You should NOT always land on your forefoot when running - Running Myths
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- čas přidán 8. 10. 2022
- "You should always land on your forefoot when you run because it's more natural and all elite runners do it". Especially since the book "Born to Run" came out, many runners have been convinced that this is true. If so, statistics should back up this claim and footage of the world's best runners should show that this is the case.
Shall we check?
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Fredrik Zillén is an running technique specialist that has over the years helped thousands of runners to a more efficient running technique - from the slowest beginners to members of the Swedish national team in running and triathlon who have participated in the World Championships and the Olympics. Fredrik also writes articles on effective running technique for Runner's World magazine.
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I am in my late70s and still run regularly, although not as far or fast as I once did. I had to completely stop running in my early 60s because of knee problems. I took up barefoot running. It took a year to build my calf muscles up, but I do not have knee problems any longer. I typically run a few miles a day. I do not worry about what part of a foot strikes the ground first. It might actually be the heel. I do try to land so the most of the pressure is on the ball of my foot. Sometimes it seems like the heel might be slightly first, but if so it is with minimal pressure with the ball bearing most of the pressure. Just some words of what works for me in case anyone might want to try it.
I endorse the above statement going from heels to forefeet.
I used to have knee pain while running, despite working out regularly to strength muscles and increase mobility. My pain went away for good when I tried barefoot running shoes and adopted the technique of landing more on the balls of my foot. After a period, I tried the cushioned running shoes again and the pain on my knees came back. So I gave them up and only wear barefoot running shoes, and this is what works for me. Every person is different. However, I can't help but notice that all the runners shown on this video wear those very cushioned running shoes. This is the main reason why they land on their heels. They wouldn't be able to do that if they were running with barefoot shoes.
5:04 most important sentence of the entire video
100%
As someone who runs to be healty, I do not care what professional athletes do. I care how to do something to be healthy.
Just making any research about the health the pros are in convinces me to avoid what they do. Many of them have bunions and issues with joints.
So I do not care the speed, I can how strong my body is.
If there are only 3% of them, and one manages a top 3 spot, they are over represented in desired outcome. Beating 97% odds at world championships level is all the proof you need to show that forefoot is better.
Showing data distribution would be more valuable than singling out the winner only.
Just found your channel and loving the intelligent contents. New sub :)
The new cheat shoes have pushed the range of acceptable landing areas. Anyone running in minimalist shows will absolutely destroy the body with a rear foot landing. Also it's much more important the position of the foot when the load of the body's weight actually hits the ground. Many elite "heel strikers" may touch heel first but when they load the weight the foot is neutral or mid foot.
The body was designed to run with a fore to mid foot landing so as to cushion and load the plantar fascia for a spring back up.
This is the most sane explanation and if not going for smashing PB one must run on minimalist shoes. I use to run in them then discovered that I need a huge cushion based on my feet type but had post run ache in feet that I never had all those years running on a paper thin shoe. If my feet type called for a cushion shoes I should have got injured running on paper thin shoes
yeh, and you know why?
because they are running in minimalist shoes ON PAVEMENT.
not because heel strike it's wrong or enefficient.
@@mezmerya5130 oh really? What about our ancestors and tribal people who run barefoot, over rocks and sticks, and hard ground?
I bet their feet have no problem heel striking, because as the commenter and PT in the video said: "it is more important where most of the weight impact is on the foot, rather than where the foot lands"
@@etrephesm numbers please. Kenyans still have 72% of heel strikers.
Our ancestors had lifespan of 24years, and didn't really care about their joints, by the way
@@mezmerya5130 our ancestors had a way longer lifespan, the average was low because of high infant mortality
The important factor with heel strikes is that slower runners tend to actively pull the forefoot up and keep that muscle engaged as they land. This causes the braking effect….what you don’t see with the elite runners
Exactly. I switched to minimal shoes about five years ago and just recently looked at my old foot coffin Saucony trainers with the heels completely worn off at the outside edge. Then I realised that the minimal/ barefoot way triggers plantar flexion instead of dorsiflexion. I now understand why I am extremely uncomfortable now in regular shoes, everything feels 'off'. Also I had patellar tendinitis for a long time which was completely fixed by going 'minimal'.
Kipchoge: forefoot
Bekele: forefoot
kiplimo: forefoot
Cheptegi:forefoot
Haile:forefoot
New kid on the block: kiptum: forefoot
So what? They are the best for a reason.
His argument is just stupid. Majority is not always right.
I obviously agree with the main point of the video (plenty of elite runners heel strike in road races-- maybe not with spikes), but nonetheless many park runners who are heavy heel strikers should rethink a bit their running style.
