Running power: lab based vs. portable devices measurements and its relationship with aerobic power

In recent years, different companies have developed devices that estimate “running power”. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of running speed on aerobic and running powers measured using force plates and by different devices. The second objective is to evaluate the relationship between aerobic power and running powers measured using force plates and by different devices. We enrolled 11 subjects in the study, they performed 5-min running trials at 2.22, 2.78, 3.33, 3.89 and 4.44 m/s respectively on a force-measuring treadmill while we collected metabolic data. We calculated running power as the dot product of ground reaction force and velocity of the centre of mass and compared it to the running power estimates of three devices: Skillrun (Technogym), Stryd Summit Powermeter (Stryd) and Garmin HRM-Run (Garmin). We found statistically significant linear correlations with running powers measured by all devices and running speed. Although absolute running power measurements were different among devices, an increase of 1 m/s in running speed translated to an increase of 0.944 W/kg in running power (p < 0.001). We found statistically significant linear correlations with running powers measured by all devices and aerobic power, in particular: as aerobic power increases by 1 W/kg, running power increases by 0.218 W/kg for all devices (p < 0.001). For level treadmill running, across speeds, running power measured by commercially available devices reflects force-based measurements and it can be a valuable metric, providing quasi real-time feedback during training sessions and competitions. Highlights We evaluated the effect of running speed on aerobic and running powers measured using force plates and by different devices. We also compared the relationship between aerobic power and running powers measured using force plates and by different devices. We found statistically significant linear correlations with running powers measured by all devices and aerobic power, in particular: as aerobic power increases by 1 W/kg, running power increases by 0.218 W/kg for all devices. For level treadmill running, across speeds, running power measured by commercially available devices reflects force-based measurements and it can be a valuable metric, providing quasi real-time feedback during training sessions and competitions.