Help me make great running mixes
March 14, 2010 4:14 AM Subscribe
How many steps per minute does it take for the average human male to run 5 kilometers in 20 minutes?
I want to make mixes of music to match my runs (and I want to make them publicly available, hence the average part). I need to figure out how many beats per minute the music needs to be.
Can you help me find the BPM for, say, 5k in 20 minutes and 10k in 50 minutes?
I want to make mixes of music to match my runs (and I want to make them publicly available, hence the average part). I need to figure out how many beats per minute the music needs to be.
Can you help me find the BPM for, say, 5k in 20 minutes and 10k in 50 minutes?
It all comes down to stride length. First Google hit on 'male running stride length' here:
Exercise physiologists Jack Daniels, PhD monitored the stride rate, stride lengths of the athletes in the 1984 Olympic track and field competitions. It was found that competitors in the shorter distances had longer stride lengths. Female stride lengths varied form 4 feet 10 inches in the marathon to 6 feet 8 inches for the 800 metres. Male stride length was 6 feet 2 inches during the 10 kilometre race to just over 7 feet 9 inches in the 800 metres.
5K in 20 minutes is about 820 feet per minute. If you use six feet as your stride length, that's 136 2/3 steps per minute.
posted by jon1270 at 4:38 AM on March 14, 2010
Exercise physiologists Jack Daniels, PhD monitored the stride rate, stride lengths of the athletes in the 1984 Olympic track and field competitions. It was found that competitors in the shorter distances had longer stride lengths. Female stride lengths varied form 4 feet 10 inches in the marathon to 6 feet 8 inches for the 800 metres. Male stride length was 6 feet 2 inches during the 10 kilometre race to just over 7 feet 9 inches in the 800 metres.
5K in 20 minutes is about 820 feet per minute. If you use six feet as your stride length, that's 136 2/3 steps per minute.
posted by jon1270 at 4:38 AM on March 14, 2010
I don't think the BPM is that critical, as long as it is at least as fast as the runner's pace. I run with all sorts of music (all high-tempo) and end up unconsciously timing my run to the music, but not every beat, just to the rhythm. It's kind of the same process that leads runners who run side-by-side to naturally synch their strides. Also, I work hard to keep my cadence consistent, but adjust my stride length to the conditions - up-hill I shorten my stride length to whatever it takes to let me keep running, for example. Therefore, I don't think working out music to exactly match the number of strides to distance rather than time will work.
posted by dg at 5:03 AM on March 14, 2010
posted by dg at 5:03 AM on March 14, 2010
I'm led to believe that you should keep your foot-strike tempo (cadence? or is that just for cyclists?) at around 90-100 (per foot, so 180-200 foot strikes per minute) so music that's in those ranges should work for pretty much any running speed.
To run faster, you keep your cadence the same, but lean forward more so that your stride length is a bit longer. That is, you adjust stride length, not steps-per-minute.
posted by ctmf at 5:03 AM on March 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
To run faster, you keep your cadence the same, but lean forward more so that your stride length is a bit longer. That is, you adjust stride length, not steps-per-minute.
posted by ctmf at 5:03 AM on March 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've really liked the podrunner podcasts for getting the right BPMs for my tempo.
posted by azlondon at 6:36 AM on March 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by azlondon at 6:36 AM on March 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
agree - around 90 left footstrikes is generally accepted as the most efficient cadence for most runners. It's stride length that is going to matter more though.
posted by smalls at 8:50 AM on March 14, 2010
posted by smalls at 8:50 AM on March 14, 2010
Response by poster: Wow, really? Do all runners run at 90 BPM? Even Marathon runners? Thanks for your answers, guys.
posted by sveskemus at 9:58 AM on March 14, 2010
posted by sveskemus at 9:58 AM on March 14, 2010
Not everybody runs at 90 - I wouldn't get to fixated on a specific number, here - but successful, long-term runners all typically have a style that could be described as high cadence, small stride; aka around 90-110 BPM.
The reason for this is partly efficiency (longer strides generally mean your foot is landing in front of your centre of gravity, which produces a braking effect. You also tend to go up and down a bit more, which is also wasted movement) - and partly to reduce injury (that braking effect is hard on your body, not to mention bigger steps = more up and down = typically harder hitting of pavement/track/etc = less control, so on and so forth).
Successful long term running should be more of a "patter" than a thud or clip-clop.
posted by smoke at 3:36 PM on March 14, 2010
The reason for this is partly efficiency (longer strides generally mean your foot is landing in front of your centre of gravity, which produces a braking effect. You also tend to go up and down a bit more, which is also wasted movement) - and partly to reduce injury (that braking effect is hard on your body, not to mention bigger steps = more up and down = typically harder hitting of pavement/track/etc = less control, so on and so forth).
Successful long term running should be more of a "patter" than a thud or clip-clop.
posted by smoke at 3:36 PM on March 14, 2010
Yea, I have recently started running with a coach and the first thing he said was that I should try and get my cadence up to 180 strikes/minute. This should be steady no matter what distance I am running (I'm training towards a half marathon). (It's pretty interesting to try running on a treadmill and varying the speed without varying your cadence).
I'm actually trying to find music to run to, so if you start making your mixes i'd love to check them out :)
posted by jacalata at 5:15 PM on March 14, 2010
I'm actually trying to find music to run to, so if you start making your mixes i'd love to check them out :)
posted by jacalata at 5:15 PM on March 14, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Beginner runners usually have longer, bouncier strides.
I've heard from multiple sources that a good target for strides per minute is 180, which calls for relatively short, flat [ie, non bouncy] strides. I don't know how many recreational runners approach that (I would term 5k in 20 minutes to be on the fit side of recreational).
posted by kid A at 4:32 AM on March 14, 2010