Mechanical energy states during running.

Changes in total mechanical work and its partitioning into different energy states (kinetic, potential and rotational) during a step cycle of running were investigated on six well trained athletes who ran at the test speeds of 40, 60, 80, and 100% (9.3 +/- 0.3 m/s) of maximum. Cinematographic techniques were utilized to calculate the mechanical energy states as described by Norman et al. (1976), using a 13 segment mechanical model of a runner as the basis for the computations. The data showed that both the kinetic and rotational energy increased parabolically but the potential energy decreased linearly with increases in running velocity. The calculated power of the positive work phase increased quadratically with running speed. During the phase when the runner was in contact with the ground, the applied calculations gave similar increases for the positive and negative works, and the power ratio (Wneg/Wpos) stayed the same at all measured speeds. Therefore, it is likely that the method used to calculate the various mechanical energy states did not reflect accurately enough the physiological energy costs at higher running speeds. It may, however, be quite acceptable for estimating the mechanical energy states during walking and slow running, in which case the role of negative work is less and consequently the storage and utilization of elastic energy is small.