Heart Rate Responses and Cardiovascular Training Load in Junior Fencers: An Observational Study

Purpose. Heart rate monitoring provides useful information about internal training load and post-exercise recovery in fencing. This study aimed to describe heart rate responses, heart rate zone distribution, and five-minute post-exercise recovery in junior foil fencers. Materials & Methods. Fifteen junior foil fencers (eight girls and seven boys) from the Technical Applied Sports Club (CSTA) participated in this observational study. Heart rate was monitored using Polar devices during a fencing training session. Seventeen original data exports were available, including repeated records from two of the 15 participants. Heart rate was analyzed across successive 10-minute intervals and five predefined intensity zones. Post-exercise heart rate was monitored over a five-minute period using the final recording segment available for each athlete. Descriptive statistics and exploratory Spearman’s rank correlation analyses were performed. Results. Heart rate zone distribution varied considerably between athletes, indicating heterogeneous internal training-load profiles. Mean heart rate varied across the monitored 10-minute intervals, while the number of contributing athletes decreased at later intervals. The number of contributing athletes decreased from 15 in intervals 1–8 to eight in interval 13, reflecting differences in recording duration associated with the number of fencing bouts completed. Recovery responses also differed between participants. The proportion of time spent in the higher heart rate zones was positively associated with initial recovery heart rate (Spearman’s rho=0.640, adjusted p=0.056), as was mean session heart rate (rho=0.590, adjusted p=0.076). Neither association remained statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Conclusions. Polar-based heart rate monitoring provides descriptive information about cardiovascular responses and short-term post-exercise recovery in junior foil fencers. The observed individual variability supports an individualized interpretation of internal training load and recovery responses. Given the small sample and exploratory design, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and investigated further in larger samples using standardized monitoring protocols.