#5) ECONOMY OF MOTION
“The most beautiful motion is that which accomplishes the greatest results with the least effort” - Plato
Optimizing Mechanical Efficiency, Aka Economy
Economy links your sustainable oxygen (VO2) consumption rate (e.g., metabolic) to your performance velocity (e.g., speed & power). Your Economy can be determined using metabolic testing to find your actual VO2 L/min (or calorie expenditure rate) at various threshold levels against your calculated VO2 based on the power or velocity output (e.g., "external load") you achieved at each threshold.
Watch this video on the importance of understanding you economy of motion:
Benefits
The more efficient you become at moving the body in the desired direction or required movement patterns, the higher the level of output you can sustain for a longer period of time.
Training Strategies to improve Economy
Spending more time on the road (for cyclists and runners), in the water (for swimmers), or on the water (for paddlers) will optimize the economy of your motion—especially when proper form is practiced and maintained.
To improve motion in your activities and optimize your form, workouts often need to include various exercise drills. These drills work to enhance cadence, body position, and the sequence or synchronization of muscle contractions to optimize your economy.
Strength training can also improve cycling, running, and climbing economy. Consider Max Strength (MS), then Power Strength (PS), and Strength Power Endurance (SPE) training phases, including plyometric training, to optimize your power, muscle efficiency, and coordination.
Reasons to Consider Avoiding too much Economy
Because an improved economy enhances your ability to perform more work using less oxygen, and since increased O2 consumption is linked to increased calorie expenditure, it's important to keep in mind that you'll need to run, hike, or bike faster to burn the same amount of calories. The more efficient our movement becomes, the fewer calories we burn at any given work rate (speed, power, etc.). Therefore, for those exercising to lose weight, it's recommended to mix up your exercise modes to prevent the body from becoming too accustomed to one movement pattern. Thus, changing exercises and avoiding excessive repetition of same exercises is recommended to maximize calorie burn.
Techniques and Drills to optimize running and cycling economy
For a deeper look at running economy check out the drills and strategies in the Lab Note below on…
For a drill down into cycling economy check out this Lab Note on…
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