The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the methods for calculating mechanical work as they apply to the study of human efficiency. In the study of human efficiency there is no agreed-upon method for determining the mechanical work done by the body. A model for calculating the total work done by all muscle moments of the body for any given event was developed and compared analytically to previous methods. Methods which use the change in segmental energy to calculate mechanical work were shown to be inadequate for calculating muscle moment work. The results show significant differences between the muscle moment model and energy methods for calculating total body work.

In addition, the work done on each body segment and the work done by the joint muscle moment of each joint on the left side of the body were investigated for the stance phase of running. The results of the segmental work and the joint work were similar to the results of other studies.