SWIMMING OR FENCING??

[veeco]

I think I understand what you mean damianip. However, I must admit that the terms themselves are confusing since, as you pointed out, anaerobic means "requires no air".

I guess I took off the intensity part of the definition based on what I expected anaerobic to mean and not on what the definition was.

How would you then classify such exercises as a 400 meters though? It's level off intensity is pretty high, even though you do have to breathe during the exercise.

I think that basically it can be defined as this. Any activity you do is anaerobic at the beginning, when you will tap more into your creatine phosphate reserves. Once those reserves are exhausted, then you need oxygen to burn those carbohydrates and the exercise becomes aerobic.

[FencerInUS]

From a 400 meter runner, if you dont breath during a 400, you will pass out after the 1st 200 meters. Breathing during a 400 meter race is a good thing

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F.I.US.
Parry, THEN riposte
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[damianip]

My point was that there are very few sports which are mostly anaerobic and very few which are purely aerobic.

However, a distance event is typically mostly aerobic, while a sprint is largely anaerobic (breathing is critical, however, because you want the ongoing aerobic component to be as efficient as possible).

I think fencing's exertions are largely anaerobic with long pauses of low exertion aerobic activity in between.

However, aerobic fitness will certainly help your fencing, but as an aerobic workout, it trails far behind swimming.

Paolo