Speed Limits of the Human Body

While in my previous post I mention how speed similar to the Flash could be attained through extensive use of the 'fear state', but I must look back to the physical limits of the current human body.  Common limits are known to us in the phrase "three weeks without food, three days without water, and three minuets without air".  While this is not a concrete rule it holds merit for the average Joe whose body is accustomed to regular food, water, and air.    The body has limits their is only so much calcium for the muscles and how fast blood can move oxygen around, even with chemical boosts.

In 2008 Mark Denny a biologist at Stanford University did a study on the absolute limits to speed in animals.  He looked into the race history of horses and greyhounds in the U.S.. Looking all the way back into the turn of the 20th Century he had concluded that the speed had plateaued, with winning times not really moving since the 1970s.  It isn't like horse breeders hadn't tried their hand to create faster horses, but the fact is with the traits the are enhancing the drawbacks increase.  "You can breed a horse to go faster than ever before or to have stronger muscles but then its legs will break."

In terms of humans Usain Bolt -the world's fastest man- holds the world record of 9.58 seconds in the 100 meter dash.  He has beaten his own record a few times before, but on a whole the number of world records being broken is dramatically decreasing over the years and humans start to reach their own plateau of physical ability.  Peter Weyand of Southern Methodist University says that humans still have a way to go before that biological ceiling but the method of getting there is morally ambiguous.