Forefoot striking?

That guy must have skipped a couple classes!

Actually in some generic textbooks they teach that heal-ball-toe is the correct way to run.

No idea why they teach this. It's definately 100% false, but it's one of those things that has stuck around.

I'd get a new doc. Any podiatrist who watched any film of runners or even looked at any journals or data would know that heel striking is not the way to run and that many people do strike midfoot/forefoot, is a doc I wouldn't want giving me advice.

Generally speaking, and with very rare exception, the heel is the first part of the foot to touch the ground regardless of your gait format. Midfoot, forefoot, or heel strike is defined by when you apply weight to it and the foot's orientation with regards to the body's center of gravity at the time of power/weight transfer.

When walking, yes. Running, unshod, no.

lets go to the video footage

I definitely have friends who strike mid-foot to for-foot and very rarely do their heels ever touch the ground, even on distance runs. While it's far more common to land heal to toe, it's not the only way that people's natural running mechanics operate. There have been olympians who landed always for-foot and olympians who shuffled their way to sub 28 10k's, so who is to say which is the best way? It's all according to one's personal body mechanics, and you do what works most naturally. A podiatrist should know this.

if you show me video of a person running for an extended period/not sprinting or striding without their heel ever touching the ground, then I'll have no choice but to believe you. If its so common, it shouldn't be hard to produce the proof.

I'm not talking about landing on the heel, I'm talking about it touching/grazing the ground as part of the gait cycle. I have seen numerous times where athletes running on a pressure plate have left little to no impression of the heel on the pad but slow motion video shows it touched. I've spend a fair amount of time in a biomechanics lab and rarely do you ever see anyone whose heel never touches the ground. It's very hard on the calves to run that way for a long time and the calf is a very small muscle compared to the quads and hamstrings to be supporting your body weight with for hours.

WHEN someone lands on the fore/mid foot FIRST, and the heel makes contact AFTER, I think we could agree that they cannot be considered heel strikers.

THe foot actually hits on the outside edge of the foot for most runners, but contact is normally midfoot/forefoot/whatever you want to call that area on elites.

The heel does touch the ground, even with most sprinters. For sprinters, the initial contact is normally higher up on the foot and then the heel comes down touching the ground.

I don't think anyone is saying the heel never touches the ground. I think everyone is saying that it is not where initial contact takes place, meaning the heel doesn't slam into the ground. For most efficient runners to the naked eye and even on some video equipment it will almost look like the whole foot is touching down at the same time.

It's also possible to strike forefoot without continually supporting your weight on your calf. During the spring and summer, I build up to about a three-mile barefoot run on grass. I usually wind up striking with the ball of my foot and tapping my heel to the ground as my full weight is applied to my foot (it's easy to tell that this is happening: sensory reception). I can also do the whole run without touching my heel, although it doesn't feel as efficient.

seems to me like we're all talking about the same thing.

I don't disagree with this whatsoever. I'm also not debating the existence of forefoot and midfoot strike individuals as they make up about 25-30% of the total running population. All I was saying is that you can graze the heel on the ground without being a heel striker. The point is that while the original doctor discussed in this thread may have some skewed biomechanical data, it is more misinterpreted and misapplied than it is incorrect.

let me ask my roommate to help...

he has run 30:12 for 10k and i have watched him during the last few miles of some 15+mile runs and his heel never touches.

saying the heel strikes first and the heel makes contact are too totally diffent things. your first post said the first.

bottom line: if you are running properly, the ball of the foot is the first part to hit the ground. the heal should be around half inch to 1 inch off the ground but i dont think it matters if it grazes the ground slightly. mechanically, it the way we (humans) are built to run. its more economical and much less chance of injury. of course this is not the case when we walk.

actually, the heel should touch the ground at some point. If it doesn't, you can't load up properly.

This is coming from my biomechanics professor, along with my own experience:

Running barefoot, heel strike is a no-no. Way too much force to be concentrated on one spot. The foot is designed to have force distributed evenly over the whole foot, so strike would be mostly midfoot. The case would be the same for running in spikes, as this is basically barefoot.

In running shoes, it's a different story. Most shoes have a pretty built up heel, with some nifty technologies to absorb shock, among other things. Unless you are running pretty quickly, your heel is going to hit first.

Also, the faster you go, the more forward you will strike. This utilizes more and more of the elasticity of the achilles tendon, which is more efficient for running quickly. However, like I think the podiatrist said, your calves are pretty small compared to glutes and quads for supporting your weight over the course of a whole run.

One factor that hasn't been looked at is the correlation between forefoot strike, arch height, ankle and achilles strength, and amount of pronation.

Just because you can switch to a forefoot strike, doesn't mean your shins, knees and hips can.

Comments?

utube search: sullivan, kevin. do his heels ever touch the track?

Arthur_ wrote:

Just because you can switch to a forefoot strike, doesn't mean your shins, knees and hips can.

Comments?

My guess is the shins will be the first to go if you are overworking your calves, just to strike on the forefoot.