Tag: fencing

The last few days leading up to MCA were brutal. It seemed like there was a ton of stuff to do and not a lot of time to do it, and then there were days when we couldn’t work ahead, so we had all this idle time. It’s hard to explain.

Anyway, I left off on Wednesday. Let’s get caught up.

Thursday: I didn’t have much time, so I did 15 minutes of cardio (elliptical with the mask on) and then met up with a handful of people for extra fencing practice. We all kind of phoned it in, but I fought a few passes with everyone.

Friday: We had regular club practice and then did a few hours of setup. We didn’t have time to go to the gym, but I definitely got my steps in (and then some).

Saturday: THE BIG DAY. I fenced every tournament that I was eligible for (minus the sword and dagger tourney). I did good fencing but didn’t advance very far. I did have some issues with fighting my gear, but I mostly stayed in my headspace. I had taken off and packed up most of my gear when the King and Queen came to me and asked me to participate in the championship tournament at the end of the event. I was honored and gladly obliged. Again, I didn’t advance, but I did good fencing.

That’s me on the right.

I took it easy yesterday. Today I’m headed back to the gym. Everyone in the club is pretty spent, so I think we’re going to check in with the club fencers and then go lift instead of fencing. My legs are really sore, so I feel like a day off won’t kill me.

In other news, I compiled a bunch of superhero-inspired workouts to share with my friends, and I took photos of some sample workouts from a book I got from the library. I’ve deleted BodySpace since it wasn’t really meeting my needs. We’ll see if compiling workouts helps or if it’s just another form of research rabbit hole that I can fall down without doing any actual work.

My bane mask came in!

First I wore it around the house for about half an hour trying it out. Then I wore it to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical (plus a cooldown, but I took it off for that part). I even bumped the setting up on one side (it has switches 1-5 on the right and left) for the last five minutes of my run. I felt pretty good. It took me a long time to get my heart rate up to 140 bpm, and my average heart rate was 136.

Since that was a success, I tried wearing it for warm-ups at fencing. I did my two laps but had to take it off and rest a second before doing the rest of the warm-up (high knees, etc.).

Fencing practice was okay. We warmed up and did a couple drills. Then I fenced with a new person, and a couple more people wanted to fence with me. My hands weren’t so tired that I couldn’t hold my sword, so that was nice.

In other news, I’ve lost 3lbs. I missed Body Fat Tuesday last week, so that stinks. I’d like to know how the body recomposition is going now that I’m primarily doing cardio. However, I’m seeing progress with my fitness in other ways, so I don’t mind not getting a fat percentage documented this month.

Yesterday I did 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical before fencing practice. At fencing practice I worked with a new person, and then I fenced with the modern fencing guy. I haven’t done modern foil before, and it’s completely different from classical foil and rapier. I’m glad I tried it even if it isn’t my thing.

Today I did 30 more minutes on a different elliptical. I did some lunges today, this time focusing on making them explosive. I feel like my “explosive lunge” is really more like a big step forward. I’ll ask for feedback at our next practice.

In other news, I realized that CIC 2 will happen at a much higher elevation than I’ve ever experienced outside of an airplane. I’ve spent my entire life at sea level, so I bought an oxygen deprivation mask to wear at the gym. I’ll let you know how things go with the #baneofmyexistence mask.

Yesterday I hit the gym. Here’s the set list.

In addition to what I wrote down, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical-stair climber hellspawn. I have no idea what that was supposed to be. Shoulder & chest day maybe?

Fencing was fencing. I worked with some new people, didn’t spar much. I keep tiring really quickly. I think I need to work out less during the 30 days.

Today I worked on projects around the house. I was really drowsy despite drinking more coffee than I probably should have. I didn’t leave my house except to check the mail.

I did 50 lunges. Nik heard me in the studio and did some timing and judgment games with me. They’re fun and challenging.

I still feel really down and unmotivated today. I was doing better, but now I’m not. Let’s see if tomorrow holds something better for me… If I can make something better of it.

Today was leg day. Here’s the set list.

