Excelsior

Follow us on

excelsiorathletic@gmail.com

07976 306 494

Main Menu

Latest Blog Entry

New book published: ‘Coaches’ Corner’
7th November 2024
Essays to help sports coaches and P.E. teachers. My latest book, ‘Coaches’ Corner,’ is now available to buy on Amazon. It contains over 50 essays about athletic development, coaching, and physical education based on my work over the last ten years as Head Coach of Excelsior Athletic Development Club. How and what I’ve coached has […]
More

User login

Lost password?

Cool Downs for Fencers- A Major Rethink?

fencing cool down

Last week I was talking to a couple of reasonable fencers (Louise Helyer- Commonwealth silver medallist, Drew Wilsher– Army Champion) about cool downs for fencers and why they should be different from other sports.

It was something that they had not come across, and was of interest as they both coach modern pentathletes- for whom it is perhaps even more important.

Fencing is a one sided sport- ipsilateral– and the actions predominantly work repeatedly on this same side.

Most actions in life are contralateral (opposite arm and leg) including running.

When looking at warm ups and cool downs, coaches have looked at things from a physiological perspective – heart rate, blood flow, core temperature and so on. In the warm ups technical drills and mental preparation will take place to prepare the fencer for competition.

But what about the motor control system and the reflexes associated with this?

The crossed extensor reflex (where one limb extends the other flexes) is a key part of walking and running, but has been interfered with whilst fencing. The fencing cool down should include some exercises that return the motor control system aback to its resting state ready for daily activity.

Examples might be:

  • Walking- (fencers walk funny) emphasising swinging of the arms.
  • Walking and lifting knee up high- touch with opposite elbow.
  • Kneeling on the floor extending opposite arm and leg, then alternating sides.
  • Press up position- bring left  hand and right foot together undeneath the body, keeping your back flat. Repeat on the opposite side.

More of these and video clips can be found in the SportsTraining System

In the Modern Pentathlon World, after fencing for three hours, the athletes have a short break before starting on their combined run\shoot event. This is normally spent eating and drinking to aid recovery. But what about doing a few cool down drills that work contralaterally and restore the motor system to normality.

This will then help the athlete when they are warming up for their combined event.

Whilst it is very common to talk about “sport specific” training, these athletes don’t exist in a vacuum. They have to walk from A to B at the every least. So some thought should be given to adjusting back normal motor patterns as well as mental and physical recovery.

(The same could be said for weightlifting exercises that only operate bipedally in a sagittal plane- think about doing exercises afterwards that work contralaterally and involve movement. Heaven forbid that it might resemble some athletic movements!)

Further reading:

Comments

  1. […]  Some better examples of cool downs using Fencing as an example are here […]

  2. […] How to cool down after fencing […]

  3. […] Fencing: Introducing fitness to fencers, fencing is a one sided sport, so fencers need special attention to preevnt imbalances and injury, also how to warm up for fencing, how to cool down after fencing […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Client Testimonials

College of St Mark and St John
James is an excellent and experienced Strength and Conditioning Coach. He is able to draw on these experiences to adapt and meet each client’s specific needs. James is known for his engaging and dynamic style that has proved effective in producing results. Having worked with James, he is both organized and efficient. He also is an evidence based practitioner happy to engage in debate and take on new ideas. James rightly demands high standards and a good work ethic which reflects his own contribution to each situation
 
More

Upcoming Courses