tortoises and hares

[anotheranon]

Ever since I started exercising (semi) regularly, I've bitched about how crap my endurance is (one example). As I kept going on I started wondering whether some people aren't just inherently suited for one type of exercise or another - long, marathon-type activities or short, sprinting activities - myself being mostly suited for the latter, because I seem to burn out fast and modern fencing is, after all, largely short sprints while holding a weapon....

Conversations about this have revealed to me the existence of slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. D. says he first learned of this in junior high and I'm sure almost everyone else who has ever pursued a sport seriously has heard of this, but it was news to me! A hideous oversimplification of what's at the link: skeletal muscles all have some combination of slow twitch (slow/high endurance) and fast twitch (fast/low endurance) muscle fibers. Most people have more of one type than the other (I'm not even getting into medium-fast twitch muscles - look at the chart at the link).

There seems to be some confusion over whether one fiber type can be changed to another with training, or just how much influence the fiber combination has on actual performance, but it seems the only conclusive test of what proportion of fast/slow you have is a muscle biopsy.

Seeing as I'm not curious enough about this to get a needle rammed into my leg, I'm going to guess based on past experience that I'm mostly fast-twitch - my limit for fencing (both small, fast foil and heavy, precise rapier) tends to be about 2 hours before my technique goes to hell and there's little point in continuing. Hell, even standing hurts after only a couple of hours :(

So what to do? The first link seems to suggest that trying to be a "tortoise" when you're built like a "hare" won't work well and will likely ruin your hare-like strengths: in other words, I could work on my endurance only at the expense of speed/power, and would never build really good endurance anyway. On the other hand, the connection between muscle fiber type and performance isn't completely clear and it would be nice to be able fence without wiping out so fast.

No conclusions as yet, but I've found reading up on this to be fascinating.

Comments

[zen4me.livejournal.com]

I usually eat a moderate dinner beforehand - too much and I feel weighted down. Usually meat and vegetable with little processed starch - pasta feels too heavy so I avoid it fencing night.

It's smart not to eat too much prior to working out, as you can make yourself sick, but you should try to eat some complex carbs (such as whole wheat pasta, long grain rice, etc.) as they take longer to break down giving your body a longer lasting fuel source.

For water, I usually go to the water fountain a couple of times in the evening, but I don't measure it. Too much and I'll have to use the bathroom, which I try to avoid because it's inconvenient to have to take off the 2-3 layers of uniform :P

How much does the uniform weigh and how much do you sweat during fencing? You'd be surprised at how little you will have to pee if you are really working up a sweat. And a possible side effect of not getting enough water in (daily not just during the workouts) is kidney malfunction, which could show up as back pain. Your best bet would be to carry a liter bottle and try to finish it at least twice during your workouts. Besides keeping your body hydrated, it helps to flush lactic acid from the muscles and helps fight cramping.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

How much does the uniform weigh and how much do you sweat during fencing?

Based on the bathroom scale, the upper body protectio + mask comes out to roughly 6-7 lbs; something more than that if you're counting the foil and the breeches.

As to how much I sweat - "a lot". I don't sweat much but I easily come home soaked every time I go out.

[zen4me.livejournal.com]

Based on your rough guesstimate, you're probably wearing at least 10lbs of equipment it sounds like. You totally need to get in more water than you are if you're wearing 10+lbs of equipment for two hours and leaving drenched.

Do others drink a minimal amount of water? I hope not, it seems almost negligent of the instructors not to be more explicit (especially with n00b's) about just how important proper hydration is. Please, please, please at the least speak with your doctor or a sports nutritionist about what you should be taking in ideally during these workouts. You should also think about packing some Gu or similar brand of energy gel to give yourself some calories, salt, and carbs to have during the workout. They are easy on the stomach and shouldn't give you much trouble - though some of the flavours are kinda gross.