As a side note: Brigid Kosgei wasn't the best example: she is definitely a heel striker but she also has a very "unorthodox" style in general (just look at the movement of her arms). One could only show the Kipchoge fragment and make the opposite claim.
thank you soo match for your advices
I have been running barefoot/minimalist for many years and although I started with a forefoot strike, over the years I started running more on my heels, even barefoot. It allowed for a longer stride and I was able to run a bit faster. Unfortunately I found that it was also harder on my glutes/hamstrings. My glute problem got so bad at one point that I could not sit down for more than a few minutes without it hurting. Last December I made a commitment to stop extending my leading foot so much, but rather driving it down. After developing a forefoot technique again my glute/hamstring issues are gone and I'm running more volume.
Based on my experience I would say that overstriding might be a way to get a little extra speed at one's limit, but doing it habitually is going to cause problems.
Most people confuse landing with initial ground contact.
It's okay if your initial ground contact is with heel first then as you put your whole body weight on that foot it rolls from midfoot to a toe-off.
However when if you're on your heel when your whole body weight is on that foot then it creates all those problems.
And to those ppl that say "you could never run barefoot like that" well i can and i do. Just like i said it's not a problem if you're not putting your whole body weight on your heel strikes. You can run barefoot without problems when your heel just makes initial contact and you put your whole weight on the mid foot as and proceed to a toe-off push as your body moves forward.
Also I'd like to add that there's benefits and drawbacks to both barefoot and running with shoes
Ever Since I started back jumping rope as a warmup for 4 to 5 minutes by before I run I no longer worry much about for strike or form.. Jump Rope just seems to fix most of my running form problems.. And I use a lot less energy when running
Eben I was diagnosed with a benign tumour in my plantar facia, I could either get surgery or radiation therapy. I instead re-trained to a barefoot-forefoot stride when walking and running (walking this way is a little awkward), but after a year, I am now free of any pain around my heel. I do have to work on my calf muscle tension, though, it’s still a bit too high.
I think the question for someone like me who is recently trying to get serious is what are the key principles of building a personal running form?
Let your body tell you. As you get stronger running, your form may change. You want to make sure you don't overstride, your arms are at 90 degrees swinging back and near your body - no chicken wings. 🙂 Try not to cross your arms in front of your body. Slight bend forward from your ankles and not your hip. Look straight ahead and try to keep your head aligned with your body, not sticking out in front.
I don't agree. If the heel touches first but the force is transferred via the mid foot, it is a midfoot runner not a heel striker.
The pictures with the heel forward, against the running direction are misleading! If any force would be transferred it would slow down the runner!
Pretty cool! Well here is one thing that all those top runners have in common and I challenge you to say otherwise on that one. They all run faster than me. 🤣🤣🤣
if they did not run faster than me they would not be considered top runners! 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
It is surely a lot of fun to watch your videos. Thank you for producing and sharing them!
Have a pleasant day.
Any further explanation as to why elite runners may employ heel-first other than it feels natural? Is there perhaps something with how landing on the heels causes the stretch reflex response from the tibialis musculature, hamstrings, and/or the achilles? Perhaps on up to the glutes or hip flexors?
The answer is standard running shoes are designed for heel strike first and foremost. That’s it. An actual interesting analysis would be taking all these runners and make them race barefoot.
I think most of it is down to the longer stride at higher speeds. They touch the ground with the heel, but load the full weight over the full foot.
If you load your heels to hard you get problems in the achilles, calves, glutes. If you load your toes too much you get shin splints and knee problems.
Modern shoes with good spring damper functions give you more tolerance in that as well.
No, because the Achilles & arch are clearly best utilized when landing ball of foot, just like when running in place. What most miss is that simply freefalling & changing support, so it shouldn’t essentially change when the falling element’s removed or added. We are much springier when we land under our hips on the same pivot point we will rotate forward on.
If i can just make an observation about people using footage to show foot steike position. In the particular videos you showed, the video pause showing "heel landing" but the impact forces of landing hadn't occurred yet. In fact the most accurate way to measurw foot stike position is to pause when impact forces are observed through the whole leg.
Personally I switch on purpose sometimes. As long as I land underneath my center of gravity and don't overstride I'm good.
