Originally Posted by
chiggy
I'm not claiming any benefits of the low cadence high torque drills, just like discussing this type of stuff.
Plyo drills may not be good comparison, but not for the reason you state. Jumping higher in the air is anti-running. Running coaches work to minimize vertical movement as much as possible since it is wasted energy.
Vertical oscillation is minimal at all speeds, does not change much with running velocity and in many cases decreases. Watch how level their heads stay in these videos. (100m dash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH-3cHxXAK0 vs 10k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvqAIl_Ydiw ) Increasing stride length (at a constant cadence) is simply a byproduct of increasing velocity while maintaining a minimal vertical movement. A bouncy runner is an inefficient runner and a common problem in untrained folks.
The plyos are for fiber recruitment, which then have to be trained for endurance. Primary benefits for endurance runners are
not maximum force production. We're talking high end anaerobic capacity for short duration where aerobic power is just too weak, like the final sprint or a hilly 5k. It's a small tool for any highly trained person trying to squeeze out those last few seconds. Untrained runners shouldn't' worry about it.
One benefit that is not applicable is increases in mechanical efficiency (form, elastic energy return, etc. ).
Maybe I shouldn't be talking about running since that is something I don't know much about. It does seem like the up and down movement is to be minimized.
I did find this interesting article by Andy Coggan:
Why we don't use strength-endurance anymore ? aboc Cycle Coaching
It seems like low cadence drills are used in cycling also, but the experts disagree on the benefits. Coggan's view is that they don't add much to cycling performance. Forces applied during these drills are at most 50% of 1 rep max, in the gym this is considered a warmup. He also writes about the fiber recruitment and claims that even without these drills, athletes will start transforming fast twitch into slow twitch muscles and he questions if these drills actually use the fast twitch muscles enough to be able to make a difference.