Big Legs and Small Arms

November 04, 2025•3 min read

Big Legs and Small Arms

I'll be the first to admit that I don't take upper body workouts as serious as I should. I am a runner and I play some soccer so my legs get a lot of loading and I spend a fair amount of time working lower body and core. My upper body on the other hand is quite lacking.

So why is a strong upper body an advantage for a runner?

Postural strength: How can you tell when a runner is starting to really fall apart? Their posture changes. The shoulders droop forward, arms start dangling, head forward and looking at the ground. Upper body and torso strength is essential to allowing the body to maintain good upright posture and control. When our upper body gets tired, the legs do more and the system fails.
Power production: Our arm drive is essential to running. We see it most in sprinting but distance running follows the same pattern. It keeps the momentum of the movement going and our legs tend to follow the arms. Pump the arms harder and the leg turnover increases. Stronger arms means more power production to keep the body moving forward and a better kick at the end.
Efficiency: Most of running form comes down to efficiency. When we are sloppy with our movements we slow down and get tired more quickly. Upper body strength plays a large role in keeping this efficiency high. The longer we maintain control the better our runs will be. The kinetic chain can and will break down if a piece of it is not moving well.
Not get made fun of at the gym: All jokes aside, lets break the stigma of runners being weak.

Let's talk exercise prescription!

Base movements: These are the some of things you would expect and isolate out some specific muscles
- Bicep curl
- Tricep dip
- Overhead press
- Lateral raise
- Lat pulldown
- Push up
Combined movements: Now add in some variety of motion, including diagonals and engaging more muscle groups together.
- Single arm rows
- Chop and lift pattern
- Pull ups
Power production: Take some time to learn and expose yourself to heavier lifts and dynamic motions
- Bench press
- Clean and jerk
- medicine ball throws (in all directions)

There are many other ways to load the upper body, so get out and try some. Find a rhythm and work on getting some strength in 2x a week and see how things improve with your running, you might surprise yourself!

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