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
Showing posts with label lunge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lunge. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
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
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
Monday
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
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
Fencing Practice
Sunday
Video Analysis
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Alliance Camp Footwork, Day 2/Week 2
Today was great, lots of intense fencing the entire morning! I got a lesson from Andre today as well during lunch. After some intense blade work (1 hour long), we moved on to super intense footwork. We spent 45 minutes drilling our legs and calf muscles.
Drills:
1) Squats-get into the engarde position and slowly lower your body down into a squat. X 10
2) Fire Feet Squats-get into engarde and pick up your feet quickly, making sure to keep good form. Drop into a squat every couple of seconds. X 10
3) Fire Feet Squat Jumps-get into engarde and pick up your feet quickly, make sure to keep good form during the exercise. Drop down into a squat, varying the time difference between squats. Once in squat, propel yourself upward in a jump and land softly back in engarde on the toes. X 10
4) Lunge Jumps-get into a lunge and while staying low to the ground hop in and out of the lunge into the engarde. Make sure knee in the lunge is at a 90 degree angle. X 15
5) High Knee Fire Feet-get into engarde and start alternating feet in fire feet workout. Every so often pick up your knees alternating knees 4 times then continue fire feet. Make sure to keep the back straight. X 10
6) Engarde Jumps-get into engarde and jump forward as far as you can, landing softly on your front foot. Keeping your back foot in the air, push back as far as you can. This is one rep. X 15
7) Double Engarde Jumps-get into engarde and jump forward as far as you can just like before, except this time when you land hop in place once on your front foot before you hop back. On the back hop when you land also do another small in place hop on the toe. This is one rep. X 15
8) Engarde Jump Lunges-get into engarde and continue the exercise like above. This time though after the second back hop lunge forward then reset into engarde. X 15
9) Reaction Lunges-Find a partner and a tennis ball. Have your partner extend their arm with tennis ball in hand, when they drop the tennis ball lunge as quickly as possible. The point is to finish the lunge with clean form before the ball hits the ground. 1-2 minutes
10) Short/Long Reaction Lunge-Set up the exercise just like before, except your partner has two tennis balls. When they drop the ball in their left hand you are to do a double lunge before the ball hits the ground. When they drop the ball in the right hand just do a regular lunge. 1-2 minutes
11) Short/Long Hand Target Lunge-Find a partner and have them stand with one hand closer to you than the other. Have them randomly open one hand at a time and you must react quickly to lunge and hit it. The closer hand for the short lunge and the farther hand for the long lunge. X 20
12) Fencing Suicides-get into engarde and start at the very back of the strip. Go as quickly as possibly and keeping good form go to the 2 meter line and back, the engarde line and back, and so on.
Drills:
1) Squats-get into the engarde position and slowly lower your body down into a squat. X 10
2) Fire Feet Squats-get into engarde and pick up your feet quickly, making sure to keep good form. Drop into a squat every couple of seconds. X 10
3) Fire Feet Squat Jumps-get into engarde and pick up your feet quickly, make sure to keep good form during the exercise. Drop down into a squat, varying the time difference between squats. Once in squat, propel yourself upward in a jump and land softly back in engarde on the toes. X 10
4) Lunge Jumps-get into a lunge and while staying low to the ground hop in and out of the lunge into the engarde. Make sure knee in the lunge is at a 90 degree angle. X 15
5) High Knee Fire Feet-get into engarde and start alternating feet in fire feet workout. Every so often pick up your knees alternating knees 4 times then continue fire feet. Make sure to keep the back straight. X 10
6) Engarde Jumps-get into engarde and jump forward as far as you can, landing softly on your front foot. Keeping your back foot in the air, push back as far as you can. This is one rep. X 15
7) Double Engarde Jumps-get into engarde and jump forward as far as you can just like before, except this time when you land hop in place once on your front foot before you hop back. On the back hop when you land also do another small in place hop on the toe. This is one rep. X 15
8) Engarde Jump Lunges-get into engarde and continue the exercise like above. This time though after the second back hop lunge forward then reset into engarde. X 15
9) Reaction Lunges-Find a partner and a tennis ball. Have your partner extend their arm with tennis ball in hand, when they drop the tennis ball lunge as quickly as possible. The point is to finish the lunge with clean form before the ball hits the ground. 1-2 minutes
10) Short/Long Reaction Lunge-Set up the exercise just like before, except your partner has two tennis balls. When they drop the ball in their left hand you are to do a double lunge before the ball hits the ground. When they drop the ball in the right hand just do a regular lunge. 1-2 minutes
11) Short/Long Hand Target Lunge-Find a partner and have them stand with one hand closer to you than the other. Have them randomly open one hand at a time and you must react quickly to lunge and hit it. The closer hand for the short lunge and the farther hand for the long lunge. X 20
12) Fencing Suicides-get into engarde and start at the very back of the strip. Go as quickly as possibly and keeping good form go to the 2 meter line and back, the engarde line and back, and so on.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Battle to the Final 8 and a Podium Spot Reno 2011
With memories from my dismal finish at previous Division 1A Summer Nationals in mind, I marched on into the venue. This year was going to be different. I had trained myself better both physically and mentally. The adrenaline was high and my heart was pounding as I heard the clashes of weapons, yells of victory and defeat, and the screeching of the scoreboxes as the fencers scored.
