Arm setup for lateral movement

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  • June 7, 2017 at 12:34 PM #3785
    Hilary Dumas
    Participant

    My teammate is asking the why behind arm setup before lateral movement.

    We were doing crossover bounds on the agility ladder, and I explained to load the inside leg and cross the outside arm in front and across.

    He said this felt really unnatural and wanted a detailed why explanation. I said the swing away would give momentum to go in the direction you had loaded on, but that wasn’t a satisfying answer for him.

    I tried to look for a video or article but didn’t find it. Sorry if I missed it!

    A similar question, the roommate wants to know why in the arm action video, in the listener exercise, why the focus should be on putting extra force into the back swing.

    Thanks!

    Hilary in Busan

    June 8, 2017 at 2:49 AM #3789
    Zi
    Moderator

    Natural running mechanics will always involve opposite arm and opposite leg (contralateral) movement. If your left leg is going to push down, your right arm is going to swing up. It keeps the body and hips aligned for efficient transfer of force through the body.

    Same thing with the crossovers. It’s actually quite natural to cross the opposite arm over the pushing leg.

    Try the crossover run drill. It’s a mellow sideways stride out with the lead leg going under just like crossovers. They might find that they cant maintain that sideways position without swinging the arms opposite of their working legs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMTHREGVvqc if you watch this, it makes a seamless transition to linear sprinting.

    A stronger back swing will cue the body for a stronger hip flexion drive on the opposing leg = stride length.

    Right, I know my explanation probably doesn’t sound so science-y or technical, but that’s how I personally bridge the gap between thinking very technical and moving naturally.

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