Title: How much do track spikes improve times in the sprints? - Freelap USA
Headings: How much do track spikes improve times in the sprints?
How much do track spikes improve times in the sprints?
Anatomy of a Track Spike
Measuring Spikes and Sprinting Speed
What Sport Science Discovered with Track Spikes and Speed
The Spike Test Results
How to pick the right pair of spikes
References

Content: How do we test the effectiveness of Track spikes in sprinting? Measuring Spikes and Sprinting Speed
Many times the world speed or faster come to mind when selecting a pair of track spikes, but the problem is that speed is not specific enough to illustrate how track spikes work. Speed can meet maximal speed or acceleration, and spikes have been tested in research to see how they interact with our legs and the ground with different tools in sport science. Electromyography can share how muscles are activated while sprinting. force plates can illustrate how we put power into the ground, and motion capture can show how our bodies move by measuring joint angles and other kinematic data. While those aforementioned technologies are good at explaining why we may be benefiting from spikes, most athletes just want to know one thing. How much faster will I run? A race like the 100m will have several phases where track spikes may share their impact, but track spikes mainly help with the early few steps out of the blocks. During the initial departure out of the stationary position of either a three point start in football combines or block starts in track and field, a lot of forces are going backwards in order to go forwards. Anyone slipping on wet grass during acceleration will appreciate cleats over a smooth soled sneaker, and this is where most of the contributions are in the actual spikes.