we grabbed some lunch and shopped around for a bit before we boarded the cruise once again.

I took a quick break before I headed on down to the gym to get in a longer workout since the boat had to leave earlier than the past few days in order to get to Istanbul by the next morning. I wanted to make sure I got my heart pumping this workout and to build my endurance and leg muscle. I need to have a lot of stamina for the upcoming NCAA season this year and my goal is to make the Junior World Team, so I wanted to improve my running to get into better shape. I have listed my workout below! The next stop is Istanbul and it should be pretty fun! Please leave your comments below!!!

1)   Run- 4 mi with 0.4 mi cool down for a total of 4.4 mi (500 calories burned)

2)   Vertical Chest Press- 60lbs, 12 reps, 3 sets

3)   Sit ups- 50 reps, 3 sets

4)   Bicep Curls- 20lbs, 12 reps, 3 sets

Courtney Dumas

At Sea Day

The journey from Italy to Greece was a very long venture, too long to arrive in Mykonos by the next morning. By about 5am we were traveling through the Straights of Massena. It was way too dark to take pictures, but the lighted shore was so beautiful, you will just have to take my word for it! The shore was lit up in all different colors and the land seemed to stretch forever as we plowed through the sea. But in the end I retired back to my bed to rest before the morning really got underway.

By 9am I was up and ready in the fitness center. My aunt had some how convinced me to participate in the spin class (biking) with her. I had never done a spin class before so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. For an hour we continually replicated the experience of biking up a mountain using standing bikes. Every couple of minutes we had to increase the resistance on the bike and keep pedaling at around 80-90 percent of our fastest speed we could pedal. I do not think that I have ever worked my legs so hard! The resistance training was tough, but the speed sprints were even harder!

We would do sprints and then increase resistance again to “climb the mountain” again and then sprint even harder and faster. It was really something else. But in the end it was a great workout that really worked my sprints and endurance training.

Immediately following the spin class I worked out in the fitness center for another hour. I worked my legs muscles by far the most as well as abs and some arms before the morning was finished. (Below is the workout) It felt good to get in a nice long workout for once. I had been traveling and touring so many great places that it was difficult to get in a long workout. But this sea day gave me the perfect excuse to hit the gym for a big session. Up next, Mykonos and Delos Greece!

1)   Clean and Press-10lbs

2)   Squat Thrusts

3)   Half Man Makers-(modified on knees)-10lbs

4)   Static Front Raise + Squat-10lbs

(Set 1-16reps, Set 2-14reps, Set 3-12reps, Set 4-10reps, Set 5-8reps, Set 6-6reps. No break between sets after set 4.) 

Abdominal Workout:

1)   Crossover Crunch with arm+leg extended

2)   Reverse situps

3)   Toe Reaches-(extend legs upwards and keep the back on the ground. Extend arms to the toes in pulses.)

4)   Crossover crunch legs in the air and bringing the opposite elbow to the opposite knee

(4 sets of 20 reps)

Courtney Dumas

To the Ruins of Pompeii

As I entered the ancient city of Pompeii, I was in awe of how well structured and organized the town was. The city was literally frozen in time. We explored the city and saw their amazing engineering feats and organizational skills. They utilized aqueducts to transport water to the city. Not only this, but the villagers of Pompeii had built water heaters to heat the water from the aqueducts to create spas without the assistance of natural heated springs!

The columns and buildings were mostly made of bricks with mortar to hold them together as well as lava rock. But the really interesting thing was that all of the buildings, both inside and out, were covered in stucco over the brick and painted with bright colors that have since faded due to sun exposer and polluted rainfall.

The mosaic patterns were also so detailed and extensive. I could not believe how the citizens of Pompeii could have created such beautiful works of art solely by hand! This city was just so different from anything else I had ever seen. There were literally complete skeletons that had been taken out from the compressed ash with the help of a plaster to preserve the shape and integrity of the find. You could see the teeth on some of them they were so detailed!

After 2 hours spent scurrying all over Pompeii, we moved on to the Amalfi Coast. We ate lunch in Sorrento at a great pizza place in the middle of town. From there we drove around the city and Positano. The coast was beautiful and then we even saw some Italian movie being filmed in the area. The city was very pretty and was nice and quiet-a nice change of pace from some of the other cities we have ventured into.

