We all know that running shoes and body weight can affect athletic performance, and many people have researched and discussed this topic. Let's take a look at the latest research results from the highly regarded biomechanics laboratory at the University of Colorado.
How much does weight really affect our running?
First, this study had to employ a little trickery.
Because the test results are only valuable if the subjects are unaware of the conditions, Dr. Hoogkamer enlisted the help of U.S. Olympic steeplechase athlete Shalaya for the study.
Shalaya has an athletic background and is also pursuing a master's degree in psychology at the University of Colorado, so she could help the doctor in 'fooling' the participants.
Dr. Hoogkamer, Shalaya, and some colleagues began the experiment. The subjects were 18 male runners who could complete a 5K in under 20 minutes. They were given the same standard 151-gram Nike Zoom Streak 5 running shoes for the test. But they were only 'identical' in appearance.
The doctor had made some modifications to these shoes. Some had an extra 100 grams sewn into the tongue, while others had 300 grams added to the sole. However, the participants would definitely notice this when putting on the shoes, so the doctor and his colleagues personally put the shoes on the participants and tied the laces.
The 'deception plan' was fairly successful; only one out of the 18 participants noticed.
(You can't blame them for being sensitive. A racing shoe that weighs 400 grams? Do you think I'm stupid? But that said, the other 17 participants seem...)
The experiment began, and the subjects completed a 3000-meter run on the indoor track at the University of Colorado. Each person ran three times (not on the same day), wearing the standard weight shoes, shoes with an additional 100 grams, and shoes with an additional 300 grams.
By statistically analyzing the time taken, the conclusion was drawn: every100grams of shoe weight affects1%of athletic performance.
This conclusion is very close to the viewpoints of some previous related papers, but there were very few 'deception' experiments before. This is the first test on the topic of 'weight affecting athletic performance' conducted without the subjects' knowledge.
Many popular training running shoes weigh around 250 grams, while racing shoes weigh around 150 grams.
According to the above conclusion, theoretically, wearing lightweight racing shoes in a competition will increase your athletic performance by 1%.Specifically, for a half marathon time ofa half marathon time of, you could run it in1:58:45.
Many runners believe that losing some weight can improve their marathon performance. But how much exactly? Dr. Hoogkamer explains that this is a complex calculation, not just about weight but also the proportion of muscle to fat.
If you are already at an optimal body composition, deliberately losing weight can be counterproductive, causing the loss of key muscles and reducing athletic performance.
This means that only runners with excess weight can improve their performance by losing weight. For example, a 90-kilogram man could theoretically improve his performance by 5% if he loses 4.5 kilograms (5% of his body weight).Specifically,2:002:00could be improved to1:54
.
As a physics enthusiast, I found that 100 grams of running shoe weight and several kilograms of body weight have the same impact. This is because, during running, the weight of the shoes consumes a bit of your energy with each step, while most of your body weight is carried by your legs and feet.
However, the weight of running shoes is relatively limited. If your shoes can't get any lighter, and if you started with lightweight shoes, there's basically no room for improvement.
In comparison, reasonably reducing body weight will improve your running performance more.
So, you should know what to do, right?