Exercises

Upper Body Strength, Three Ways

The T-rex was not the most efficient runner, yet the T-rex appears to be emulated everywhere by runners who consistently neglect their upper body strength exercises.

The term upper body refers to more than just our arms: it includes our shoulders, scapular stabilizers, back and core muscles. Upper body strength becomes increasingly important to running form at higher speeds, longer distances and with the accumulation of fatigue. If you’re running a half-marathon, you’ll want a stronger top half.

The alternating arm swing in a running stride allows the human body to disperse torsional load from the lower body. If you don’t believe me, try running with your arms inside your T-shirt and notice how much harder it feels to control the movement of your torso.

There are multiple facets to upper body strength. Yes, there is strength needed to lift a heavy object, but there is also a great deal of strength required solely to maintain upright posture and proper form while running. The upright posture of our torso facilitates better breathing by allowing space for our ribs to expand on inhalation. A measure of energy expenditure during running is called running economy. The position and movement of the upper body inf luences how much energy we use, and thus, affects your running economy. The more efficiently you run, the less energy you lose, which is especially helpful in the late stages of a race when your energy reserves are limited. Running economy is one component of optimizing your running performance – being able to run faster and farther. In addition, good running form puts less stress and strain on a fatigued body, reducing the risk of injury.

Increasing strength starts with awareness of ideal movement patterns. You gain strength when your nervous system and muscles learn to work together to achieve a specific movement. Put this into practice during your next run. Work on form by keeping your torso upright and relaxed with minimal rotation, and allowing your arms to swing like pendulums from your shoulder girdle, without crossing the midline of your body. To continue to gain muscular strength, the body needs resistance exercises, where an external load is applied to the muscle.

Here are three upper body exercises to bring your running form out of the Jurassic era.