By 4pm it was time to head back to the boat. We came back and relaxed before we went out to the deck for a nice buffet dinner looking out at the sunset.

Courtney Dumas

Destination Italy!

We had an early start on Monday this week. The cruise docked at about 6 and we were off the boat and on the busses for the tours around Italy by 7am.  I went on the tour around the Cinque Terre region in the Italian Riviera. I got the opportunity to visit the Italian countryside and learn all about its amazing culture!

It was a blazing hot, but great fun. We hit the shops and toured the quaint little towns. I had to use some of my Spanish to try and communicate with some of the locals, but I got around all right.

We toured the Riviera and learned all about the special wineries that were terraced on the mountainsides by the ocean. All of the work had to be done by hand. The local farmers couldn’t use machinery since heavy machinery would damage the grapes. Now that’s tough labor and a good workout! One of the types of wine they made even takes 2 years before it is ready to be put on the shelves.  

By the end of the day I was exhausted, it was over 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity. The tour had taken us around the different towns and we visited the “lovers lane” that connected two of the towns that otherwise would have taken 1 hour and a half to get between. The site seeing was fantastic and Italy is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen! The waters were clear and the surroundings amazing!

We finished the day with a dinner on the porch with a great view of the sunset as we left port. Our next stop, Rome, should be fantastic! I will be visiting all of the usual sites and much more! I will make sure to take plenty of pictures!

Courtney Dumas

Work Out

Hey guys! So everyone has their own personal workout, and for good reason too! What works for your best friend may not work for you. So after much trial and error, I came up with my own personal program to train my fencing. I have listed my summer program below and I hope this gives you guys some idea as to what may work for you! (I found that taking bits and pieces from different camp programs and techniques from coaches and high level fencers helped me to build a foundation for my own plan that I customized further from that point). I hope you enjoy and please leave your comments below! 


Monday

Bench Press
RDL Shrugs
Squats
Pull ups
MB Plate Punch
Shoulder Press
MB Wall Passes
Tricep Extensions
Bicep Curls
Lunges-walking overhead & regular
Broad Jumps
Depth Jumps
Box Step ups
Back Extension
Supermans

MB Ab Twists
Footwork

Fencing Practice

Tuesday

Run 5 miles
Footwork

Wednesday

Bench Press
RDL Shrugs
Squats
Pull ups
MB Plate Punch
Shoulder Press
MB Wall Passes
Tricep Extensions
Bicep Curls
Lunges-walking overhead & regular
Broad Jumps
Depth Jumps
Box Step ups
Back Extension
Supermans

MB Ab Twists

Thursday

Run 5 miles

Footwork
Fencing Practice


Friday

Bench Press
RDL Shrugs
Squats
Pull ups
MB Plate Punch
Shoulder Press
MB Wall Passes
Tricep Extension
Bicep Curls
Lunges-walking overhead & regular
Broad Jumps
Depth Jumps
Box Step ups
Back Extension
Supermans

MB Ab Twists
Footwork

Saturday

Run 5 miles

Footwork
Fencing Practice

Sunday

Video Analysis

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

Alliance Fencing Camp Anticipation

During the next two weeks I'm going to be spending my time training in sunny Houston, Texas. Alliance Fencing Academy is holding a two week international training camp that will have strong United States fencers as well as international fencers in attendance. I'm so excited! This camp promises to have top notch competition and coaching.

I will be battling it out with top fencers from the US and the international community. Fencers are coming from Russia, Israel, and France just to name a few places. The camp runs from 10AM to 4PM every day of the week with a minimum of 30 competitive bouts for each fencer.

We will be training our footwork and bladework along with our fencing technique. I'm looking forward to this camp as a step towards greater fencing and experience in my journey towards becoming the best fencer I can be.

I truly believe camps are a great way to train, in any sport. Camps allow us to gain new and important experience as well as friendships. The more practice we get the better! Camps can really help to focus the mind and body towards the goal of increasing skill and determination. They bring new faces and with that, new challenges that we must overcome.

I leave tomorrow at 8:50AM for Houston and can't wait to see some old friends and meet some new ones!

Courtney Dumas