Runners arms – do they matter?

When I was at the track with my coach this week, he accused me of sticking my elbows out – and kept yelling at me. I know I used to be REALLY bad for this, but I thought I had fixed it. It seems not. BUT – does it really matter I wondered? My usual curious mind set about locating the answer.

Does it really matter?

It seems arm action in part, influences your legs. The role of the arms is to stabilize the torso so that power can continue to be efficiently transferred through the hips. It is this ability to transfer power effectively through the center of mass that not only improves rate of acceleration, but also facilitates reaching maximum velocity, maintaining those top speeds and reducing the rate of deceleration.

They go on to say ‘speed is a product of stride length and stride frequency. Stride length and frequency are determined, in part, by the motion of the arms. If you are lazy or passive with your arm action, you are limiting your potential for speed.’

So, yes, it seems that is matters considerably!


So what SHOULD my arms be doing?

Upswing, parallel to your body, forearm parallel to the ground, hands relaxed, not clenched.
Full range of motion – smooth swinging arms - like pendulums! You will see this advice in many locations if you google it. Here is one quote example:

You should also make sure that your arms are moving from chin height at the front level and then all the way to your hip pocket region in the back level. This will ensure proper range of motion in your arms. Also by having proper range of motion on your arms your legs all also move correctly.

The movement of your arm action should also be coming from the shoulder joint. The motion should be similar to that of a pendulum on a clock. It should be moving forwards and back. Just make sure to keep the above tips in mind so that you have proper range of motion in your arms.

More advice can be found here and here too. It is also widely stated that you should stay relaxed! Tension amounts to slower times.

Drive the elbows down and back. (This is the part of the swing I neglect most! Oops!)

Avoid crossing your arms in front – keep them parallel to the body.

Conclusion:

Does it matter – it seems so!! Neglecting arms = lost speed! Better get a grip on this!!