Perhaps we need to get a hint from the spikes the distance athletes wear. The metal spikes are primarily positioned in the forefoot area of the shoes. Also, we should check how Kenenisa Bekele ran on track in 10,000m events with spikes on. And further, extrapolate why the athletes choose to wear these spikes for competition on which the spikes are emphasized in the forefoot area.
the unnatural flat running surfaces we have ,created called roads and the compensatory foot ware all contribute together for the way our feet strike the running surface. cross country running over uneven surfaces which are a natural part of our landscape will force mid-foot to toe strikes when running. the modernization of footwear in combination with man made surfaces has altered our mobility
You missed the fact that most running shoes has a heel drop which makes landing on the forefoot harder.
It makes touching the heel down first easier. But it also makes putting much weight down on the heel "harder."
Problem being: IF you are putting in lots of cushion in a shoe sole, which people seem to want, AND you make the cushion entirely flat: It's easy for the body to drive the heel deep into the cushion as you get tired. Which is VERY unnatural, REALLY slows you down, AND passes impact loads up the chain, to knees, hips back and neck.
Whereas if you make the "crash cushion" forward leaning: When you initially touch the heel down, you "trip over" it, and by the time your weight is fully over the foot, your foot is angled "properly." The heel then mostly serving as partial support to your achilles tendon/ankle as it tires. Or, at least that's how it's supposed to work.....
It's hard to argue running barefoot is not the most natural way to run. Since it, pretty much by definition, is. Shoes, of any kind, are a very recent invention in evolutionary terms. People ran perfectly well without them. Or, at least they ran well enough to catch enough prey to grow to be about the weight of the best of today's marathoners..... At least for running traditional paces, distances and surfaces, barefoot isTHE natural way. However: High stack carbon shoes ARE faster for running 2hr marathons on pavement and concrete slab. As are optimised prosthetic devices. And bicycles, I order of degrees of technical sophistication and removal from "natural" barefoot running.
But making a case for "barefoot shoes" are a lot less cut and dry than for actual barefoot running. With ANY shoes, you still lose all proprioception from your foot bed. Hence come crashing down just as hard in "Five Fingers" as in Hokas. And only then reacting. Or, alternatively, you can contort your foot weirdly in some sort of generalised anticipation of the rock hard strike from landing on concrete with only a hard-rubber barrier cushioning the blow. As opposed to actual barefoot running, where you feel the skin touching down before there is any weight applied, and your foot's dozens of subconscious mechanisms real-time micro corrects to adapt to the landing. It's night and day. There were a lot of micro fractures in foot bones, among "barefoot shoe" runners back when that was a fad. Actual barefoot runners, much, much less so.
Of course, many people have ran in "barefoot shoes" (what an oxymoron. Kind of like bald hairstyles...) without getting microfractures, and instead do better in them. Getting rid of nagging pains, by running in them. So it's really individual.
But Barefoot being more natural than Hokas, does not, a priori, mean that some other shoe is also more natural than Hokas, just because the other shoe is marketed as a "barefoot shoe." It's still a shoe. And shoe vs not-shoe is the biggie. Not whether the shoe has 5 vs 15 vs 35 mm of cushioning, nor 0 vs 4 vs 8 vs 12 mm "drop."
Maybe the shoes forces a heelstrike??
I think running Barefood or with thick shoes is also different in terms of running technique.
1. I do not know where from are these data about foot landing of the elite runners, but i.e. Dibaba lands on the forefoot, which can be clearly seen here:
czcams.com/video/qJcdxSPFWpE/video.html
czcams.com/video/rMHiQgomRGc/video.html
2. To run really efficently one need to use whole system: fascia/tendons/muscles as a "spring" and this spring has to be somehow loaded. It cannot be loaded by potential energy from VO, because oscillaions are too small (10-12cm?), so there has to be used something else: kinetic energy from the speed/tempo of the runner. To do it, it has to be quite a big breaking force. Rapid deacceleration allows to load the fascia/tendons/muscles with energy, which moment later can be given back, etc. To visualize that, thin about pole vault , this exaclty the same mechanism, only in pole vault, this is the pole which is loaded with kinetic energy of the running athlete.
Breaking in running is very important, needed and helpful.
BTW Comparison to Hamilton driving with a hand break on is completely off. One situation is constant breaking force and the other one is very short, breaking impuls and immediate release. More suitable comparison would be running with weight attached to waist using rope and dragged behind.
I ruined my knee by heelstriking. I switchef to forefoot which fixed the knee problem but i started getting hairlinefractures in my tibia.
It's easier to land on the knee than on the calve!☝
I have a VERY important question. When they came up with how many "landed on their heel" vs "landed on their forefoot", did they have any way of measuring how much weight they put on the landing-spot? Because, there is a huge difference of TOUCHING the ground with the heal first, in order for the brain to recognize the ground before actually putting their entire weight onto the ground, vs actually LANDING on the heal and directly putting their weight onto the ground. My own home-scientific journey by exploring the numbers and articles, compering to what I see every day working in a running shop tells me that 99.9% of the "heel landers" actually don't put their weight onto the ground before their whole body is over their foot.
