Is heel striking really that horrible?

Bikila in shoes wrote:

Study this video closely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAOGnxzCqUo

Particularly from 2:45 on...

Great video. It really helps to show it doesn't really matter where the initial foot makes contact, it's about what the forces do thereafter.

UK Limey elsewhere wrote:

Great video. It really helps to show it doesn't really matter where the initial foot makes contact, it's about what the forces do thereafter.

Exactly. You can still caress the ground heel to toe with a bent knee on landing.

The heel wouldn't have a big wad of fatty tissue for cushioning if it wasn't designed to touch down first at sub-maximal pace

5685 wrote:

Bikila in shoes wrote:

Study this video closely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAOGnxzCqUo

Particularly from 2:45 on...

Notice that he's touching on the heel first, but not slamming down on it; that the foot is under the kneed, not ahead of it; and that the foot is already moving backward as it lands!

Notice, too, that on the backswing his elbow moves well behind his torso--people who keep their arms/elbows even with (or even in front of) the torso tend to have a variety of problems with posture and foot plant.

Bikila in shoes wrote:

asdfasd wrote:

Because the last step across the finish line as you bring your arms up is representative of how you've run the entire race.

I can't believe he also ran like he was leaning back and celebrating!

Study this video closely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAOGnxzCqUo

It is a movie, but it is bikila, so fair's fair. His heels contact the ground first. They don't strike the ground though. There's no visible loading of the leg muscles until his whole foot is on the ground. There's heel striking (heel barely first point of contact moving immediately to loading achilles) and heel striking (loading up calcaneus bone using tibialis anterior as shock absorber).

ive watched from 2:45 on about 10 times now, and even tried downloading and slowing it down. im not convinced hes even "touching" with his heel first, much less "striking." my guess is the folks suggesting heel striking is fine because certain good runners do it havent spent much time thinking about what actually happens before and at contact.

juan_t_reyna wrote:

ive watched from 2:45 on about 10 times now, and even tried downloading and slowing it down. im not convinced hes even "touching" with his heel first, much less "striking." my guess is the folks suggesting heel striking is fine because certain good runners do it havent spent much time thinking about what actually happens before and at contact.

The kinematics prior to the stance phase are irrelevant. It is the kinetics (biomechanical sense) during stance that you need to consider.

It's the whole "striking" thing that causes all the misunderstanding. people need to learn how to contact the ground in a controlled manner.

It's funny that it took CrossFit to teach runners about an efficient stride (with the CrossFit invention of POSE running). But who am I to judge?

I'm glad some runners have accepted our superior running style and adapted to it.

Xfit_guy_the_real_1 wrote:

It's funny that it took CrossFit to teach runners about an efficient stride (with the CrossFit invention of POSE running). But who am I to judge?

I'm glad some runners have accepted our superior running style and adapted to it.

You're nobody, that's who. Furthermore, you are even wrong about your own crap. POSE was around before crossfit. Go back to your fapping pull-ups.

Heel strike is a symptom of overstriding. Overstriding is when the foot makes contact with the ground in front of the knee rather than under (or slightly in front of) your body.

When running look down and check that your heel does not make contact with the ground in front of your knee. Running fast is the result of hip extension and pushing off, not reaching out with the lower leg. Watch any sprinter or world class distance runner and observe where their foot makes contact with the ground in relation to the body.

my 2 cents wrote:

Heel strike is a symptom of overstriding. Overstriding is when the foot makes contact with the ground in front of the knee rather than under (or slightly in front of) your body.

When running look down and check that your heel does not make contact with the ground in front of your knee. Running fast is the result of hip extension and pushing off, not reaching out with the lower leg. Watch any sprinter or world class distance runner and observe where their foot makes contact with the ground in relation to the body.

It's a combination of both. The best runners reach as well as push. You guys need to look closer at video and pictures.

Unless you are overstriding (which heel striking is often a symptom of) then run however you naturally do. However, you are probably over striding. What I did was just concentrate on runnjng on your midfoot/forefoot for every run for about 2 weeks. YOUR CALVES WILL BE SORE. I suggest cutting down your mileage a lot, maybe 3 miles a run. Another thing you can do is run the first half on your forefoot and the second half just run naturally. After 1.5-2 weeks, your calves will not be sore anymore and you can run full mileage on your forefoot. Also work on getting 180 steps per minute when running and trying not to over stride.

For what it's worth, I have a pretty sizable heel strike when I'm just doing easy runs. I race mostly mile/1500, and when I get going at a faster pace for workouts or races, I just magically turn into a forefoot runner. It's weird, but I can't heel strike and run 65s or faster.

Frankly, if you're not getting injured from it, I wouldn't really try to change anything.

Don't obsess over foot strike. Focus on good posture and nice knee lift. Foot strike will take care of itself.

What's important is foot landing directly below one's body (center of gravity), under this condition one has to be wearing some high heels to heel strike.

form guy wrote:

I recommend you go try this: Go one lap around a track in your BAREFEET. I think you will find that you form will change immediately. This is what proper form feels like. Your now using your achilles and calve muscles the way the were designed to be used. This is the most efficient form in the LONG TERM.

Some people here saying that some are genetically more drawn to a heelstrike. This is h****s**t. If everyone in the world were to do this test on the track/field in their bare feet, no one would be able to run on their heels. Everyone would be running generally the same way. Of course you see a lot of different styles of true forefoot/midfoot runners, eg. mo and rupp. but thats a different argument.

I recommend you try this instead: Run around a GRASS FIELD barefeet. Your argument is often used to prove a misconception, that we evolved to run on hard ground. There weren't artificial tracks, asphalt, or cement back then. Kenyans run barefeet on trails, never so on roads.

In other words, barefeet form on hard ground, inclusing rubberized tracks, could be an artificially-induced modified form.

form guy wrote:

I recommend you go try this: Go one lap around a track in your BAREFEET. I think you will find that you form will change immediately. This is what proper form feels like. Your now using your achilles and calve muscles the way the were designed to be used. This is the most efficient form in the LONG TERM.

Some people here saying that some are genetically more drawn to a heelstrike. This is h****s**t. If everyone in the world were to do this test on the track/field in their bare feet, no one would be able to run on their heels. Everyone would be running generally the same way. Of course you see a lot of different styles of true forefoot/midfoot runners, eg. mo and rupp. but thats a different argument.

I recommend you try this instead: Run around a GRASS FIELD barefeet. Your argument is often used to prove a misconception, that we evolved to run on hard ground. There weren't artificial tracks, asphalt, or cement back then. Kenyans run barefeet on trails, never so on roads.

In other words, barefeet form on hard ground, inclusing rubberized tracks, could be an artificially-induced modified form.

Actually as soon as a person adjust to a hard surface with bare feet they start heel striking again.