Use of the STRYD® Power Meter and Its Metrics in Trained Runners: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The STRYD® power meter has been used by runners and running coaches in recent years. The data it provides may offer useful information for training monitoring and performance assessment. Accordingly, this systematic review identifies and analyzes the use of the main parameters provided by the STRYD® power meter in the scientific literature. The PRISMA guidelines were used to identify relevant studies. The search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar. In total, 142 studies were identified. After removing duplicates and assessing the eligibility of the abstracts, 29 studies were included in the systematic review. Eight of the main metrics provided by STRYD® were analyzed. The total number of times each metric appeared varied widely, as did the number of metrics analyzed in each study. Power output was identified as the most frequently used metric in scientific studies and as the primary variable in the primary objectives sought. Ground contact time and cadence were also used by a high percentage of users, far exceeding the rest: vertical oscillation, flight time, stride length, form power, and stiffness. The study provides coaches and technical staff with guidelines on which variables to use when analyzing runners using STRYD®.