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Fitness plan for swordfighting


LunaFreya

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So now things are opening up more I’m going to be more serious about fitness so I can fight in tournaments without collapsing...at least from exhaustion, hopefully not concussion


The goals are core strength, general strength and fitness


So I’m trying to walk every day and stretch afterwards and I’m doing Pilates weekly as I get free sessions with work.


Also my teacher (he’s in the US actually) is starting up lessons again online so that will be good for sword technique.


So the goal is to be in better shape by 1st weekend of December and try and keep it up

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This is what I need to do too, not necessarily for sword fighting though! I have put on half a kilo in just a few weeks - I’ve drinking more alcohol, but I don’t think I’ve been eating much.


Good luck, keep us posted!

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Have you ever looked at one of those learn to run/couch to 5k type programs? I started one years ago and found it combined with regular pilates really worked for me with general fitness, core strength and increasing endurance.


I don't know how you personally define what better shape is, but the first weekend in Dec is really soon. I'd be setting myself up for failure if I had an expectation of being in better shape within a 10ish day time frame because the changes probably wouldn't be noticeable enough to get that rush of YES I DID IT! that comes with achieving a goal and I'd potentially end up demotivated (I might have fallen in this trap a few times). Anything you're doing is a step towards your goals though!


How are you liking the pilates?

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Have you ever looked at one of those learn to run/couch to 5k type programs? I started one years ago and found it combined with regular pilates really worked for me with general fitness, core strength and increasing endurance.


I don't know how you personally define what better shape is, but the first weekend in Dec is really soon. I'd be setting myself up for failure if I had an expectation of being in better shape within a 10ish day time frame because the changes probably wouldn't be noticeable enough to get that rush of YES I DID IT! that comes with achieving a goal and I'd potentially end up demotivated (I might have fallen in this trap a few times). Anything you're doing is a step towards your goals though!


How are you liking the pilates?

 

The Pilates are intense, so I’m trying to get fit to keep up. And “better shape” for me isn’t losing weight as I’m not weighing myself. It’s improving my fitness and endurance. I’m not expecting to be “good”, just “better” than I am now.


We have fighter training once a month and I’ll be having lessons every week with my teacher. The walks every day are helping with fitness and mental health

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Hey you have some good plans there. Have you factored any arm strength in as well for swinging the sword and handling impacts at all? Even if it's bicep curls using cans, tricep dips on a bench or wall push ups?

I used to do karate and once we started weapons work ( the bo/ staff) it was my arms that really felt it. Lucky you have a hilt guard, my poor fingers if I missed blocking with the wrong part of the bo.

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Hey you have some good plans there. Have you factored any arm strength in as well for swinging the sword and handling impacts at all? Even if it's bicep curls using cans, tricep dips on a bench or wall push ups?

I used to do karate and once we started weapons work ( the bo/ staff) it was my arms that really felt it. Lucky you have a hilt guard, my poor fingers if I missed blocking with the wrong part of the bo.

I wear full gauntlets on my hands, arm strength is very much a thing I have to do. When I do sword training by myself I always do some with hands above my head. And Pilates also includes stuff with weights

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It's easy to build upper body and arm strength with a resistance band at home. YouTube has plenty of instructional videos on band exercises. I'd add these to your routine.

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Do you have any of those outdoor gyms near you (generally along walking tracks or near sports grounds)? That could be a good place to start to get your body used to some different movement and you can do it while walking. Just don't make the mistake of going too hard, too fast as that's a recipe for injury.


You're off to a good start. Walking is a great low impact way to improve your cardio and endurance fitness. Pilates is good for all-round body conditioning, but especially core. If you speak to your pilates instructor they might be able to recommend some suitable exercises.


The main muscle groups you will be using with your sword-fighting are probably your shoulders - so latissimus dorsi, trapezius and deltoids. Your arm muscles (biceps and triceps) play a lesser part. Try incline push ups (against a bench), and either try to get your hands on a pair of dumbbells or a resistance band to do things like bent over rows, shoulder presses, bicep curls and tricep extensions. As a general rule you should train the larger muscle groups (lats, traps) before the smaller ones (delts, bis and tris). Your options are pretty much limitless with this equipment and YouTube have some great videos on technique.


Strength and endurance are conflicting goals to an extent. To improve strength you want to lift a relatively heavy weight for 3 sets of 8 reps or thereabouts. For endurance you want to lift a lighter weight for 4-5 sets of 12-15 reps. To start out maybe train strength for 2-3 sessions per week and then mix it up with a session of endurance or high intensity interval training (HIIT) where you try to do as many reps as possible (AMRAP).

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It’s actually core muscles we use a lot during swordfighting, because our core is more powerful than our arms. Arm strength is mainly about being able to keep moving your arms while wearing armour

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It’s actually core muscles we use a lot during swordfighting, because our core is more powerful than our arms. Arm strength is mainly about being able to keep moving your arms while wearing armour

 

There are plenty of core options you can do at home as well.

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Tournament is tomorrow. My fitness has certainly improved and I think I’ve lost some cm around the waist and maybe weight but I’m not measuring. Going to try and keep this up so I’m in better fighting form

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Tournament is tomorrow. My fitness has certainly improved and I think I’ve lost some cm around the waist and maybe weight but I’m not measuring. Going to try and keep this up so I’m in better fighting form

 

Enjoy tomorrow!

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Well I had a good time and got my first kill...but I went to hospital with concussion


Doing better today but need to take it easy and not fight for a few weeks


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That’s me in purple

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Hope you're feeling ok. Also if your post is reported I clicked the ! Instead of the thumbs up in a moment of forgetting what's what. So didn't mean to report it if I did.

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