Why do we swing our arms when we walk?  This used to be one of the big questions in exercise physiology. The other was what's the limiting factor in oxygen utilization? O2 uptake at the muscles or O2 uptake at the lungs (the pressure across the alveolar membrane and red blood cell affinity for 02, etc) <----its this one, google anatomical dead space  Circa 2009 we figured out why we swing our arms.... Swinging your arms while you walk: Makes walking more "economical" Keeps us walking straight "The results showed that arm swinging, either normally or in the opposite direction, required little effort from the muscles. “Instead of being … [Read more...]