When sprinting lately I have been told that it looks like my arms are moving a lot quicker than my legs.
I have always just concentrated on pumping the arms and not conciously thinking about the legs. It would seem to indicate a lack of core strength, but I look quite stable when I’m running (not all over the place) and I can squat over 2 x bodyweight without a weight belt. This is over very short distances (<30m) so I don’t think lack of core endurance is a problem.
I don’t think it is a lack of elasticity because I am noticably a lot more elastic than my friend, yet he does not have the same problem and can run faster than me.
What is the problem here? Do I have a structural weakness or am I just taking the ‘pump the arms and think of nothing else’ cue too far? (Should I actually conciously think about driving the legs during acceleration)
I also noticed that I seem to run a lot faster when playing team sports like touch or rugby where there is far less emphasis on arm drive when I’m running (due to the fact that I run while carrying a ball and also because the legs must react first for agility type movements)
It is impossible for the arms to move faster than the legs, which I guess is why the cue “pump your arms” work in the first place.
To me it seems this cue works best when the proper mechanics are already in place. When I use it I get high frequency but no knee-drive, because I concentrate on being fast instead of being efficient.
Maybe you are doing the same?
I actually use the cue “Carl Lewis” now, which to me conveys some less powerfull and lighter first few steps.
This is really just a personalized version of “wait for it”, seeing that I am 6"2 and not strong at all.
The arms a smaller than the legs, therefore capable of moving much faster. Most times when athletes try to stroke the arms faster they cut the range of motion (which gives you that feeling of high frequency) and this leads to many problems. It’s important to swing from the shoulders and go through the full range of motion.
Remember that the arms and legs work together as a unit. Sure they can work by themselves as independent units but at a big cost. Timing becomes the critical key. Once the stroke is timed properly, then the athlete is able to maximize output.