Doubt it. Arms are used for counterbalancing the legs while running, and without arms you won't be able to use your legs as vigorously. Otherwise the torque would cause you to turn around.
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2025
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I have seen claims that this isn't actually true, swinging our arms to counterbalance the legs is less efficient than just keeping them in place.
Where did I see this claim? Why, it was in this peer-reviewed scientific paper: https://youtu.be/-QW25fJ34nA , where by "peer-reviewed" I mean filmed with a live studio audience, and by "scientific paper" I mean segment of a TV panel show.
So uhhh yeah I'm not buying it but I can't be bothered to check their sources.
While I do enjoy Qi (And TIL that Bill Baley is good at running backwards.. I hadn't seen that episode), I take some of their facts with a grain of salt, as it's primarily an entertainment show. They do tend to oversimplify and miss some nuance from time to time.
Just as an example, one such case was in regards to flight theory, where the correct answer to "how do planes fly" was "nobody knows". While there isn't a grand unifying theory that describes flight theory in full, we do have a lot of individual concept that describe 99.9% of how flight works. It's like saying "nobody knows" in regards to why the earth orbits the sun on the basis that we don't have a unifying theory between quantum field theory and gravity.
I'm not disparaging Qi, though. It's still a fantastic show, but it's meant to be entertaining rather than complete.
EDIT: Yes, "Qi", not "Windows". Ducking autocorrect.
I assume Windows is inexplicably a typo of QI?
I totally agree. I believe they make some effort to get their facts right, but it's not their highest priority by any stretch. I also suspect they might sometimes leave crucial details on the cutting room floor.
In this instance I get the impression that Sandi actually meant the arms are still swung but just kept straight, like a Minecraft run. But then Bill interpreted it as the arms kept straight and motionless, like that one Seinfeld episode, and Sandi didn't correct him.
if this were true then you'd see runners in Olympics and elsewhere not swinging their arms. also a pubmed.
And you can often just tell when a claim is just too suspicious to believe.
Naruto run!
Hmm.. less drag and less mass for sure. But also a loss of balancing. In a medium such as air, I don't think the losses would ever overcome the advantages
Doing research for your planned war against the amputees????? I see right through you
First the legs now the arms 😂
I honestly hadn't noticed it myself lmao
Additional weight makes it harder to accelerate, but once you’re up to a steady speed it doesn’t make much difference.
On the other hand, using your arms as counterweights makes it possible to transfer more force from your foot to the ground with each step.
once you’re up to a steady speed it doesn’t make so much difference.
[Citation needed]. You're still fighting gravity so being lighter makes each step easier. There is also less air drag (but I don't know how much difference this makes).
You do have more momentum to counteract the drag, though. I wonder if the decreased mass would be offset by the decreased surface area.
one would certainly fall easier
Well, considering you always run faster with a knife, obviously not, because then you couldn’t hold one.
Surprised nobody has mentioned this yet, but the Paralympics may bear you out to some extent. In a lot of events their finish times are similar to normal Olympians, suggesting the reduced weight burden compensates significantly for reduced physical ability.
(It's not super clear cut, because apples, oranges, and bouncy prosthetics).
That was also my first thought, although i hadn't checked Paralympics times
It depends on how big your arms are. I bet you can run around with a pistol but not with heavy guns....