When I read articles of "heel landings" they always refer to the heel touching the ground first, but when the weight is NOT added onto the ground. So, I think that is a really strange way of evaluating "heel landings" vs "forefoot landings".
In other words: I think they took pictures of what touched the ground first, which of coarse is totally irrelevant.
its quite hard to not touch the ground with the heel first with the elevated heal on most runningshoes especially if you have dorciflexion in your ancle. Maybe they find a more eficient running techneque due to the construction of the boot. I fthey land on the heel they will get more bounce that they normaly wouldnt get with a barfootshoe.
he could probably land on his heal in barefootshoes and run slightly slower on a marathon, like the guy behind him in the example, but it doesnt mean that he should
depends on your activity. If your going to do sports in not natural situations, like when you play basketball, you need the extra stiffness and stability these shoes, altra, can provide. But If your just going to run you should be fine in good barefoot shoes pluss they will train your muscles in a better and different way wich in turn can provide better performance when you choose to wear altras. But altras are probably the second best option.@ebooboo69
I find forefoot/midfoot running safer when I go out on the trails, I used to heel strike and I would often roll my ankle.
When i land forefoot on trails i catch my toes on roots and fall on my face.
My theory (as a barefoot runner). The percentages of people who run with heel first are so high, because the percentage of shoes with heel drop is so high. I would like to see the percentages of runners before 1970 when there wasn't heel drop and unnecessary cushioning.
The cushioning allows us to use all these different landings, but the biomechanic of the human just don't work like that. Some people get away with it, but most people gets kneepain over time.
Speaking about percentage. The majority of amature runners are getting kneepain. Is it a coincidence, that the majority of the running shoes is also playing against the natural biomechanics. I am wondering 🤔
Before 1970, it was basically only athletes and young, strong people who ran as exercise. What ended up starting in the 1980s was that ordinary, normal people suddenly started running. And they also started running marathons even though they weighed quite a lot and hadn't exercised much earlier in life. In addition, the population's BMI was extremely much lower compared to now and people moved extremely much more in everyday life than in the last 25 years. And where do you have the studies that say runners before 1970 had less knee problems than people today, all else equal in terms of training background, how they live, what they eat, what they weigh and so on. It could be as you say. But right now your theory is just a guess which also happens to be in line with the way you have chosen to run, i.e. barefoot.
And the thing about everything that is "natural" being better, I really don't agree. If you need to get to the next city, it will be much more efficient to take the bike or the car than to walk or run. It could be that people have invented aids that are more effective than what evolution has created. Like choosing to use an airline between the US and France instead of swimming, which is the most natural way.
Apologies if you think I'm lecturing you. I sound a lot angrier than I am. I've just heard those arguments so many times but very rarely anyone who can back it up with evidence. Feel free to lecture me back. 😃
@@SpringSnabbare I wasn't always a barefoot runner. I also start with a lot of cushioning, insoles. I was a heel striker etc. Than the injuries starts. Heel pain, hip pain, pain in my shins. In an angry moment, I just removed in my run the insoles, which gives me more space in my shoes and more feeling of the ground and.... my kneepain was less. Here was my interest started. I wondered why I was running so much effortless when I practice running indoors on my socks, while outdoors wearing my shoes, I completely loss this feeling. So my interest in barefoot running (with fivefingers) was born. I did also make a lot of mistakes here, but I was stoked about the whole feeling and after a year or so, I learned and just feel how the body was reacting. You feel how to activate that spring and how to run feather light without to much effort. I 100% think that a body is designed to move in a certain way. Like a fish using his fins, we human are built to run. But shoe companies just focuses on making money with fancy cushion shoes, carbon stiff soles etc. while in fact your own feet are the most advanced running "shoes" out there. But almost nobody believes this, because the strong marketing around shoes.
Everyone must make their own decision of course and you really not heaving to be a barefoot runner, but I think it really helps if you know how the biomechanics works while running before just start to run. Advicing that a heel landing is okay, is just crazy. If I do that barefoot on concrete, I will ruine my complete feet without a doubt.
Please no hard feelings here. Enjoy your running👍🏻
Even if many good runners does it doesn't mean it's optimal. Kipchoge knows
I've read the book twice and I think it's kinda bogus that they say heel striking will slow you down. They definitely don't say or even imply that all elite runners forefoot strike though. What they do say is it is natural to heel strike when wearing modern conventional running shoes. But when you take away that thick layer of foam heel striking becomes very uncomfortable. Then you naturally rely on your foot's ability to absorb the shock by using the elasticity of your arches and your calves. The book kinda revolves around "elite runners" from the tarahumara tribe and they of course forefoot strike since they run either barefoot or with very thin sandals. That may be where the misconception comes from.
apparently it also depends on the hardness of the surface underneath
Most elite runners heel strike due to our terrible shoe designs, not for any good reason.
Lemme guess, barefoot runner?
Uhmm I'm not so sure about that...Bekele certainly is not a heel striker..in my opinion elite runners land mostly flat, midfoot to fore foot.. it seems sometimes that they land on the heels when they run at very fast speeds..but it's an illusion,they just dorsiflex the foot prior to the landing..they do not rest their weight on the heels..
5:04
@@bogart7498 the heel surely touches or "kisses" the ground but afterwards, you first have to land flat-mid to fore foot.. if you land directly on the heel even if you try to re-direct the weight forefoot it's too late.. part of the impact goes right to your knee, back etc.. so avoiding primary heel strike at any cost is crucial
Nah, you are wrong
@@davidrosenthal5795 so run on your heels and have fun 👏🔝
I agree with YEAAH on this one. The still image let people think Bekele's going to land on his heel, he clearly does not on the previous steps.
That's what I don't like on those "wrong" " right" type of comparison with still image they don't convey the whole info.
In addition to that, forefoot was never really the hype, midfoot was and a lot of those "rear footer" are actuelly midfooters that slightly touch the ground with their heel but who (btw like the guy in the video says) applies the max damping on the midfoot part. That's basically midfoot landing. The video is slightly clickbaity. It presents an antagonism that doesn't really exist. The so called "forefoot" hype was actually a midfoot hype. And, as said by himself, most "rear footer" (not all obviously) are mainly midfooters that slighlty touch the ground with their heal.
This latter is by the way also a consequence of the new shoe types launched by Nike and copied by others, which have an deeper heel section with more spring effect.
The woman runner example from the minute 2:58 of the video is not that clear as said. We can see, that she touches the ground with her heel, but it doesn't mean that this the moment, when she really lands with her weight. Even if we have to remember that this is only 1 stride, of 1 runner. And this is the decisive evidence? Anyway, I do not wanna say that most runners, even ellite are fore-/mid-foot strikers. But the argumentation in this video does not prove it and doesn't base on relaliable data (see Dibaba videos in my other comment). That's all.
it's all about the techniques how to land your feet if someone who is use to run with midfoot for example and tries to land on rearfoot he is more likely to get injured in future. So! it's all about techniques and comfort.
I spend all day in barefoot shoes with the exception of my runs that involve concrete or asphalt. For myself, I enjoy running shoes. I find them fun and each shoe I've ran in has provided a different experience. Running should be something you enjoy and desire to do as long as you can. I don't think there is anything with using a modern style running shoe. Just make sure that you spend a good amount of time barefoot, especially with weight training.
I thought landing on the forefoot is only for sprint distances.
With shoes that do not even have a heel (like nikes viperfly) to land on.
I suppose it depends on what you mean by a good runner. A good runner could be the runner who avoids injury while those with the same weekly mileage get injured.
I agree with you that running mechanics can’t be distilled to forefoot running. You have to consider forward momentum, COM, cadence, etc.
But, I’m sure that if you put all those elite runners on a firm grass or dirt track and got them to run barefoot, they’d probably run a bit slower and with a forefoot/mid foot strike.
wow.. thats quite a strong stat. 3% are forefoot runners.. glad I was this as ive been trying to relearn forefoot from a semi heel/midfoot land. I just wish I could figure out what made me get shin splints out of the blue
I think you are taking the wrong message from this video. Do not use this as an excuse that heel striking is best. Are you running at top 8 finisher speeds? The quicker the pace, the more you can lead with your foot, which makes having your heel as first point of contact more natural... You absolutely should not be loading your weight at the heel.
Keep experimenting with technique and slow it down while you are doing so.
Heel striking it totally fine as long as you are not over striding .
I look at where the hips, knees and core of the body are aligned when the foot is at max impact Not where it initiates. There is another bunch of videos, where a youtuber slows all top "heel strikers" marathon runners and he clearly shows that they initiate w their Heels but their body is aligned at the mid-foot with the majority of the body weight so its kind of a misnomer to say that these champions are truly heel strikers. If we could put sensors in their sneakers, I bet its less than 25% of the pressure is on their heels and majority is in their mid-foot and maybe less than 5% in their fore-foot. Just Sayin. Slow it down and rewatch.
Tamirat tola does not land rearfoot first... Didn't check all the others, but this table seems dubious at best....
I think it's not matter of who is better, it's more like who gets injured less.
for me the best running layout is more of midfoot, and you should always move you body with the leading leg not lag behind
If you have switched to midfoot landing and got rid of injuries, I am very happy for you. Well done! I'm not saying that midfoot or forefoot landing is bad. I am saying that those who claim that it is always bad to put the heel down first or that elite runners never do it are wrong.
Also remember that it may not be which part of the foot you put down first that has made a difference in your running. It absolutely can. But it's not entirely certain. By consciously trying to move towards a more midfoot landing, you may also have changed how your foot moves on the way forward, how it moves just before it touches the ground and where you land in relation to your centre of mass. If you had changed those parts but still touched the ground with your heel first, you might have had the same effect. Or not. What do I know? Well, one thing I do know is that the biomechanics of running are complicated and you should be careful not to say "This is how it works for me and this is always the case for all runners at all paces".
The best runners in the world, in all disciplines, are predominantly midfoot strikers. I've never seen an elite runner strike the heal during a normal stride during a race. It often looks like a heel strike, but slow it down, and you will see something special going on just before impact...
Have you seen the video? I have statistics from the 2017 World Marathon Championships that say about 70 percent of runners landed on their heels. All male medalists, gold, silver, bronze, landed on their heels at all measuring stations. Also the runner who came in fourth place. I have included film of Brigid Kosgei from the race when she broke the marathon world record that still stands where she is a clear heel striker. I have film of Kenenisa Bekele putting the heel down first. I have research, statistics and pictures and videos of some of the world's best long distance runners landing on their heels. Not even Eliud Kipchoge is a midfoot striker. He clearly runs almost exclusively on the forefoot. And yet you claim that all good runners are midfoot strikers. Must feel good to have decided how things are completely regardless of what all the facts say.
@@SpringSnabbare might be that the heel is a pivotal point and with a relaxed ankle in milliseconds, the midfoot and forefoot take over the load. so the impact is acceptable for some top athletes. The modern shoe design also invites this way of running, with the ever increasing soft foam stack heights in the heel.
Hundreds & thousands of years of evolution in learning how to walk upright and run. Just do what feels good and comes innately?
"porcent"?
I personally think its a silly question... Everybody's biomechanics are different.. different length ligaments, tendons, muscles, different shape of bones..
Sure its interesting, but not a good question
Do you know who doesn't think it's a silly question? Those who have been told by their friends or coaches that they have to land on their forefoot and then suffered various types of injuries and become less effective runners. So I do nothing else all day at work but talk to runners about effective running technique. That you MUST, without exception, land on the forefoot is something I hear very often.
Could highly cushioned shoes allow heel strike to be less detrimental?
Why would landing on your heel automatically be detrimental? Have you seen the video? Do you think all the men's medalists at the world marathon championships would be heel strikers if it was bad? What is bad is landing too far in front of the hip/center of mass which a lot of people do who put their heel down first when they run. But it also not good at all to land too far in front of you even if you put your forefoot down first. The forces will shift depending on how you land which will change the location of injury risk depending on which part of the foot you put down first. But both ways are bad. What matters is where your foot is when you put weight on it, how it moves just before hitting the ground, etc. But to answer your question: it is not at all certain that highly cushioned shoe reduces the injury risk for heel strikers in any way. I also know several people who run barefoot or in FiveFingers who clearly put their heel down first with no injury problems. If you are now landing on your heel when your foot is too far in front of you, I suggest you try to improve your technique for a landing more below the body than getting the highly cushioned shoe.
Landing on your heel is unnatural and is only able to be done because of cushioned shoes. Try running barefoot and see if you heal strike.
@@dreswan1 It's hard to say this in a delicate way, but you're wrong! The biomechanics of running is my full-time job and has been for many years. I have met and helped many thousands of runners and I have met many runners who run barefoot or in FiveFingers who put their heels down first without suffering any injuries. Even on tarmac. All of them have been convinced that they land on their forefoot. It's a myth that everyone who runs barefoot always lands on their forefoot and it's a topic that will get its own video where I describe how it works. But until then, you can watch this video from my instagram account showing a runner who told me that she started running barefoot because she used to land on her heel too far in front of her body, but since she took off her shoes she always lands on her forefoot right under her body. And that's obviously not the case. The video was taken while she was running on tarmac. instagram.com/tv/CdY-X_GDt7u/?
