Metabolic cost of level, uphill, and downhill running in highly cushioned shoes with carbon-fiber plates.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Compared to conventional racing shoes, Nike Vaporfly 4% running shoes reduce the metabolic cost of level treadmill running by 4%. The reduction is attributed to their lightweight, highly compliant, and resilient midsole foam and a midsole-embedded curved carbon-fiber plate. We investigated whether these shoes also could reduce the metabolic cost of moderate uphill (+3°) and downhill (-3°) grades. We tested the null hypothesis that, compared to conventional racing shoes, highly cushioned shoes with carbon-fiber plates would impart the same ∼4% metabolic power (W/kg) savings during uphill and downhill running as they do during level running.

Methods

After familiarization, 16 competitive male runners performed six 5-min trials (2 shoes × 3 grades) in 2 Nike marathon

SUBMITTER: Whiting CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9189710 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature