Human Gait Optimized for Efficiency
28th December 2013
Unless you’re John Travolta, of course.
From previous experiments done on treadmills, scientists know that people consistently transition between walking and running when they are traveling 2 to 3 meters per second. The reason it feels “natural” to change gaits at that speed is because your body and brain automatically try to minimize the amount of energy you have to expend getting from place to place. Below about 2.3 m/s, walking requires less energy. Above it, it takes less energy to run.