And I've met many more like her.
@@SpringSnabbare That looks like it will hurt. I hope you are not advocating running barefoot with a heel landing.
@@davidlynch9049 No, it didn't hurt at all. She had been running like that for a very long time and never had any injuries. She was also completely convinced that she landed on her forefoot. And don't worry, I'm not advocating that you SHOULD land heavily on your heel when running barefoot. The whole point of my films is that I am so incredibly tired of all the claims about running that are not true at all. "Elite runners take 180 steps per minute", "Elite runners have 90 degrees at the elbow", "Elite runners always put the forefoot down first", "Those who run barefoot or in barefoot shoes naturally get an efficient running stride and never land on their heels". None of this is true and there are lots of studies that back up my claims. I'm not saying "You should land on your heel" just because some barefoot runners do it (and run injury-free) and many world record runners do it. I am saying that those who claim that "Elite runners always put the forefoot down first" and "Barefoot runners never put the heel down first" are wrong. Biomechanics is not as black and white as many would have you believe.
Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile in Plimsolls. No heel landings for him. These top runners are paid to run in those hyped up expensive shoes, back in Kenya as kids they ran barefoot. Also, most of them weigh less than a crisp packet. I messed up my knees in my 20’s because I ran with a heavy backpack and landed on my heels. Since born to run I have managed to get back into running with no injuries and barefoot shoes. Enough said
This video neglects to discuss the vast difference between elite runners who land on their heels and average recreational runners who land on their heels.
There are many things I don't address in this video, which doesn't mean I don't know about them. For example, I could possibly have been clearer about how it works at different paces even though I actually say: "The faster you run, the further in front of your body it's okay to put your foot down, which is part of the reason why the vast majority of the runners at the World Championships did put their heels down first." However, the purpose of this video is NOT to say exactly what is best for different runners at different paces. The only point I want to make is that people who say "All elite runners run on the forefoot" or "It's always bad to put your heel down first so no runner should do that" are wrong.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Well that book was only really describing people who are running either in thongs or tire sneakers. Zero drop shoes, I can't run in them and do any meaningful distance because I find myself running on the balls of my feet which gives me one heck of a case of plantar fasciitis. I'd much rather run on my heels in regular running shoes and not have that issue.
Try running barefoot on concrete and tell me if minimal buffer by your shoe is enough to not wreck your knee joints.
Asics makes a Metaspeed supershoe for each type of runner. An over-striding forefoot runner uses a Sky and the correct striking rear/mid runner uses the Edge.
I'll say it... forefoot striking is incorrect for distance running. There are outliers that get away with it for prolonged periods (typically extremely light bodies), but if you look at long term health, lots injuries from braking forces. I see and correct them all day every day. Recreational Triathletes are the worst because they'll believe any narrative.
Humans are bipeds, our pronation cycle starts at the heel. This has been known for longer than anyone has been alive and certainly longer than the internet has been around selling forefoot running.
I got REALLY sore + strong calves after reading 'Born to Run' LOL
Tldr: If you are an elite athlete training 6h every day you should land on heel during professional competition runs.
There are good technique runners with relative poor aerobic engines and there are good aerobically fit runners who are sub optimizing their true potential with “relative” poor mechanics….then there are the few…Bekele lands on his forefoot but you have to strip away the marshmallow shoes to realize that or look at his T&F days….supinating on the forefoot first….but hey don’t take my word for it…knowing a bit about cameras if the camera is not high speed enough you can be fooled by the frames taken….I use a 2,000 fps which reveals a lot more than an iPhone….or lesser…
This doesn’t mean anything. Take away their shoes and run on grass/dirt. Then we can talk about what part of the foot they use. All runner shoes are designed for heel striking. So of course it’ll lean that way.
I think speed is a factor. You walk heel first, you sprint forefoot first.
Kipchoge did not run like that and very few in the statistics shown. You did watch the video you commented on?
The video of the elite women can not be used to judge the actual landing-force carried by for-mid-heal of the foot. You need more to measure it since the visual of the video does not show when the actual body weight is loaded relative to the position of the foot on the ground. Specially with the bigger cushioning soles of the newer racing shoes. Indeed more important is position of the foot relative to center of body.
If heel landing is "the norm" why are all the running-drills on the forefoot?
Try to run as silently as possible
Percent.
Bekele (around 3:35min) lands on rear foot? Oh my, someone is blind or has his own agenda. You can clearly see, that right before landing (not just touching the ground) his foot goes flat and he lands midfoot. Running Technique Specialist? Please...
