does anyone have any links to studies done on the different between VO2 maxes of sprinters and long distance and the diference in lactic acid threshold.
i know that there is a distance and i have read a number of training articles on the subject, however, now i can not seem to find them when i need them.
any help would be much appreciated.
and yes obviously i know there will be a difference, but i want to know how much. i remember reading several articles stating that sprinters have higher VO2 maxes and lactic acid thresholds then long distance runners, but i need the concrete studies.
Oyono-Enguelle, S., Heitz, A., Marbach, J., Ott, C., Gartner, M., Pape, A. and Vollmer, C.J. (1990). Blood lactate during constant-load exercise at aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 60, 321-330.
I think this study has some 400 m runners, although I don’t remember exact details.
It might difficult to find such data for sprinters, as there is little benefit of such measures in these events; I imagine it would be even more difficult to find direct comparisons between (long) distance runners and sprinters. You might have to take data from separate studies.
Hope it helps a bit…
About your last sentence, how have you come to this conclusion?
well im assuming that your talking about sprinters having higher VO2 maxes and high lactic acid thresholds.
Part of my rationale is from the articles i have read, the other part is due to experimentation and beliefs. Lets compare 400 meter sprinters to 2 mile runners, by the time a race is done, chances are the 400 meter sprinter will be much more tired and have a much higher oxygen deficit then the 2 mile runner. its simply the nature of the beast, they are sprinting for roughly 50 seconds. at the most a long distance runner may sprint for the last 50 to 200 meters of the race.
The long distance runner will not come close to the amount of lactic acid in the sprinters body, infact the 400 meter sprint is a true test of the lactic acid system, if a 2 miler tried to run the same speed for 8 laps what the 400 meter sprinter has to run for 1 they would never be able to finish the 2nd or 3rd lap due to the obscene amounts of lactic acid in their bodies.
It would stand to reason that if the lactic acid is so high then they woudl need an equally high amount of oxygen to help facilitate the diffusion and reuptake of the chemical by products of such an intense effort.
then comes the form break down, it is possible to maintin perfect form while running a 400 or even an 800, however to run a 2 miler or longer with perfect form is unheard of especially the longer you go into the race. at some point your form will break down in a long run, it is inevitable. But with sprint training you can do back to back 100’s or even 50’s with perfect form every time. and since once form goes your body seeks to compensate its a safe bet to say that when it compensates too many times then injuries will occur.
please by all share your feelings and opinions, im not one of those dense SC’s who thinks they are always right.