• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

Arm Action in Sprinting

You are here: Home / Coaching / Arm Action in Sprinting
14
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

September 11, 2009 by Jimson Lee Leave a Comment

Last Updated on November 17, 2012 by Jimson Lee

Did anyone notice the arm action in Usain Bolt’s 200m on the straightaway?  And how it slightly differed compared to the last 40 meters of his 100 meters?

This brings up the topic of arm action in sprinting.

Famous Canadian Track Coach Geoff Gowan would say, “You run with your arms on your legs”.

To study arm mechanics properly, you really need 2 video cameras from 2 different angles – one from the front and one from the side.

Arm Action Basics

It doesn’t take a lot of arm strength to maintain form for proper arm angles.  Bench Press and body weight exercises will generally suffice.

Your arm strokes from the shoulders, thus your hands play a vital role in maintaining the balance.

The hand comes up to face level in front, and you pull down (not back) from there, usually from the elbows or even the hands.

I remember another Coach teaching us to make a circle with your thumb & first finger (like the Rodney Dangerfield expression “A-okay”), or as if you are grasping an empty roll of toilet paper, and as you run, you should see “through the hole”.  While this may work for youth athletes to teach basic fundamentals, it doesn’t work for elite speeds of 10m/s or greater.

When we teach youth sprinters, we use simplistic numbers such as 90 degrees (or right angles) on the front-swing, and 90 degrees on the “down-swing”.   I purposely don’t use the words “back-swing”.  With good arm mechanics, the “PULL” action is down and not back.  Why?  Because with leg mechanics, you are pulling down, not back.  That’s my logic.

See also  Calculating Splits for the 400 meters

Elite athletes arm angles differ slightly with ~85 degrees in front-swing to ~95 to 100 degrees on the down-swing.  The opening up of the elbow will come naturally as your top speed increases.  You can’t help it.

The “Arm Bone is connected to the Hip Bone” song

The arms will come towards, but not cross, the mid line thus initiating the shoulder rotation required to compensate for the slight counter-rotation of the hip.

You need a view from above to see this properly.  I am going to use Wallace Spearmon’s 200m Olympic final in Beijing, since they had nice overhead photos from the Bird Nest Stadium.  In the example below, the red line marks the plane for the shoulders, and the green lines marks the hips.

Wallace Spearmon Hip Shoulder Rotation no lines 150 Wallace Spearmon Hip Shoulder Rotation 150


The difference between slight counter-rotation of the hip and no counter-rotation (i.e hips locked, square plane) is about 3-4 cm.  It’s not much, but coupled that with about 30 strides in a full upright position (on a 100m sprint), and we are talking a gain of almost 1 full meter.

In my opinion, one example of hip over-rotation would be Cathy Freeman of Australia.  If you take a look at her side view, you’ll see a very open and extended arm, and hence slight over-rotation of the shoulder which leads to a slight over-rotation of the hip.  But it works for her, so why change it.  I am merely using her as an example as I feel her counter-rotation of the hip seems visually excessive.  Also, her body anatomy may find this optimal.

One of the reasons you want optimal arm swings is to maintain proper hip rotation.  Arms too close to the torso in the front-swing may limit hip rotation.  If it is too open, then that may change the center of balance, and in effect, change your frequency pattern.

See also  Asafa Powell - How to Do a 4 Point Start without Starting Blocks

Videos and Examples of Arm Action

For a good front view of sprinting, check out the 100 meter video from Brussels.  They have some nice head-on shots of Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay.

Asafa solo run in slo-mo is a the 1:48 mark.

Both Asafa and Tyson in slo-mo are at the 2:00 mark for a nice side by side comparison.

Comments?

UPDATE: Sorry, the video is no longer on YouTube.

Category iconCoaching,  Featured Story,  Track & Field,  Training Tag icon100 meters,  arms,  Asafa Powell,  speed,  Tyson Gay,  Usain Bolt,  Videos

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbs-aWxyLk

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (2)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (4)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Private Coaching - Monthly Plan $600.00 $525.00
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99

RECENT POSTS

  • IFAC 2022: The Return of In-Person Conferences (with Virtual option)
  • Here is our 400m Discussion Recording… over 2 Hours Long
  • The Best Free Coaching Book – post Beijing 2022 Olympics
  • The Ultimate 400m Track Webinar for Coaches & Athletes
  • NACAC Athletics Coaching Science Series 2022
  • Top Six 400m Predictor Workouts (Number 4 is my Favourite)
  • Best 6 Podcasts for 2021 (and Beyond)
  • Why Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 400mH WR is my Highlight of 2021
  • Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]
  • Pressure in Sports – Reflections from Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy