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About the Cover
Cover:
During the double contact period of walking (DC), when both feet are on the ground, the back foot is pushing forwards while the front foot is simultaneously pushing backwards. Consequently, the back leg does positive work on the front leg that is not measured by any of the standard methods of determining the muscular work of locomotion. Bastien, Heglund and Schepens have measured this work as a function of age (size) and walking speed in children and adults (see pp. 2967-2978) and found that the mass-specific work is independent of size and attains a maximum at intermediate walking speeds that increase with size. The fact that this work is maximal at the same speed that the energy cost of walking is minimal suggests that this futile work is not a major factor in determining the cost, although it will raise the peak efficiency in adults; the effect on the total work and efficiency in children remains to be seen.
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