Leg Power in Elite Male Fencers: A Comparative Study

Leg Power in Elite Male Fencers: A Comparative Study

Leg Power in Elite Male Fencers: A Comparative Study
among the Three Competitive Disciplines
Gustavo D. Aquilino, Aldo F. Longo, Néstor A. Lentini. Exercise Physiology Laboratory,
National Sport High Performance Center (CeNARD), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
ABSTRACT
The motor response of a fencer is required to be fast and explosive. Leg power plays a key
role in the competitive fencing disciplines.
PURPOSE: To compare leg power performance of elite male fencers by competitive
discipline. METHODS: Data of 18 fencers who took part in the Argentine national team were
considered in the study (Age = 24.38 ± 5.26 yr, Weight = 74.82 ± 8.16 kg, Height = 1.81 ± 0.06 m;
mean ± SD). Three groups of 6 subjects each were defined according to the competitive
disciplines of the sport: Épée, Foil and Sabre. Leg Power was indirectly measured through the
assessment of height jumped following three well-known protocols: Abalakov Jump, Counter
Movement Jump and Squat Jump. A contact platform was used to assess height jumped.
Lewis formula was employed for calculation of Average Power (AP). Based on data gathered
over several years, the best performance of each subject was selected for the analyses.
ANCOVAs were conducted on AP for Abalakov, Counter Movement and Squat Jumps;
Weapon was the independent factor in the analyses and Weight was introduced as a
covariable. Linear associations among the three vertical jumps were evaluated on the whole
sample by means of Pearson correlation tests; height jumped was used for these analyses.
RESULTS: Sample means of height jumped in cm for Épée, Foil and Sabre were, respectively,
51.77, 51.52 and 53.42 in Abalakov Jump; 44.83, 45.43 and 46.95 in Counter Movement Jump;
and 38.97, 39.80 and 41.02 in Squat Jump. ANCOVAs on AP were not statistically significant
(p>0.05) for Weapon for any of the tests: Abalakov Jump (1159.7, 1168.0 and 1182.1 W; F =
0.14), Counter Movement Jump (1080.6, 1096.1 and 1109.8 W; F = 0.41) and Squat Jump
(1011.2, 1024.8 and 1037.1 W; F = 0.24). As predictable, there were found high correlations
among vertical jumps (rA,C = 0.92, rA,S = 0.83 , rC,S = 0.91; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results
obtained showed negligible differences in AP among the three disciplines of the sport. It
would be desirable to obtain further statistical evidence from a larger sample size.
Key Words: Fencing; Leg Power; Vertical Jump.
INTRODUCTION
Fencing is a combat sport. From a metabolic point of view, it requires a high level of
anaerobic power for performance success. The motor response of a fencer is required to be
fast and explosive. The explosive strength of legs is particularly relevant to achieve the highest
competition levels, so leg power plays a key role in the competitive fencing disciplines.
Previous investigation revealed that fencing performance is correlated to leg power
(Iglesias Reig and Cano Alonso, 1990). The explosive strength of legs evaluated by means of
vertical jump is highly related to the percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers, and exposes the
maximum power of the leg extensor muscles (Bosco, 2000).
In the fencing competitions, the winner of the bout is the first of the two fencers to
reach 5 heats in the pool round, and 15 heats in the instance of direct elimination. In Épée
and Foil, there is a time limit of 3 minutes in the pool round and three 3-minute periods
separated by 1-minute breaks in direct elimination. In these disciplines, if the bout ends
before either fencer has reached 5 (or 15) hits, then the fencer with the most hits is declared
the winner. In the modality of Sabre, there is a 1-minute break in the instance of direct
elimination when one fencer’s score reaches 8. Sabre often involves faster footwork and
quicker bouts than Épée and Foil. Given these differences, we wondered if they could be
reflected in leg power. Specifically, this study aimed to compare leg power performance of
elite male fencers by competitive discipline.
METHODS
Subjects
Data of 18 fencers who took part in the Argentine national team were considered in
the study. The participants competed in Olympic Games, Panamerican Games or South
American Games. Three groups of 6 subjects each were defined according to the
competitive disciplines of the sport: Épée, Foil and Sabre. Descriptive statistics of the basic
anthropometric measures of the fencers are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Anthropometric characteristics of the fencers: Descriptive measures.
Mean
SD
Minimum Maximum
Age (yr)
24.4
5.3
17.1
34.1
Weight (kg)
74.8
8.2
62.2
93.0
Height (m)
1.81
0.06
1.71
1.93
Procedures
Leg power was indirectly measured through the assessment of height jumped
following three well-known protocols: Abalakov Jump, Counter Movement Jump and Squat
Jump. A contact platform was used to assess height jumped (Axon Jump, Modelo S; size:
104 × 82 × 0.5 cm; weight: 7.3 kg, temporal resolution: 1 ms). Average Power (AP) was
calculated according to Lewis formula (Fox and Mathews, 1974):
AP = 21.72 × Body mass ×
Height jumped = [ Watts] ,
(1)
where Body mass is in kg and Height jumped is in m.
In the jump protocols, the height jumped was assessed three times, and the highest
jump was recorded as the subject's maximum height jumped.
Statistical Analysis
Based on data gathered over several years, the best performance of each subject
was selected for the analyses. ANCOVAs were conducted on AP for Abalakov, Counter
Movement and Squat Jumps; Weapon was the independent factor in the analyses and
Weight was introduced as a covariable. Linear associations among the three vertical jumps
were evaluated on the whole sample by means of Pearson correlation tests; height jumped
was used for these analyses. Statistical significance was set at the 0.05 probability level. All
analyses were performed using R software version 2.12.0.