I came out of Juniors with my worst finish of the year 17th a few days earlier, which in retrospect was not horrible, but at the same time I had the potential to do so much more damage. I was hungry for a medal and redemption. I felt that it was my time to shine.
Pools started off shaky again with a priority victory. I told myself that I wanted to be more aggressive today than I had been in Juniors, that was no the case the whole day....
Pools were going well to some extent-I was 3-0, but the footwork again just was not flowing in that same great rhythm that made every fencer feel as though they were an Olympian. Suddenly I found myself losing two bouts back to back. 3-2 with one match left, I was determined to get out of my slump. I was tired of sleep fencing-fencing like a robot with all the right moves, but without the passion or the cognition to ignite the spark in one's step that led to victory.
I wanted this back and in my next bout I used my determination to win 5-0in a swift victory. Now I was rolling, or so I thought...
The DEs came about and my fencing was still struggling. I was fighting from behind in almost every match-leaving myself exhausted come the end of the bout. I was draining my fuel storage early and I would unfortunately pay for this later.
My best bout of the day, which ironically was the bout that probably cost me my chance at the final four and possibly the finals, was my round of 16 bout against Floyd. I was down 7-2 and was losing control of the bout until I finally found an answer to her forceful fleches and infighting. I would pressure her with plans to run away swiftly and score a counter attack or continue in the 8 line to the leg. It worked like magic!
With 30 seconds left in the second of three periods, I found myself up 13-12. Unfortunately I decided to be a little more daring then was called for and after two poorly setup leg attacks I was down 14-13 with 17 seconds left in the period.
Kill the clock time with the goal of reaching the one minute break before the third period. I had been incredibly naive and stupid not to set up the distance and I had to pay for it with the loss of the lead in a 15 touch bout! I needed horribly to get out of the period, but my opponent had other plans-she decided to push and attack me with only 17 seconds left!!! Her bread and butter move against me!!!!
Now was clutch fencing time and I needed to focus all my energy towards this touch! It was ultimate fencing time-Olympic touch time. Floyd pushed and pushed and finally gave me what I was looking for-the blade!!! I made a swift blade take and slammed my point into her body as fast as I possibly could.
One light came on-MINE. That brilliant, bright, shiny green light! I could not believe it!!! I scored with 1 second remaining in the period!!!! the score was now even at 14-14.
The next period was wrought with constant movement and adrenaline pounding actions. The time passed and the pressure was on for one of us to score. This was no time to fence scared-it was time to be the fencer I had trained to be- Courtney Dumas. I was in awe of no one. I was myself and confident in my actions.
I pushed and pushed Floyd down the strip and pressured her blade, creeping ever closer to my goal. I finally broke distance and dropped to the leg-this time with distance. I hit the hip with one light on, my light. The bout was over and I was victorious.
But I was to pay the ultimate price of such an exciting victory. My fuel was all but spent and I had my best friend left to fence to reach the final four.
Amanda Sirico was on fire that day- she went 6-0 with a plus 24 indicator and she had not tired herself the way I had in the DEs. And we were to fence.
I pulled myself together, ready for the challenge. But the footwork was just not there. I followed my plan as detailed before the bout. I pushed Amanda down the strip, but once I got her into the last meter line I remained flat footed. This resulted in her attack nailing me and when I did attack her leg like I had planned-she was ready. She unfortunately remembered I had a deadly leg touch from our last encounter at Junior Olympics.
My failure to pull the distance and run away after I pushed the distance combined with attacking into her trap led directly to an 8-2 deficit. And I was exhausted, but not done quite yet.
I pulled myself together for one last go for the bout and managed to reclaim my footwork and bring the bout to 10-12 score with me just behind two.
But it was too little too late- Amanda rattled off two quick touches before the end of the second period and one right at the start of the third period to win 15-10. My run was over and I was defeated.
