## 3 Results
### Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)  
The Borg RPE scale consists of a 15-points scale for assessing the perceived exertion, from 6 (no exertion at all) to 20 (maximal exertion) [39]. Values of RPE were detected for all the eight athletes before training (10 min after the athletes were entering the fencing hall), after one hour of training (maximum exertion) and finally, 10 min after the end of the training (Table 5). It can be noticed that when the athletes were entering the fencing hall, their RPE was quite low (it ranged between 7 and 8), as they were in resting conditions. After one hour of training, the RPE results were high (it ranged between 16 and 19), showing that after one hour the exertion reached the highest values, as in the first hour athletes were fencing almost without rest (usually 4-5 assaults). Finally, at the end of the training after 10 min of rest, RPE was again quite low, showing the good training conditions of the fencers. The low values of RPE at the end of the training are probably related to different factors. First, to the physical condition of all the athletes that were in general good: the sample included all well-trained fencers that need less time to recover. Second, we need to consider that the first RPE was measured before the fencing training but after the warm-up, while the last RPE was acquired after the end of the training, when the heart rate was in most cases again quite low. This is probably because, after the first hour, when the intense exercises are carried out, it follows another hour of low-intensity training (fencing lessons, longer rest between the assaults, etc.) that added to the 10 min of rest sitting in the hall, allowing the recovery of the athletes. These factors may have produced a final RPE that was similar to the one before the training.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**ID**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Heart Rate (bpm)**} \\ \cline{2-4}  & **Before the Training** & **During the Training** & **After the Training** \\ \hline
**1** & 63 & 161 & 72 \\ \hline
**2** & 59 & 138 & 68 \\ \hline
**3** & 54 & 120 & 70 \\ \hline
**4** & 82 & 149 & 91 \\ \hline
**5** & 73 & 134 & 97 \\ \hline
**6** & 70 & 125 & 78 \\ \hline
**7** & 79 & 195 & 102 \\ \hline
**8** & 57 & 166 & 62 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 4: Heart rate of all the eight athletes measured before, during and after the training.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline \begin{tabular}{c} **Before the training** \\ (10 min after entering) \\ \end{tabular} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Standing in the fencing hall, 10 minutes} \\ \hline \hline \multirow{5}{*}{\
\begin{tabular}{c} **During the training** \\ (after 1 h of fencing) \\ \end{tabular} } & ID 1 & 5 assaults, 55 min—Standing (rest), 5 min \\ \cline{2-3}  & ID 2 & 5 assaults, 50 min—Standing (rest), 10 min \\ \cline{2-3}  & ID 3 & 4 assaults, 50 min—Standing (rest), 10 min \\ \cline{2-3}  & ID 4 & 4 assaults, 45 min—Standing (rest), 15 min \\ \cline{2-3}  & ID 5 & 4 assaults, 40 min—Standing (rest), 20 min \\ \cline{2-3}  & ID 6 & 4 assaults, 50 min—Standing (rest), 10 min \\ \cline{2-3}  & ID 7 & 4 assaults, 45 min—Standing (rest), 15 min \\ \cline{2-3}  & ID 8 & 4 assaults, 55 min—Standing (rest), 5 min \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\begin{tabular}{c} **After the training** \\ (10 min after the training) \\ \end{tabular} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Sitting in the fencing hall, 10 minutes} \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 3: Activities carried out by eight fencers during the training. The resting time during the training is considered as the total amount of rest between different assaults.