RESULTS
A statistical summary of the jump heights attained in the three tests is firstly presented
in Table 2. Sample means of height jumped in cm for Épée, Foil and Sabre were, respectively,
51.77, 51.52 and 53.42 in Abalakov Jump; 44.83, 45.43 and 46.95 in Counter Movement Jump;
and 38.97, 39.80 and 41.02 in Squat Jump. Figure 1 resumes the results categorized by sport
discipline corresponding to each vertical jump. ANCOVAs on AP were not statistically
significant (p>0.05) for Weapon for any of the tests. Table 3 shows the mean responses and
95% confidence intervals for AP in the three vertical jumps. As predictable, there were found
high correlations among the jumps (rA,C = 0.92, rA,S = 0.83 , rC,S = 0.91; p<0.05); the
corresponding scatter diagrams are presented in Figure 2.
Table 2. Statistical summary of the vertical jumps.
Vertical Jump
Mean
Median
SD
Abalakov
52.2
52.3
6.3
39.7
47.4
57.1
62.8
Counter Movement
45.7
45.2
4.5
36.1
43.9
48.9
53.5
Squat
39.9
39.4
4.6
33.1
36.9
42.6
48.6
All values expressed in cm.
Minimum Perc 25
Perc 75 Maximum
Table 3. Vertical jumps: Estimates and 95% confidence intervals for AP by Weapon and F-tests.
Abalakov Jump
Weapon
Estimate
95% CI
Lower
Upper
Épée
1159.7
1093.9
1225.6
Foil
1168.0
1102.4
1233.6
Sabre
1182.1
1116.4
1247.9
F-value
p-value
0.14
> 0.05
F-value
p-value
0.41
> 0.05
F-value
p-value
0.24
> 0.05
Counter Movement Jump
Weapon
Estimate
95% CI
Lower
Upper
Épée
1080.6
1032.0
1129.2
Foil
1096.1
1047.7
1144.6
Sabre
1109.8
1061.3
1158.4
Squat Jump
Weapon
Estimate
95% CI
Lower
Upper
Épée
1011.2
955.3
1067.2
Foil
1024.8
969.0
1080.5
Sabre
1037.1
981.2
1093.0
All values of AP expressed in Watts.
Prediction equations for AP (in Watts) derived from the analyses are the following:
APAbalakov = 261.34 + 12.01× Weight + 8.27 × Foil + 22.39 × Sabre ,
(2)
APCM = 231.06 + 11.35 × Weight + 15.53 × Foil + 29.21× Sabre ,
(3)
APSquat = 96.89 + 12.22 × Weight + 13.53 × Foil + 25.85 × Sabre ,
(4)
where Weight is in kg, and Foil and Sabre are coded 1 if “yes” and 0 if “no”. The R squared
values of the statistical models were, respectively, 0.68, 0.78 and 0.76.
Figure 1. Abalakov, Counter Movement and Squat Jumps: Plots of means and standard errors by Weapon for height jumped.
Figure 2 Scatter diagrams between vertical jumps.
Squat Jump.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
A high level of anaerobic power is a prerequisite for fencers, particularly in elite
competition. Previous research showed an association between fencing performance and
leg power. Several vertical jump protocols are widely used to indirectly evaluate leg power,
such as the Abalakov, Counter Movement and Squat jumps.
In the discipline of Sabre, the bouts tend to be shorter and to involve faster
movements than in the rest of the fencing disciplines. However, these differences seemed not
to be clearly reflected in leg power. The results obtained from the analyses for the vertical
jump tests used showed negligible differences in AP among the three disciplines of the sport,
being these differences not statistically significant. The highest sample estimates were found
in Sabre and the lowest in Épée. Nonetheless, it would be desirable to obtain further statistical
evidence from a larger sample size.
High positive linear associations were found between the vertical jump tests. Maybe
just one of these evaluations would be enough if the goal is only to obtain a measure for
comparison purposes.
Complementary, prediction equations for AP of elite male fencers are provided for
three well-known vertical jump protocols, as well as reference data of maximum height
jumped, which are quite similar to the international ones.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to thank Víctor Sergio Groupierre and Sergio Turiace for their
technical assistance.
MAIN REFERENCES
1. Bosco, C. La fuerza muscular: Aspectos metodologicos. INDE, Barcelona, 2000.
2. Bosco, C., P. Luhtanen, and P. V. Komi. A simple method for measurement of mechanical
power in jumping. European Journal of Applied Physiology 50:273-282, 1983.
3. Bosco, C. La valoración de la fuerza con el Test de Bosco. Paidotribo, Barcelona, 1994
4. Dal Monte, A. La valutazione funzionale dell´atleta. Sansoni, Firenze, 1983.
5. Fox, E. L., and D. K. Mathews. The interval training: conditioning for sports and general
fitness. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 1974.
6. Iglesias Reig, X., and D. Cano Alonso. El perfil del esgrimista en Cataluña. Apunts
Educació Física i Esports 19:45-54, 1990.
7. McArdle W., D. Katch, and V. L. Katch. Exercise physiology: energy, nutrition, and human
performance. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2001.
8. Wilmore, J. H., and D. L. Costill. Physiology of sport and exercise. 3th ed. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics, 2005.