Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
New York, NY (August 3, 2022) — Summer Nationals are completed, leaving you jazzed about fencing.
But it’s summer and it’s a lot easier to spend time enjoying swimming, seeing friends, and playing video games than it is planning workouts to build on your fitness and fencing skills.
What’s a young fencer to do?
Beginners should spend the off-season participating in sports for recreation, increase in the mobility of joints, maintaining muscle tone, and enjoyment. They should also concentrate on footwork and exercises that help with balance between the ankle, knee, and hip joints.
One of Coach Fraser’s favorites is called “bounding.” It is a variation of jumping, but with a pause added in between each jump so that every move has a defined start and finish to it.
Use three or four exercise cones or, as a substitute, books on the floor to bound over.
Single leg forward jumps with the foot facing forward increases strength in the knee.
Jumping sideways with the foot facing to the side is good for the ankle.
Intermediate fencers should focus on agility or power, Coach Fraser says, “developing speed and strength in the legs while changing direction,” because fencing is asymmetric and arrhythmic. “It requires enormous control over the size, speed, and direction of movements.” He recommends agility exercises like short distance running drills that incorporate short, sharp sprints, including change of direction.
Elite fencers at the high school and college level should be doing a considerable amount of conditioning in their own time already. In the off-season and pre-season, the majority of their training should be conditioning and inclusive of footwork exercises.
Fencing places unique demands on the legs, so when it comes to weight work, Coach Fraser recommends back squats, front squats, deadlifts, and cleans. “I’ve always favored the Olympic Lifts: the Snatch (one move) and the Clean and Jerk (two moves). They are technically demanding and help even out the strength and size of the legs.” This is important because when there is an imbalance there is potential for injury.
Coach Fraser also suggests an additional simple bodybuilding routine that includes exercises that target the chest, back, legs, abs, shoulders, and arms. He emphasizes that performing exercises with correct form is more important than how much weight you can pile on. "If you can’t do it slowly, you can’t do it fast”.
As always, it is recommended that you learn exercises from a professional and train under the supervision of an adult to prevent injuries.
Summer camps are an excellent way for fencers to tune up and shake off the summer cobwebs. It’s not too late to book into a week or two to make sure you’re ready for fall. Click HERE for options.