how long does it take to change from heel striking to toe/mid foot running? atleast feel comfortable &natural doing it. thanks in advance
how long does it take to change from heel striking to toe/mid foot running? atleast feel comfortable &natural doing it. thanks in advance
Dude, there's a video of Jack Daniels talking about all of this "heel stride vs. toe strike" shit. He said that when he tested the efficiency of those that land on their heel vs. toes vs. lateral side of foot vs. etc (all landing types), he found NONE of them to be more so or less efficient than the other. Don't fixate on all of that. You're going to convince yourself that you are an inefficient runner just because you don't land on your midfoot. Just keep the knees high and the torso erect, and the glute medius and core strong, and the rest is just a matter of your own personal mechanics. Things adapt. R-pace training will give you all of the efficiency you need.
thanks. thats what i thought but i keep getting injured and its because instead of my calfs taking some shock, my thighs are :/
It'll take awhile, at least a couple of months. The problem is that it takes ridiculously strong calves to be able to do it right. They are no longer going to be "pushing off" but rather are going to be somewhat stiff and absorb the impact and help transfer it into forward motion.
The best way to go about it will not be by doing calf raises but buy running around in Vibrams or something similar. While they get trashed a lot, they are very useful for beginners. (Though I am a pretty hardcore minimalist and threw mine away months ago. Once you are good at the fore foot type of running you will know what type of shoe or covering will suit you.)
Still the most important thing is to start very slowly with these types of things, because you will get injured going too fast. Obviously grass or something similar is the best. If you have more specific questions just ask I just don't want to type a story if I don't have to.
I really think that making this your primary focus in your running is a big waste of time, sorry. The aerobic side of things is FAR more important that this.
Your question inserts the word "helpful." You will get many answers from "somebody" who is not helpful, but cynical and nasty. And a few answers from really "helpful" people. It's that small percentage that keeps sane people coming back. :)
thanks guys, Push Alt 4, i have had quite afew injuries and i think that this isnt the only cause obviously, but i think this is part of the problem. im coming back EXTREMELY slowly from a femural stress fracture and have been out 12 weeks. im trying hard to transfer to this, and so far it isnt bad. i have done 5(1 min run 4 min walk) then rest a day then 5(2 min run, 3 min walk) and am doing this everyother day to get to 30 minutes consecutive. thanks for all your help :) but you said it would take a couple of months. from the FEW runs i have done, it doesnt seem TOO unnatural, i just cant figure out the difference between TOE running and FOREfoot running.
Yes, it shouldn't really feel unnatural, but it will feel different. I'm not sure where the idea of toe running came from, other then when people say to get up on your toes. Really it all deals with having the area behind the toes, like the ball of the foot, touch down first. Your heel should also get very close to or touch the ground briefly with each step. This is because you are using your Achilles to help transfer the impact and energy.
sdgsdgsgs wrote:
I really think that making this your primary focus in your running is a big waste of time, sorry. The aerobic side of things is FAR more important that this.
I also agree that if you are trying to get really good that focusing on more conventional training is going to give faster results. That said, I really do think that there is an important place for developing proper form.
I have spent most of my running related energies the last two years thinking about and testing out all sorts of different strides and forms etc.
The one thing that I want to throw out there is that the really smooth and fast guys like El G and many Kenyans are helped by the fact that they are going fast. It is easy to have good form when doing strides, but to apply this to all areas of training is difficult unless in very good shape. So the faster you are able to train(provided you are in form to)the better - attempting some flowing stride at 7:30 pace is going to end up being choppy and perhaps even unhelpful.
To sum it up: Kenyans and the like are aided in the development of good form because of proper (barefoot) mechanics but also by their training. Excluding easy runs, they are fond of tempo and progression runs - so much time is spent practicing racing form at what is close to racing speeds.
thank you. it sounds like you really know what you are talking about!
My experience tells me your problems my be associated with the running shoes more than your form.
As running shoes started to change to the bulkier style in the late '80 i sudden found that i could not train in trainers without getting really sore in the thighs and felt i became more ineffcient as the run distance progressed (regardless of pace). I struggled with this for years (as in about 15). I slowly transitioned to the only thing that seemed to work - racing flats. For some reason, racers did not affect my thighs at all, but they did make my calves sore...but after a while i got used to them (also did calf raises and stretching). Today i do all my training in racing shoes - run further than i ever did in training shoes, and feel less sore and I am an old man. I have run a far as 30 miles in a run and been fine to run the next day (tired, but not sore).
everytime i tried a different pair of training shoes (during those frustrating 15 years) the results were the same = sore thighs, ineffcient form and pure frustation; and i tried everything: New Balance, Turntec, Mizuno, Addidas, Nike, Reebok, and Saucony (Saucony worked the best though).
so i guess i am what is now being called a minimalist. I didn't set out to become anything, i just wanted to be able to run. For me - it was all in the shoes.
sweet07 wrote:
how long does it take to change from heel striking to toe/mid foot running? atleast feel comfortable &natural doing it. thanks in advance
Using once a week intense drill workout I have had success getting a runner to come off their heels in 4-6 weeks.
The reason I want my runners to run over their feet instead of behind their feet is because its just faster. The effeciency may be no different so far as energy usage per unit if distance, but on the track speed rules.
how do i go about to fiding out what kind of shoes i need? i think this may help! and what kind of drills may i ask?
sweet07 wrote:
how do i go about to fiding out what kind of shoes i need? i think this may help! and what kind of drills may i ask?
when my athletes are training at near race pace I ask they wear the same type shoe they will be racing in, and we race in spikes. Developing good stride mechanics is an important aspect for fast running. As to the drills, we do drills once a week and work to near exhaustion of the muscles. We do a series of 6 drills done four times over 40 yds the first week and each subsequent week we add 5 yds so that after 3 months we are at 100 yds. We try to start these drills as preseason conditioning. As to what these drills are; I developed the set of drills over many years to try to break down the running motion into components and to exercise the muscles and strengthen them so that running with good form comes naturally without thought. Muscle memory is another way to put it. I avoid exerises that ask a muscle to fire in a different fashion than in a normal running stride.