Runner's World

LET’S FACE IT: runners aren’t

known for their arms.

That’s not a dig – it’s just

that it’s easy to neglect

your top half when it seems like

your legs do all the work. But failing

to train your upper body can hold

you back on the run.

‘Have you ever tried to run

without using your arms? It’s weird

ineicient and hard as hell’ says

exercise physiologist Pamela Geisel.

‘Arm drive is a big part of running

• when your legs get tired you use
  your arms more because of the
  kinetic chain; you can’t have one
  without the other.’

That means your strength training

has to include more than just dead

lifts and squats. Building a strong

upper body will help you maintain

good form as the miles tick by

and that stable upright posture

can increase your endurance by

improving your lung capacity

explains Geisel. ‘Improved upper-

body strength also reduces oxygen

requirement meaning you’ll run

faster while using the same amount

of energy.’ In other words you slice

seconds of your splits.

And a faster pace is not the only

reason to strengthen from the

waist up. ‘Just pumping your arms

back and forth only builds muscle

endurance but you need to also

build muscular strength to create

bone density and prevent injury’

says personal trainer Nick Pags.

Why? Remember our nerves bones

and joints are interconnected.

‘The gold standard for runners is

165-180 strides per minute – if every

one of those strides is bad that’s

thousands of strides per run that

you’re doing poorly often leading

to injuries such as tendinopathy

and stress fractures’ says Geisel.

‘It all goes back to poor mechanics

and that results from not strength-

training your entire body.’

STRONG-ARM

TACTICS

To become a better runner

you need a strong upper

body. It’s time to reach for

the heavy stuff

076 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK JUNE 2018

WORDS: SAMANTHA LEFAVE.

PHOTOGRAPH: CHRISTAAN FELBER