Recent research out of Dr. Peter Weyand’s lab at SMU?has validated what many on ELITETRACK have thought for some time and significantly added to our understanding of what separates elite from sub-elite sprinters. This research suggests that the time course of the force application to the ground and the direction of that force is as important as the magnitude of the force application. When Dr. Weyand’s initial research on the importance of mass specific force (see the seminal research paper here) for sprint speed was released it prompted much debate and controversy. Many believed that because the research clearly indicated that ground contact forces relative to body mass were the determining factor in sprint performance that sprint technique didn’t matter. In fact, the longest and most hotly debated forum thread in ELITETRACK history was on this very topic. You can check that out HERE.…it’s well worth a read. This latest research has somewhat unified?the findings?of Dr. Ralph Mann and Dr. Weyand in?a way that is sensible and sane. In response, Ken Jakalsi of the BearPowered forum created this hilarious video to quiet all the naysayers who’ve remained willfully ignorant all these years.
