Running, Part 2

Have you ever gone running and your arms just felt weird, awkward, or out of place? Some people hold them up too high, some people claw with one arm, others just run plain out weirdly.

This is all about distance running, sprint is more intense and arms are even more important.

I'm not going to try and explain all the things you could be doing wrong with your arms, I'm just going to explain what you should be doing with your arms.

Your elbows should be bent at 90 degrees, but don't stress it too much. Also don't hold it at 90 degrees, relax a little and let them swing a little (not a ton, or you'll run slower and look like an awkward ninja).

Another important thing is to have your arms "in sync" with your legs. Make sure your when your right leg is in back, your right arm is forward, vice versa, and the same with the left. A fun and funny thing to do is to try and sprint full out and move your arms at a jogging pace. It feels so weird, and shows why you need your arms "in sync" with your legs.

I just told you to move your arms back and forth opposite to your legs, but what if you don't know how move your arms the right way? Well don't feel like a fool if you swing your arms wrong, I always did until last year! The right way to swing your arms is to move them at the shoulder (not your elbow), how much you move them depends on your speed and turnover.

A good thing to remember is to keep your forearms pretty parallel. What I mean by this is when you run your arms shouldn't be angled in. Your arms and hands should be at your sides, not in front of your chest or flailing out to your sides.

Now why do you need to keep good form with your arms? Well if you don't use your arms your legs will make your torso twist back and forth and your body would be hard to control. You wouldn't run straight, you'll be slower, and all that twisting could hurt your back, your abs, or maybe your shoulders. Doing the above paragraphs will help you run faster, but it's not super important to have perfect arm form (unless you're sprinting), so don't stress it.