The FSP-C | Warm-up for Fencing Competition

With a huge competition week under way, let's take a look at some subtle details that can have an enormous impact on your performance. The goal of a warm-up should be to decrease risk of injury and improve performance. When it comes to fencing, we can address this specifically by looking at common injuries, speed of the sport, and the movements required:

Common injuries:

-muscle strains (hamstrings, hip flexors, calf, adductors)

-tendinitis (patella tendon, achilles, patellofemoral pain, biceps tendon, rotator cuff, epicondylitis)

-ligament sprain/tear (inversion/eversion ankle sprain, ACL, MCL, labral tear)

-cartilage (meniscus, chondral injury)

-concussion

While these will be discussed more individually in future posts, and injury prevention is a long-term process, risk of these injuries can be decreased by reaching proper range of motion in your warm-up and by activating the right muscle groups for stability.

Speed:

Fencing is often referred to as the second fastest Olympic sport behind shooting. While this is referring to the tip of a blade, a fencer must be able to accelerate and decelerate rapidly with periods of rhythm. As such, the speed of movement in your warm-up must replicate the fastest speed you will reach on the strip, and this should include exercises that prime the neuromuscular system for fast-twitch motion.

Movement:

Think about the positions you enter while fencing. How far is your lunge? Where do you require the most balance? Consider warming up in a lunge pattern slightly wider than your typical lunge to make sure you can reach these positions without complication. Incorporate split stance exercises that encourage stability and trunk rotation exercises that free up movement and reach.

To select each exercise and piece them together effectively, we must think about the purpose of each and place them in a specific order to prepare the body for the desired activity. If performed in the correct sequence, exercises should summate and build toward fencing speed.

To better understand, I have broken down the Fencing Specific Preparation for Competition (FSP-C) into 4 phases, each with a unique goal that develops from the previous phase.

1. INHIBITION - Decrease hyperactivity in specific musculature while increasing blood flow and tissue temperature.

(Use a foam roller, stick roller, lacrosse/tennis ball or percussive therapy device: 20s each)

-Lateral Quadriceps

-Hamstrings

-TFL/Glute Medius/Piriformis

-I.T. Band

-Adductors

Consider adding: calves (one leg on top, raise and point toe)

2. LENGTHENING - Encourage progressive lengthening of muscles to open range of motion for performance. Target hip, ankle, and rotational mobility with t-spine extension.

Squat-Twist-Reach x 3 (3 squats, 3 reaches per side)

World's Greatest Stretch + Hamstring Pullback x 3 each side

Side Lunge-Twist-Reach x 3 each side

3. ACTIVATION - Increase activity in specific musculature to reposition support structures and encourage balanced movement patterns. Target glutes, hamstrings, core, posterior chain and balance in split stance.

SL Glute Bridges x 5 each side

Clock Lunges x 3 each/each side

Hand Walk-outs x 3

Substitute: Band Walks x 8 forward/back, Birddogs x 6 each, Hamstring Walk-outs x 5

4. INTEGRATION - Upregulate the nervous system with fast-twitch activity to prime the body for performance.

Wide-outs (stepping) x 10 seconds

2-4-2 Sprint-Backpedal (Begin on en garde line, sprint to the center line, backpedal to start, sprint to the far en garde line, backpedal to start, sprint one last time to the center line and backpedal to start)

2-4-2 Side-shuffling (Complete same pattern as above, full-speed with side-shuffling footwork)

Split-Split-Tuck x 3 each jump

Substitute: High knees forward/back ½ strip, Jog to Sprint-out x 3

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Preparation activity before a competition should not induce fatigue. Keep total volume low.

For athletes with a history of the injuries below, consider adding these exercises:

Ankle Sprains-Add toe walks, heel-toe walking during activation phase

Shoulder pain-Target pecs/lats/upper traps during inhibition and lengthening phases. Add scapula pushups, band pull-aparts and/or rotator cuff band exercises during activation phase.

Concussion-Add low-level neck manual isometric exercises to activation phase.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF: FSP-C.pdf

Mobile: (copy and paste into browser)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1au7N2EmjatN1Bz1PyAvvCsNftn7yf4df/view?usp=sharing