I’m still using BodySpace to figure out which exercises to do, but I’m back to logging with pencil and paper. I did the prone leg curl because my gym doesn’t have a seated leg curl (that I could see), and I’m doing bent knee leg raises on the ground instead of hanging knee raises. I absolutely hate dumbbell lunges.

Nik and I fenced a few passes in the parking lot. I found myself getting frustrated because I’m learning all these technical skills that aren’t doing me any good in actual fights. I’m in a weird place where I would benefit from getting back to basics (so I need drills), but I also would benefit from bouting more (so more open floor time).

I met up with Mike and Eddie tonight for Krav. We came up with a plan to get ready for CIC. I felt like it was a good use of my time, and I’m really getting excited about going (even though I’m still apprehensive).

This morning I tried to wake up at 7 but couldn’t. Tried again at 8 and 9 to no avail. I thought I succeeded around 10, but i just went downstairs and napped on the couch until almost 11. My body is spent.

I gave myself the day off from the gym. I did go to fencing, but I only warmed up and helped some newbies with a few skills. I left an hour early to go edit a dissertation.

My plan is to get back in the gym tomorrow after office hours instead of trying to go in the morning.

This morning I woke up with a splitting headache, so I was glad I hadn’t planned to work out at 7 like usual. I hit the gym in the afternoon instead. I didn’t have a lot of time, so all my sets were power sets with very short breaks.

I’ve decided that I like looking up exercises in the BodySpace app, but I don’t like tracking on it. I had to modify some exercises today, and there isn’t room for that in the app. For example, I had one set of alternating dips and push ups. I can’t do dips unassisted, and there isn’t room near that machine to do push ups. I had to modify two things – dips became dips with an assist, and push ups on the ground became standing push ups. I couldn’t indicate any of that in the app. I may not be using it correctly, and I may be a total luddite, but I prefer my pencil and paper.

After that I grabbed lunch with Tiny Nick and rested before extra fencing practice. I fought at least one pass with everyone there, but I was fairly tired, so I felt like I was moving through Jello. I don’t know if the fatigue came from adjusting my sleep schedule or from hitting it hard at the gym today. It may even be from the nights I did lunges to stay in the challenge (my thighs certainly feel that). I hope to be back to myself tomorrow.

Okay, I promised you a set list last week, so here it is.

image

Better late than never, right?

Today we tried something different, schedule wise. Also, we’re going to the gym as a group but just kind of doing our own thing. I started a new program on the BodySpace app. Unfortunately I can’t figure out how to show you my workout. I’m not sure how much I like trying to track on the app. I may go back to writing it out on paper.

After lifting for back & biceps, I did 20 minutes of cardio on the horrible hybrid stairmaster/elliptical.

Then we fenced according to our usual schedule. I helped new people, primarily, but I did some cut & thrust too.

Today, once again, I’m doing lunges for my daily fencing. I’m doing them at the last possible minute.

Practice at the park was cancelled because of the weather. I was relieved. I hope a little more time will help me get back out there.

I spent my day hanging around the house with two other fencers, but we were all unmotivated, and we never got it together to practice. We’re all disappoint that we’re stuck doing games, lunges, point work, or nothing today.

This has to get better.

Today Nik took some of our students to an event. I had an online class meeting this morning and didn’t want to miss, so I didn’t go to War College.

I weighed in this morning. I’m still sitting at 202 lbs, but I feel stronger, and I think my clothes are fitting a little better, so I’m not letting the number on the scale get me down. We’ll see what my fat percentage looks like in a week or two.

Since I couldn’t fence at the event today, I’m doing 100 lunges to get my practice in for the day. I’m not aiming for a particular target. This is about body mechanics. I want to make sure I’m following the sword into the lunge, and once I’m there, I’m checking the placement of my knee in relation to my toe.

Tomorrow is a regularly scheduled practice day at the park. I’m a little apprehensive about going. I don’t want to see the people who saw me break down last week. I don’t want my mental condition to overshadow my other characteristics. I know I’m the only one who sees it. That’s the great thing about having an invisible illness. Logically, you know other people can’t see it. But when it weighs on you like this, it’s all you see in the mirror. We’ll see how I’m doing tomorrow. All I can do for now is take things one day at a time.