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Comparison of running and cycling economy in runners, cyclists, and triathletes

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Abstract

Purpose

Exercise economy is one of the main physiological factors determining performance in endurance sports. Running economy (RE) can be improved with running-specific training, while the improvement of cycling economy (CE) with cycling-specific training is controversial. We investigated whether exercise economy reflects sport-specific skills/adaptations or is determined by overall physiological factors.

Methods

We compared RE and CE in 10 runners, 9 cyclists and 9 triathletes for running at 12 km/h and cycling at 200 W. Gross rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production were collected and used to calculate gross metabolic rate in watts for both running and cycling.

Results

Runners had better RE than cyclists (917 ± 107 W vs. 1111 ± 159 W) (p < 0.01). Triathletes had intermediate RE values (1004 ± 98 W) not different from runners or cyclists. CE was not different (p = 0.20) between the three groups (runners: 945 ± 60 W; cyclists: 982 ± 44 W; triathletes: 979 ± 54 W).

Conclusion

RE can be enhanced with running-specific training, but CE is independent of cycling-specific training.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

CE:

Cycling economy

RE:

Running economy

RER:

Respiratory exchange ratio

RPM:

Revolutions per minute

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Acknowledgements

We thank Asher Straw for his help setting up the bicycle ergometer and the power-measuring pedals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Locomotion Lab, Integrative Physiology Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA

    Wannes Swinnen, Shalaya Kipp & Rodger Kram

  2. Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopaedics, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Wannes Swinnen

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  1. Wannes Swinnen
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  2. Shalaya Kipp
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  3. Rodger Kram
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Contributions

WS and RK conceived and designed the experiment. WS and SK conducted the experiments. WS processed the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors interpreted and discussed the results. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wannes Swinnen.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Communicated by Jean-René Lacour.

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Swinnen, W., Kipp, S. & Kram, R. Comparison of running and cycling economy in runners, cyclists, and triathletes. Eur J Appl Physiol 118, 1331–1338 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3865-4

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