Mij
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Abstract
Introduction:
This study investigated metabolic, neuromuscular, and gait responses to cadence manipulation at gas exchange threshold (GET) speed in 15 male Tier 2 middle- and long-distance runners.
Methods:
Participants completed five 5-min treadmill bouts at 90%, 95%, 100%, 105%, and 110% of baseline cadence (BC); BC was tested first and the other conditions were randomized. Analyses used corrected repeated-measures ANOVAs, family-adjusted paired contrasts, and repeated-measures correlations.
Results:
Relative to BC, oxygen uptake (VO2) increased at 90% BC by 4.51 mL·kg–1·min–1 (simultaneous 95% CI 1.82–7.19; adjusted p < 0.001) and at 95% BC by 2.58 mL·kg–1·min–1 (0.47–4.69; adjusted p = 0.010); oxygen and energy costs were also significantly higher at both cadences. Heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, and estimated carbohydrate contribution increased at 90%, 95%, and 110% BC (all adjusted p ≤ 0.029). At 90% BC, ground contact time increased by 31.33 ms and hip and knee range of motion increased by 2.94° and 3.60°, respectively (all adjusted p < 0.001). At 110% BC, contact time decreased by 24.67 ms (adjusted p = 0.019) and knee range of motion decreased by 6.23° (adjusted p = 0.008), without a significant reduction in oxygen or energy cost. No surface electromyography outcome passed the primary corrected omnibus test, but gluteus maximus root-mean-square amplitude correlated positively with VO2 within participants (r_rm = 0.454, 95% CI 0.242–0.618, q = 0.006). The exploratory cadence–VO2 curve was convex, with a fitted minimum near 101.35% BC.
Discussion:
These findings identify higher metabolic costs below preferred cadence and distinct physiological and kinematic responses at higher cadence. They support evaluating cadence through both metabolic and biomechanical outcomes; the fixed-first BC design limits causal identification of an optimum.
STUDY
Introduction:
This study investigated metabolic, neuromuscular, and gait responses to cadence manipulation at gas exchange threshold (GET) speed in 15 male Tier 2 middle- and long-distance runners.
Methods:
Participants completed five 5-min treadmill bouts at 90%, 95%, 100%, 105%, and 110% of baseline cadence (BC); BC was tested first and the other conditions were randomized. Analyses used corrected repeated-measures ANOVAs, family-adjusted paired contrasts, and repeated-measures correlations.
Results:
Relative to BC, oxygen uptake (VO2) increased at 90% BC by 4.51 mL·kg–1·min–1 (simultaneous 95% CI 1.82–7.19; adjusted p < 0.001) and at 95% BC by 2.58 mL·kg–1·min–1 (0.47–4.69; adjusted p = 0.010); oxygen and energy costs were also significantly higher at both cadences. Heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, and estimated carbohydrate contribution increased at 90%, 95%, and 110% BC (all adjusted p ≤ 0.029). At 90% BC, ground contact time increased by 31.33 ms and hip and knee range of motion increased by 2.94° and 3.60°, respectively (all adjusted p < 0.001). At 110% BC, contact time decreased by 24.67 ms (adjusted p = 0.019) and knee range of motion decreased by 6.23° (adjusted p = 0.008), without a significant reduction in oxygen or energy cost. No surface electromyography outcome passed the primary corrected omnibus test, but gluteus maximus root-mean-square amplitude correlated positively with VO2 within participants (r_rm = 0.454, 95% CI 0.242–0.618, q = 0.006). The exploratory cadence–VO2 curve was convex, with a fitted minimum near 101.35% BC.
Discussion:
These findings identify higher metabolic costs below preferred cadence and distinct physiological and kinematic responses at higher cadence. They support evaluating cadence through both metabolic and biomechanical outcomes; the fixed-first BC design limits causal identification of an optimum.
STUDY