© Austin'Ozzie' Gontang, Ph.D.
Folklore: The arms are like a metronome. At slower speeds(beats=steps) the arms can be down at the side. But as the metronome speeds up, the weight is moved closer to the fulcrum. So in the arms that is accomplished by bending the forearm and creating a smaller angle between the forearm and upper arm. Some people keep the forearm at right angles to the upper arm.
In walking particularly but with some runners you will see them swing the upper arm(shoulder to elbow) minimally and most of the movement come from the forearm(elbow to wrist). Like someone doing short curls with weights.
I picture us as four footed animals. Stand in place and swing your arms(upper arm and lower arm with no bending of the elbows) from the shoulder back and forth from the straight arm position as fast as you can six or 8 inches forward then backward. Now place the forearm at right angles with the upper arm and swing your arms(from the shoulder) as fast as possible. Now bring the wrists as close to the shoulders as possible and swing the upper arm(from the shoulder) as fast as possible. The arm and the metronome work on the same physical principle. The shorter the lever arm the faster the lever arm can move. You've seen it done by ice skaters as they bring their arms close to their body as the spin and you see them turn into a spinning top.
Most people think that in running the arms swing back and forth and don't help much in the propulsion of the body. They just act more like counterbalances to keep the body moving in a straight direction and prevent unnecessary torque in other parts of the body.
I believe that this is an illusion from the point of view of the observer watching someone run. That is that the arm(upper arm with forearm at right angles) swings forward and backwards. If you consider us four-footed, and the arms are a part of the movement, you get a different picture from what you see as the observer of the runner.
If you hold onto a railing, with the arm extended in front of you and pull yourself forward, the arm will end up behind the body. The reality is that the arm has not moved from the position on the railing. The body was pulled in front of the arm althought it looks as if the arm swings behind the body.
In swimming the same perception can be misleading. If the swimmer held onto a rope and pulled herself through the water you would notice that her hands didn't go under the body. No, the hands held onto the rope and the body went over hands.
Back to running, if you use a pair of Tom Rutlin's Exerstriders while running you will realize that what looks like a back swing is in reality the body moving in front of the arm, since once the exerstrider pole is planted the arm never swings back, rather the body passes in front of the arm.
In race walking, the emphasis of the arm is not on the back swing, (partly because a back swing is going in the opposite direction you are moving. Rather the focus is the forward thrust of the arm to assist in moving in the forward direction faster.
Running a seven minute mile with your arms at your side, is pretty good. My concern down the road would be the torquing and the other force vectors which might in the long run on the long run have an opposite effect on your form and style.
I'm interested if what I am saying makes sense, and if you see it making any difference in perception of one's running form and style. I think it does based on the results I see in runners who have played with the idea.
|