I had made the 8, but had paid the price of poor footwork at the start of each bout leading directly to my exhausted state that in large part led to my defeat. Amanda was the better fencer that day and went on to win the gold medal.
I finished 6th and was extremely happy for my friend, but at the same time I wanted more and still do. Footwork will be my prime goal as I move further into the summer. This was a painful learning experience, but a necessary one that is one more small step towards reaching my goal to become an Olympic fencer some day.
Until next time!
Courtney Dumas
I came out of Juniors with my worst finish of the year 17th a few days earlier, which in retrospect was not horrible, but at the same time I had the potential to do so much more damage. I was hungry for a medal and redemption. I felt that it was my time to shine.
Pools started off shaky again with a priority victory. I told myself that I wanted to be more aggressive today than I had been in Juniors, that was no the case the whole day....
Pools were going well to some extent-I was 3-0, but the footwork again just was not flowing in that same great rhythm that made every fencer feel as though they were an Olympian. Suddenly I found myself losing two bouts back to back. 3-2 with one match left, I was determined to get out of my slump. I was tired of sleep fencing-fencing like a robot with all the right moves, but without the passion or the cognition to ignite the spark in one's step that led to victory.
I wanted this back and in my next bout I used my determination to win 5-0in a swift victory. Now I was rolling, or so I thought...
The DEs came about and my fencing was still struggling. I was fighting from behind in almost every match-leaving myself exhausted come the end of the bout. I was draining my fuel storage early and I would unfortunately pay for this later.
My best bout of the day, which ironically was the bout that probably cost me my chance at the final four and possibly the finals, was my round of 16 bout against Floyd. I was down 7-2 and was losing control of the bout until I finally found an answer to her forceful fleches and infighting. I would pressure her with plans to run away swiftly and score a counter attack or continue in the 8 line to the leg. It worked like magic!
With 30 seconds left in the second of three periods, I found myself up 13-12. Unfortunately I decided to be a little more daring then was called for and after two poorly setup leg attacks I was down 14-13 with 17 seconds left in the period.
Kill the clock time with the goal of reaching the one minute break before the third period. I had been incredibly naive and stupid not to set up the distance and I had to pay for it with the loss of the lead in a 15 touch bout! I needed horribly to get out of the period, but my opponent had other plans-she decided to push and attack me with only 17 seconds left!!! Her bread and butter move against me!!!!
Now was clutch fencing time and I needed to focus all my energy towards this touch! It was ultimate fencing time-Olympic touch time. Floyd pushed and pushed and finally gave me what I was looking for-the blade!!! I made a swift blade take and slammed my point into her body as fast as I possibly could.
One light came on-MINE. That brilliant, bright, shiny green light! I could not believe it!!! I scored with 1 second remaining in the period!!!! the score was now even at 14-14.
The next period was wrought with constant movement and adrenaline pounding actions. The time passed and the pressure was on for one of us to score. This was no time to fence scared-it was time to be the fencer I had trained to be- Courtney Dumas. I was in awe of no one. I was myself and confident in my actions.
I pushed and pushed Floyd down the strip and pressured her blade, creeping ever closer to my goal. I finally broke distance and dropped to the leg-this time with distance. I hit the hip with one light on, my light. The bout was over and I was victorious.
But I was to pay the ultimate price of such an exciting victory. My fuel was all but spent and I had my best friend left to fence to reach the final four.
Amanda Sirico was on fire that day- she went 6-0 with a plus 24 indicator and she had not tired herself the way I had in the DEs. And we were to fence.
I pulled myself together, ready for the challenge. But the footwork was just not there. I followed my plan as detailed before the bout. I pushed Amanda down the strip, but once I got her into the last meter line I remained flat footed. This resulted in her attack nailing me and when I did attack her leg like I had planned-she was ready. She unfortunately remembered I had a deadly leg touch from our last encounter at Junior Olympics.
My failure to pull the distance and run away after I pushed the distance combined with attacking into her trap led directly to an 8-2 deficit. And I was exhausted, but not done quite yet.
I pulled myself together for one last go for the bout and managed to reclaim my footwork and bring the bout to 10-12 score with me just behind two.
But it was too little too late- Amanda rattled off two quick touches before the end of the second period and one right at the start of the third period to win 15-10. My run was over and I was defeated.
I had made the 8, but had paid the price of poor footwork at the start of each bout leading directly to my exhausted state that in large part led to my defeat. Amanda was the better fencer that day and went on to win the gold medal.
I finished 6th and was extremely happy for my friend, but at the same time I wanted more and still do. Footwork will be my prime goal as I move further into the summer. This was a painful learning experience, but a necessary one that is one more small step towards reaching my goal to become an Olympic fencer some day.
