{"id":622,"date":"2025-11-24T14:08:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T14:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/?p=622"},"modified":"2025-12-03T08:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T08:35:08","slug":"physiological-demands-of-fencing-a-narrative-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/physiological-demands-of-fencing-a-narrative-review\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Physiological demands of fencing: A Narrative Review&#8221; Autori: Luke W. Oates, Michael J. Price, Lindsay M. Bottoms. Fonte: Journal of Elite Sport Performance. \u200bFullText 73815 (2023)."},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Aim of the Review<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Objective: To provide an updated overview of the literature regarding the physiological and thermoregulatory demands of fencing.<\/li>\n<li>Practical purpose: To improve training protocols, competition management, and recovery strategies for fencers<strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Methodology<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Search on scientific databases (Pubmed, SPORTDiscus, Google Scholar) from 1985 to 2022.<\/li>\n<li>Inclusion of studies related to all three weapons: \u00e9p\u00e9e, foil, and sabre.<\/li>\n<li>Included studies on Pool phase and Direct Elimination (DE) phase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Main Results<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>3.1 Movement Characteristics<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fencing = high-intensity intermittent sport.<\/li>\n<li>Work\/Rest ratios:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00c9p\u00e9e: ~1:1 \u2013 2:1<\/li>\n<li>Foil: ~1:1 \u2013 1:3<\/li>\n<li>Sabre: ~1:5 \u2013 1:6<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Average single action time:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00c9p\u00e9e: 15 sec<\/li>\n<li>Foil: 5 sec<\/li>\n<li>Sabre: 2.5 sec<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Analysis technology: modern accelerometers to measure speed, distance, accelerations, and loads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>3.2 Heart Rate<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>During competition: 75\u2013100% of maximum heart rate (HRmax).<\/li>\n<li>Higher HR in DE matches compared to Pools.<\/li>\n<li>Simulated studies tend to underestimate cardiac load compared to real competitions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>3.3 Oxygen Consumption (VO\u2082)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Average VO\u2082 during DE:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>~75% of VO\u2082max.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Average values: 35\u201347 ml\/kg\/min for simulated \u00e9p\u00e9e; slightly lower in Pools.<\/li>\n<li>Few direct measurements during<strong> real competitions, mainly estimates based on HR.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>3.4 Blood Lactate Concentration<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Generally low (often &lt; 4 mmol\/L).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mixed energy contribution:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Phosphocreatine system predominant (explosive movements).<\/li>\n<li>Important aerobic support in the preparatory and recovery phase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>In longer matches (like \u00e9p\u00e9e), progressive fatigue leads to greater reliance on aerobic metabolism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>3.5 Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increases significantly in DE phases compared to Pools.<\/li>\n<li>RPE differences detected between upper and lower limbs (weapon\/arms more fatigued, but legs equally stressed).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>3.6 Thermoregulation<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Under-studied issue:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Full equipment = major obstacle to heat dissipation.<\/li>\n<li>Gastrointestinal temperatures > 39\u00b0C observed.<\/li>\n<li>Possible negative effects on performance and fatigue perception during prolonged competitions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Future proposals: measurements of skin temperature, subjective thermal sensation, internal mask temperature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Conclusions and Practical Implications<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fencing heavily taxes both the alactic anaerobic (phosphocreatine) and aerobic systems.<\/li>\n<li>Training programming:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Develop aerobic capacity for long-term endurance (9-11 hour competitions).<\/li>\n<li>Focus on recovery speed between matches.<\/li>\n<li>Integrate cooling protocols (cooling strategies) during dead times between bouts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Recommended measurements for monitoring:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Heart rate<\/li>\n<li>RPE<\/li>\n<li>Body temperature<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Summary Table<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Area<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Key Result<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Heart Rate<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>75\u2013100% HRmax<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Average VO\u2082<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>~75% VO\u2082max<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Lactate<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Low (&lt; 4 mmol\/L)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Energy System<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Phosphocreatine + Aerobic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Movements<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>4\u201310% high intensity, 40\u201350% moderate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Thermoregulation<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Critical, risk of >39\u00b0C core temperature<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Recommended Strategies<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Targeted strength and aerobic training<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p><strong>Final Consideration:<br \/><\/strong>This study confirms that fencing is an extremely complex sport at a physiological level, requiring an integrated management of energy conditioning, mental endurance, and thermoregulation to optimize competitive performance.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1. Aim of the Review Objective: To provide an updated overview of the literature regarding the physiological and thermoregulatory demands of fencing. Practical purpose: To improve training protocols, competition management, and recovery strategies for fencers. 2. Methodology Search on scientific databases (Pubmed, SPORTDiscus, Google Scholar) from 1985 to 2022. Inclusion of studies related to all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport-scienze","tag-paper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omerimassimo.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}