Larger/heavier (often slower), animals tend to move/walk/run with staighter legs.
Smaller/lighter types tend to
move/walk/run with a more “angular” leg.
For me this cuases a slight dilema.
We are encouraged not to “sit” when we run, rather to run with higher hips. If we run with higher hips, aren’t our legs going to be less angular and in a straighter position?
I know, i’m probably missing some point that most others know the answer to, or otherwise I’m probably asking the wrong question.
Either way, cure this dilema for me with your appreciated feedback. To anyone in the forum.
Also, don’t most animals have hind legs that bend the opposite direction as ours? Maybe I’m simplifying, but I was told that had huge ramifications in terms of generation of force - anyone with knowledge confirm or refute please.:mrt:
Funny you bring up the animals. You all ever wonder how a dog or cat or any animal for that matter can be sitting for hours and then at the drop of a dime get up and sprint, without pullin anything.
Kyle check your email after school.
It’s G-14 Classified
The point about the straight-leg verses bent leg seem interesting. At first glance, i would say that the animal’s difference in structure dictates a different gate. I might be mistaken (i am a mech engin major, not a Bio engin), but i think that the differences in structure between humans and animals makes this case tenuous at best. We have a particular leg structure design which makes trying to run according to a different leg structure futile.
On a side note, Kyle, I don’t mean to sound condescending, but i would be careful to knock different methodologies of looking at a particular problem. The heart of good engineering (and problem solving in general) is to keep an open mind. Until every thought is examined, one can never be sure if it could work. Besides, if the thought isn’t correct in one case, it could bring insight to other ideas. Looking to animals for human running mechanics isn’t a bad idea. I would argue that most of human invention is based off of observing animals and the enviroment. Please don’t mock people who give ideas. Instead suggest how an idea could be right or wrong given certain condition. I am sorry for ranting and preaching about this, but i have been on a lot of great forums that died due to ad hominin flame wars and this forum is already too good for that fate.
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“If a rigid body doesn’t fall in a forest, do we have to do an equilibrium problem?” -Anonymous after a statics class
We’ve got some really good stuff in the archives on this subject, but sadly I can’t remember the heading. Maybe it’s under hip height. Help from the computer literate would be appreciated.
Funny you bring up the animals. You all ever wonder how a dog or cat or any animal for that matter can be sitting for hours and then at the drop of a dime get up and sprint, without pullin anything.
I used to be able to do the same thing. i would be sitting around on the couch and then i would go race someone a get a pb w/ out a warmup. why is this?
Originally posted by dcw23
fight or flight response will take care of the warmup.
DCW, thats what I was waiting to hear.
Also, Goose, I think the reason they walk with straighter legs is because of energy conservation. Imagine an elephant who weighs however many tons, walking with it’s legs bent all the time. Imagine the strength needed(eccentric). Since your avg hippo or Rhino, is mostly body, and hardly any bone(ratio), they need all the strength they can get. Since they don’t have the bone structure for it. Cuz relatively speaking, your common house cat is way stronger and way more powerful than a rhino hippo, etc. A cat is pretty much all bone, and I don’t mean that as saying they’re skinny. Just from ratio point of view. Also since most big animals don’t move very fast that often, they don’t don’t need the bent leg(spring) that a smaller animal might need.
Humans aren’t made to go fast. You all are a relatively slow species. :borg:
Do faster human runners(Montgommery, Johnson, Green, Bailey, Lewis, Borsov) run with a v.slightly more angular gait than slower runners(Pee wee herman, the slowest guy at your local track, the long distance runner, the local jogger, Luciano Pavarotti, Whitney Houston)?
Even though we have the same bones, is a slower runners two limbed leg slightly straighter when foot is directly below center of mass or not?
I don’t know for sure, but I doubt it. Mo seems to strike with a very straight leg in contrast to Lewis for example. I would think Montgomery would have a relatively bent leg from watching his technique as he relies heavily on cadence.
It tends to be the less proficient sprinters often ‘sit’ a little, meaning their legs are more bent than the elite in my opinion. I think this could be an interesting discussion.