Until next time!
Courtney Dumas
Lessons Learned, Reno Summer Nationals 2011
So I'm finally back from Reno, Nevada. It was a lot of fun, although there was nothing but desert all around the hotel. This year I competed in Juniors and Division 1A. The competition was fierce and unrelenting.
There ended up being a total of 186 fencers in the Junior event. I blasted my way through the pools after a shaky opening bout that I won in priority, 3-2. The confidence was flowing and the actions were swift. My lunges and fleches flowed with ease and my mental game was sharp.
With the assistance of my tournament personalized playlist and the support of Amanda Sirico of DCFC and my Hooked on Fencing teammates, I pounded out a 6-0 record in the pools with a plus 18 indicator (touches scored minus touches received). Everything was working pretty well and I was confident moving into the direct elimination round.
By the DEs my fencing was strong, but not up to the caliber it was at Junior Olympics where I finished second. The footwork was just not as crisp and the distance was shaky. I struggled to put away my opponents, even though I won by 4 or more points. The flow just wasn't energetic or agile. I had to rely on my counter attack much more often than I felt comfortable with.
After fighting my way through to double elimination I finally lost a close bout to Signe Furguson, 15-14. We had doubled all the way from 10-10 to 14 all! The bout was intense and nerves were high. As she pushed and pressed me, I finally took the initiative and fleched in the 8 line, but I missed the blade take! I ran right into her counter attack and lost a hard fought bout 15-14.
After a long wait for my second chance DE, I regretfully was nervous and jumpy. I doubted my skills as a fencer and was scared to lose. I had come all this way just to fence like I had 3 years ago. My bout against Jennifer Horowitz was dismal. I would close the distance or allow my self to be pushed around the strip as a result of my timid fencing. I didn't fully commit to actions and lunged half-heartedly. After all my hard work I lost 15-9 in a bout that I will never forget.
A fencer can never be timid. If you compete scared you will in all likelihood fail. That is what happened to me. I forgot my training and my mental preparation. I had no "general"-mental prowess, to lead my "army"-skill set and ability. Without a general your army is worthless. You could have the best army in the world, but without a leader to command their movements, they are an unorganized mess. This is why I lost the bout and it is a lesson learned and will not be easily forgotten.
May this be a lesson to all you out there not to be afraid to risk it all. In competition the worst you can do is lose, but if you are afraid to lose and compete in that manner then your opponent has ALREADY WON.
Courtney Dumas
There ended up being a total of 186 fencers in the Junior event. I blasted my way through the pools after a shaky opening bout that I won in priority, 3-2. The confidence was flowing and the actions were swift. My lunges and fleches flowed with ease and my mental game was sharp.
With the assistance of my tournament personalized playlist and the support of Amanda Sirico of DCFC and my Hooked on Fencing teammates, I pounded out a 6-0 record in the pools with a plus 18 indicator (touches scored minus touches received). Everything was working pretty well and I was confident moving into the direct elimination round.
By the DEs my fencing was strong, but not up to the caliber it was at Junior Olympics where I finished second. The footwork was just not as crisp and the distance was shaky. I struggled to put away my opponents, even though I won by 4 or more points. The flow just wasn't energetic or agile. I had to rely on my counter attack much more often than I felt comfortable with.
After fighting my way through to double elimination I finally lost a close bout to Signe Furguson, 15-14. We had doubled all the way from 10-10 to 14 all! The bout was intense and nerves were high. As she pushed and pressed me, I finally took the initiative and fleched in the 8 line, but I missed the blade take! I ran right into her counter attack and lost a hard fought bout 15-14.
After a long wait for my second chance DE, I regretfully was nervous and jumpy. I doubted my skills as a fencer and was scared to lose. I had come all this way just to fence like I had 3 years ago. My bout against Jennifer Horowitz was dismal. I would close the distance or allow my self to be pushed around the strip as a result of my timid fencing. I didn't fully commit to actions and lunged half-heartedly. After all my hard work I lost 15-9 in a bout that I will never forget.
A fencer can never be timid. If you compete scared you will in all likelihood fail. That is what happened to me. I forgot my training and my mental preparation. I had no "general"-mental prowess, to lead my "army"-skill set and ability. Without a general your army is worthless. You could have the best army in the world, but without a leader to command their movements, they are an unorganized mess. This is why I lost the bout and it is a lesson learned and will not be easily forgotten.
May this be a lesson to all you out there not to be afraid to risk it all. In competition the worst you can do is lose, but if you are afraid to lose and compete in that manner then your opponent has ALREADY WON.
Courtney Dumas
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