Arms and the (wo)man
Okay. Here is something entirely trivial which started bothering me when I was walking the other day.
When I walk briskly, my arms naturally want to swing along as I walk. The arms want to be more or less straight as they swing, only bending slightly when they come to the front point of their swing. Since then, I have watched loads of people walking briskly, and everyone who swings their arms - not everyone does - does it this way.
When I run, even a slow jog, my arms naturally want to swing with a 90 degree bend at the elbow. The instant I go from a walk to a run, those elbows bend, with no conscious thought involved on my part.
I have tried holding my arms bent when walking, and it feels very silly, and also involves more muscular effort.
I have tried swinging my arms straight when jogging, and it feels very silly and awkward and seems to make running harder.
The actual speed difference between a brisk walk (4mph) and a jog (under 6mph) is not that great. Why do my arms want to do such different things?
When I walk briskly, my arms naturally want to swing along as I walk. The arms want to be more or less straight as they swing, only bending slightly when they come to the front point of their swing. Since then, I have watched loads of people walking briskly, and everyone who swings their arms - not everyone does - does it this way.
When I run, even a slow jog, my arms naturally want to swing with a 90 degree bend at the elbow. The instant I go from a walk to a run, those elbows bend, with no conscious thought involved on my part.
I have tried holding my arms bent when walking, and it feels very silly, and also involves more muscular effort.
I have tried swinging my arms straight when jogging, and it feels very silly and awkward and seems to make running harder.
The actual speed difference between a brisk walk (4mph) and a jog (under 6mph) is not that great. Why do my arms want to do such different things?