"Good Enough" Strength For Fencers

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What’s Making You Slow?

You’ve heard it before on instagram, seen it in mens & womens health magazines, and maybe even said the mantra yourself: “Lift Heavy”

Although that’s great in theory, here’s the rub: a certain number on a 1 rep max isn't what’s holding most fencers back from the podium. In fact, piling on more heavy lifts can actually steal adaptation (and training time) from the qualities that actually win bouts: speed, power, elasticity, control, and a keen sense of timing. We all know the biggest, strongest fencer in the room is rarely the fastest.

So how do you know where to spend your time? What’s “enough” time at the weight rack or with free weights? Here’s what the data keeps showing:

1. There is a “good enough” strength level for fencing

Sport science research shows that for speed and skill-dominant sports like fencing, once you hit ~1.5x BW squat and ~2x BW hex bar deadlift your return on investment for more maximal strength drops off - hard.
Suchomel et al. 2016; Cormie et al. 2011; Haugen & Seiler 2020

After that point, gains in sprint speed, jump performance, and change-of-direction ability correlate much more strongly with:

• reactive strength index (RSI)

• single-leg stiffness

• rate of force development (RFD)

• plyometric ability

• technical efficiency

The truth: You’re not slow because your deadlift isn’t 400 lb, or (dare I invoke TryHard HEMA) your bench press isn’t a certain number. You’re slow because:

• your legs don’t store and release elastic energy well

• your transitions are leaking force (and power)

• your nervous system isn’t trained to fire fast under pressure

• your technical eye for identifying openings, tempos or"the next best move” is under-developed

More time admiring your biceps in the mirror during your upper body split day is never going to get you there.

2. Strength isn’t the defining feature of the best fencers.

Across multiple studies on speed, agility, and team-based sports: Elite athletes who run fast or jump high are strong…but not stronger than everyone else.

Their advantage comes from other characteristics:

• superior neuromuscular efficiency

• better rate of force development in high-velocity patterns

• cleaner sequencing of multi-joint movement patterns (i.e. triple extension)

• fewer “weak links” in the kinetic chain

• better posture + alignment under load and fatigue

• movement skill, not just movement force

Put another way, heavy strength is the “engine.” Elastic qualities are the traction, suspension, and steering. A 300-hp engine with perfect alignment will beat a 400-hp engine on bald tires every time. And if you’re pouring your time and effort in the gym into that engine alone, you’re setting yourself up to be beaten by quicker, more dynamic fencers who are out there taking care of the other pieces of the puzzle.

HEMA Hot Take: Many Aspiring A-Tier HEMAists are under-plyometriced, not under-strong

I’m not anti-barbell. Barbells are fantastic tools, and mine comes out 2-3 days a week. But if you’re reading this, powerlifting isn’t your sport - fencing is. If you’re spending all your gym time in the weight rack and ignoring the other equipment and space in the gym, it’s time for a programming re-evaluation. Your time in the gym is precious. Too much focus on the PR and upping barbell volume comes at the expense of:

• jump training

• single-leg power development and balance

• coordinated, high-quality speed work

• movement variability and multidirectional patterns

• reactivity training

You only have so much time and energy to spend in the gym. As an athlete, better performance comes from spending your “adaptive currency” wisely. If time in the squat rack feels sacred, remember its not all-or-nothing. Try reducing down to max 2 focused barbell sessions a week, and filling that new re-gained training time with:

• quality single-leg work

• building the stabilizers (adductors, glutes, deep core, foot intrinsic muscles)

• more comprehensive plyometric and speed sessions

• multi-directional human movement patterns

• chaotic, reactive, game-like motor learning environments

Remember, HEMA is not a powerlifting (or weightlifting) meet. If powerlifting is something you want to take seriously and treat as a second sport, cool - but recognize you will begin hindering your fencing as volume and focus on this one area of strength & conditioning builds. In fencing and combat sports your nervous system must coordinate force quickly, repeatedly, and under tactical stress. We move every direction, balance, change direction repeatedly, and react. Are you training to move like a fighter, or training like you’re headed to a bodybuilding competition or powerlifting meet?

Coach’s Corner

As coaches one of the most important skills we develop isn’t writing harder and more advanced training content as our fencers progress, but learning how to allocate a fencer’s limited energy budget. Anyone can wear out a group of advanced fencers with a crazy-hard workout or super intense lesson. But intensity does not equate with quality. When we over-focus on making sure training is “hard enough”, we risk crowding out the qualities that produce the largest long-term payoff: coordination, elasticity, reactive strength, and movement efficiency, along with excellent technical footwork and bladework. Exercises for some of those things may not look particularly intense or exciting. The best programs aren’t defined by how much they can cram in to an hour or two, but by focusing on the right things at the right time. Our job is to ask, “What does this fencer (or this group of fencers) actually need right now?” and prescribe training that supports that aspect of their technical development and recovery.

For those interested in adding in more strength & conditioning content, or even running their own S&C classes for their school, the first step is understanding what fencers need. Although we can’t 100% equate sport fencing and HEMA, reading on the former is a great place to start:

Great Reads for S&C Interested Coaches:
Turner, Anthony MSc, CSCS*D¹; Miller, Stuart BSc (Hons)¹; Stewart, Perry MSc¹; Cree, Jon MSc¹; Ingram, Rhys MSc²; Dimitriou, Lygeri PhD¹; Moody, Jeremy PhD³; Kilduff, Liam PhD⁴. Strength and Conditioning for Fencing. Strength and Conditioning Journal 35(1):p 1-9, February 2013. | DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0b013e31826e7283

Turner A, Bishop C, Chavda S, Edwards M, Brazier J, Kilduff LP. Physical Characteristics Underpinning Lunging and Change of Direction Speed in Fencing. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(8):2235-2241. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001320

Health & Fitness Tips

Don’t Chase Soreness. Chase Adaptation

A lot of fencers judge their strength workouts by how sore they are the next day, thinking they lifted inadequately if they’re not feeling it. Soreness, however, is not an indicator of progress. In fact, consistently training to the point of heavy DOMS can interfere with footwork sessions, limit what you can do in class, and throw off tournament prep. Your body improves through repeated exposure to quality work, not through crushing yourself to the point where stairs are a challenge. A good strength session should leave you feeling capable, not wrecked. If you’re too sore to move well the next day, or your finding yourself changing training on the fly due to fatigue, you’re overspending your training budget on the wrong metric. Aim for sessions that stimulate, not annihilate.

Conditioning Move of the Week

Deceleration Drop Lunges

Most fencers think about explosiveness, but deceleration is what keeps your joints safe and your transitions sharp. The deceleration drop lunge trains your ability to absorb force quickly and under control. Start with bodyweight and work your way up to doing this exercise with two free weights or a barbell. This exercise builds single-leg strength, hip/knee stability, and teaches your body to organize itself instantly under load. It’s a star exercise for improving fencing-specific braking and control.

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