Do You Use Your Upper Body When Running?

Research has identified leaning forward with your upper body when running is incredibly essential for injury prevention and improved efficiency. This is because allowing your upper body to lean slightly forward when running enables the foot to land closer to the center of mass (upper body). This allows the center of mass to move farther ahead more quickly as compared with an upright upper body posture which was found to cause a longer brake force duration period tied to more stress and strain on the knee. Furthermore, leaning forward with your upper body when running worked better at shortening the time spend braking, while reducing propulsion forces, which in turn, resulted in less mechanical work and muscle power to push the body forward. This ultimately expended less metabolic energy! Read more here!