spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online June 6, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 2333-2346 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01661
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cavagna, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Willems, P. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cavagna, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Willems, P. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Effect of an increase in gravity on the power output and the rebound of the body in human running

G. A. Cavagna1,*, N. C. Heglund2 and P. A. Willems2

1 Istituto di Fisiologia Umana, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
2 Unité de Physiologie et Biomécanique de la Locomotion, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: giovanni.cavagna{at}unimi.it)

Accepted 25 April 2005

The effect of an increase in gravity on the mechanics of running has been studied by using a force platform fixed to the floor of an aircraft undergoing flight profiles, resulting in a simulated gravity of 1.3 g. The power spent to maintain the motion of the centre of mass of the body is ~1.3 times greater than on Earth, due to a similar increase of both the power spent against gravity and to sustain the forward speed changes. This indicates that the average vertical displacement per unit distance and the average direction of the push are unchanged. The increase in power is mainly due to an increase in step frequency rather than to an increase in the work done at each step. The increase in step frequency in turn is mainly due to a decreased duration of the effective aerial phase (when the vertical force is less than body weight), rather than an increase in the stiffness of the bouncing system. The maximal speed where step frequency can match the resonant frequency of the bouncing system is increased by ~5 km h–1 at 1.3 g. These results suggest a similar running mechanics at higher gravity, maintained at the expense of greater energy expenditure.

Key words: locomotion, running, gravity, human


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
G.A Cavagna, M.A Legramandi, and L.A Peyre-Tartaruga
Old men running: mechanical work and elastic bounce
Proc R Soc B, February 22, 2008; 275(1633): 411 - 418.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2005