Still air resistance during walking and running.

In everyday life during terrestrial locomotion our body interacts with two media opposing the forward movement of the body: the ground and the air. Whereas the work done to overcome the ground reaction force has been extensively studied, the work done to overcome still air resistance has been only indirectly estimated by means of theoretical studies and by measurements of the force exerted on puppets simulating the geometry of the human body. In this study, we directly measured the force exerted by still air resistance on eight male subjects during walking and running on an instrumented treadmill with a belt moving at the same speed of a flow of laminar air facing the subject. Overall, the coefficient of proportionality between drag and velocity squared (Aeff) was smaller during running than walking. During running Aeff decreased progressively with increasing average velocity up to an apparently constant, velocity independent value, similar to that predicted in the literature using indirect methods. A predictive equation to estimate drag as a function of the speed and the height of the running subject is provided.

The phase shift between potential and kinetic energy in human walking.

It is known that mechanical work to sustain walking is reduced, owing to a transfer of gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy, as in a pendulum. The factors affecting this transfer are unclear. In particular, the phase relationship between potential and kinetic energy curves of the center of mass is not known. In this study, we measured this relationship. The normalized time intervals α, between the maximum kinetic energy in the sagittal plane (Ek) and the minimum gravitational potential energy (Ep), and ß, between the minimum Ek and the maximum Ep, were measured during walking at various speeds (0.5-2.5 m s-1). In our group of subjects, α=ß at 1.6 m s-1, indicating that, at this speed, the time difference between Ep and Ek extremes is the same at the top and the bottom of the trajectory of the center of mass. It turns out that, at the same speed, the work done to lift the center of mass equals the work to accelerate it forwards, the Ep-Ek energy transfer approaches a maximum and the mass-specific external work per unit distance approaches a minimum.

Running, hopping and trotting: tuning step frequency to the resonant frequency of the bouncing system favors larger animals.

A long-lasting challenge in comparative physiology is to understand why the efficiency of the mechanical work done to maintain locomotion increases with body mass. It has been suggested that this is due to a more elastic step in larger animals. Here, we show in running, hopping and trotting animals, and in human running during growth, that the resonant frequency of the bouncing system decreases with increasing body mass and is, surprisingly, independent of species or gait. Step frequency roughly equals the resonant frequency in trotting and running, whereas it is about half the resonant frequency in hopping. The energy loss by elastic hysteresis during loading and unloading the bouncing system from its equilibrium position decreases with increasing body mass. Similarity to a symmetrical bounce increases with increasing body mass and, for a given body mass, seems to be maximal in hopping, intermediate in trotting and minimal in running. We conclude that: (1) tuning step frequency to the resonant frequency of the bouncing system coincides with a lower hysteresis loss in larger, more-compliant animals; (2) the mechanism of gait per se affects similarity with a symmetrical bounce, independent of hysteresis; and (3) the greater efficiency in larger animals may be due, at least in part, to a lower hysteresis loss.

Running humans attain optimal elastic bounce in their teens.

In an ideal elastic bounce of the body, the time during which mechanical energy is released during the push equals the time during which mechanical energy is absorbed during the brake, and the maximal upward velocity attained by the center of mass equals the maximal downward velocity. Deviations from this ideal model, prolonged push duration and lower upward velocity, have found to be greater in older than in younger adult humans. However it is not known how similarity to the elastic bounce changes during growth and whether an optimal elastic bounce is attained at some age. Here we show that similarity with the elastic bounce is minimal at 2 years and increases with age attaining a maximum at 13-16 years, concomitant with a mirror sixfold decrease of the impact deceleration peak following collision of the foot with the ground. These trends slowly reverse during the course of the lifespan.

The two asymmetries of the bouncing step.

The increase of the push on the ground with increasing running speed improves the "elastic" rebound of the body by privileging the role of tendons relative to muscle within muscle-tendon units.