Thigh Muscularity and Sprinting Performance of National-Level Long-Distance Runners.

Ryosuke Ando,Fumiya Tanji,Yasuhiro Suzuki,Ryo Yamanaka,Tatsuaki Ikeda,Hayato Ohnuma

doi:10.2478/hukin-2022-0006

Abstract

Long-distance runners require aerobic capacity as well as sprinting ability for superior performance; however, the factors which determine the sprinting ability of long-distance runners remain undetermined. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to examine the association between thigh muscle size and sprinting ability in national-level male long-distance runners. Nineteen male long-distance runners with 5000 m personal-best times of 13:12.63–14:14.87 participated in this study, and transaxial images of their right thighs were collected using magnetic resonance imaging. The cross-sectional areas of the quadriceps femoris, hamstrings, and adductor muscles were calculated from the transaxial images at 30%, 50%, and 70% of the distance from the greater trochanter to the lower edge of the femur; these areas were normalized by body mass. Sprint times for 100 m and 400 m were recorded on an all-weather track. The results revealed positive correlations between the normalized cross-sectional areas of the quadriceps femoris at 50% and 70% of the thigh length and the 100 m (r = 0.666, p = 0.002 and r = 0.531, p = 0.019, respectively) and 400 m sprint times (r = 0.769, p < 0.001 and r = 0.580, p = 0.009, respectively); hence, the larger the quadriceps, the slower the sprint speed. However, no association was found between the normalized cross-sectional areas of the hamstrings or adductor muscles and sprinting performance. Therefore, running motions which activate the quadriceps femoris much more than the hamstrings and adductor muscles should be avoided by national-level long-distance runners.

Highlights

It was recently suggested that sprinting ability, in addition to maximal oxygen uptake and running economy, is important in long-distance running performance
There were significant correlations between the normalized cross-sectional area (CSA) of the quadriceps femoris (QF) at the 50% and 70% regions and the 100 m and 400 m sprint times, whereas there was no significant correlation between the CSA at 30% and the sprint times
The present study examined the relationships between the CSAs of individual thigh muscles and sprinting performance, with the main findings being that there were positive correlations between the CSAs of the QF and the 100 m and 400 m sprint times of the national-level long-distance runners, whereas the CSAs of the hamstring muscles (HM) and AD were not significantly correlated with sprint performance

Summary

Introduction

It was recently suggested that sprinting ability, in addition to maximal oxygen uptake and running economy, is important in long-distance running performance. Paavolainen et al (1999) suggested that the enhancement of 20 m sprinting ability through nine weeks of explosivetype strength training improved the running velocity at maximal anaerobic capacity as well as 5 km times. The reasons for the association between sprinting ability and long-distance running performance could be that runners who run fast possess superior running economy at high speeds. Li et al (2019) reported that training which combines heavy resistance and plyometric exercise can improve 50 m sprint times and highspeed running economy in well-trained longdistance runners. Since sprinting ability is related to stretch-shortening cycle exercise performance (Barr and Nolte, 2011; Kale et al, 2009; Schuster and Jones, 2016), distance runners who have a

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