The Arm Swing

So, if you've been reading my posts, I try not to say what is right and wrong when it comes to running. In fact, thats my whole philosophy on life. Instead, I ask questions like, "What does it do?" and "When would I want that to happen?" And the armswing on running is no different.

Most runners will time the arms and legs together. In other words, left leg goes back, right arm goes back. Left leg stops, right arm stops. Left leg begins moving forward, arm begins moving forward. They begin and end movement at the same time. So, what happens if you change that?

If the arm swing begins slightly before the front foot lands, instead of simultaneous with it as is popular, I've noticed two things. First of all, since the arm swing begins while my whole body is airborne, that small transfer of mass in my upper body actually affects my legs by bringing my landing foot more underneath my body, and my trail foot less behind my body. This actually gets me into the acceleration position as described in the entries on the legs previously. So when would I use this offset timing in the armswing?
1. When I'm running uphill
2. When I want to accelerate

After this finding, I tried the opposite by letting the timing of my armswing initiate a split second after my front foot lands. This backward offset timing caused my foot to land farther in front of my body with my trail leg staying farther behind, and had an overall slowing effect. But it had another effect too. It increased my hang time in the air. So, when would I use this reverse offset timing in the armswing?
1. When I'm running downhill and trying to maintain speed
2. When I want to decelerate after a race or an interval.

The next entry will include more information on different types of armswings.