Fitness Gear: Is Your Pace Too Fast for Running?

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Friday, October 24, 2008

If you are a runner then you will want to know about a new study that shows that your body can tell you whether your pace is too slow or to fast. According to a study that was published in the Journal of Human Evolution, your body will help you determine what distance you can cover at your ultimate speed.

According to the study everyone has a certain speed in which their body has maximum performance. The information from this study actually throws out the idea that you have the same metabolic rate, whether you run or sprint. Instead, the study shows that your metabolic rate changes as you change your speed.

Although the study showed that different people will have different speeds, they were able to isolate the premise that women ran most efficiently at about 6.5 miles per hour and men ran at 8.3 miles per hour for peak efficiency. They did say that the discrepancy between men and women could have to do with leg length and body size. The also found that the taller the runner the faster their optimum speed.

Another interesting point about this study was that it could open up information about our ancestors and their body types. This could also shed light on whether they were good runners or not. Some of the researchers also felt that this could be good information to study gaits since humans walk better than they run.

We wondered whether they took into consideration how fit an individual was because this seems that it would also have a bearing on optimum speed. It seems that if someone is eating nutritionally and eating a lot of super foods that they would be in a better position to run faster.

Whenever you try any fitness program remember to combine it with good nutrition. Some people choose to use a protein supplement to make sure that they are getting all of their vitamins and minerals each day. This is certainly a good option if you want to run at your optimal speed. It will be interesting to see if there are more studies done in this area.

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