You forgot to add the shoes variable in the equation. Who cares about heel with that much cushioning, right? ;-) What I see is a bunch of runners adapted to an artificial way of running. That's it!
I’m so sick of seeing the trend of faking forefoot striking on all kinds of running videos all over the internet. Most people are heel strikers and should be!
Not so fast my dear Dr Watson! If you had a X-ray camera and high speed camera upon landing and removed the elevated heel in the marshmallow shoes perhaps the results will show quite different results but hey just buy the statistics at face value….;-)
For normal people, basing the way they do sport on the way top level competitors do it is crazy. It's a bit of a silly video, unless you're a top level competitor. Being fast for an office worker versus being fast for a professional world elite athlete??????
I believe many pro runners have changed to heel stike to get maximum effect from the carbon plates and rockers in todays shoes. If this test was done 20 years ago I would bet a much higher percentage would be mid and forefoot srikers.
"Many pro runners have changed to heel strike", what are you basing that on? Do you have any numbers or studies to refer to or is it mostly your gut feeling? And where did you get that you get a greater effect from the new shoes if you land on your heel? What studies have you read about this? Or is it your gut feeling talking again?
The data I'm referring to is from the 2017 World Championships. Prototypes of the Vaperfly made their championship debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The first time the finished model was used was at 'Breaking 2' in May 2017. This means that during the World Championships in August, only some Nike-sponsored runners had access to shoes with the new type of midsole and a carbon fibre plate. The rest did not. But still, about 70 per cent of them put their heel down first at the measuring station I refer to.
@@SpringSnabbare No studies, just my gut reaction from watching marathons from back in the 80s til now. Im very suprised that such a high percentage of pros are heel strikers. Be interesting to see new data from a recent marathon with the new super shoes as maybe even a higher percentage would be heel strikers due to the higher stack and all that cusion 🤔
@@kirbster1977 So zero evidence, lol. How to tell us you're a republican without saying you're a republican.
Depends of the shoe that you"must" Nikes shoes wear ...... to get the cash or even to may enter the race . Give them the african shoes made of tires instead. By the way look at the picture above your youtube channel ... he lands on the grass with his ............
Moat people don't run to win marathons
Realize. YOU'RE NOT AN ELITE RUNNER. Start there. Find your comfort zone when it comes to finding your type of gait and or stride.
It takes practice to "pretend to look like an elite runner". KNOW WHO YOU ARE .. much more.. WHAT KIND OF RUNNER YOU ARE.
I play football (or soccer as some people would call it). There is this guy who would always tell me, i kicked the ball wrongly. I should kick the ball with a certain part of the foot, whereas it was natural for me to kick at whichever part of the foot that was most natural for me at that circumstances. He saw me score several goals later and no longer gave me any comments on what is the most correct way of kicking.
Same thing here. Run whatever feels natural to you. Dont worry about those w@nkers!!
Stop gaslighting eliud kipchoge does not healstrike. Even in the video, you are pause it before his heel actually hit…if you let it play you’ll see the heel doesn’t hit first. He’s midfoot striking. He didn’t even heel strike in the steps leading up to the pause.🤦🏼♀️
The winners are always close to anorexic so their body weight won't cause any damage to their feet while running on their heels. Also their shoes does most of the job softening the impact. I'm 43 and weigh 86 kg. I can run every day thanks to landing on my forefoot with heels only slightly touching ground. When I ran on my heels in my youth it gave me horrible hip problems.
This is correct. The coach in the video is extremely lean, with almost zero muscle. He looks sick. But, that is just how elite endurance runners look. I am not really into that emaciated look. But to each their own.
@@SWTORDREKKIN only way to get faster though
Dan Fors, Fredrik shows thru video that people think they are running one way but actually running the opposite..you need to film yourself to he sure. You are probably still heel striking! 🤣🙋🙏
@@SWTORDREKKIN He's not trying to attract you, you homosexual! 🤣🙋🙏
@@Londonfacts Tell that to Usain Bolt you dork🤣🙋🙏
Everyone has a natural running gait and this gait should not be changed, it needs to be refined so that the performance is enhanced and the risk of injury is lessened . You don't teach Roger Federer how to hit his forehand, it's his and he's been crafting it since he could hit a tennis ball, you show him how to improve it.
There's this sick thing in the Amateur Running Community where if I'm not doing it, nobody else should, they're a waste of time really.
U only have to be a forefoot striker if u r looking to maximize your efficiency (which is of course paramount in endurance sports). Also, the argument that fast runners heel strike (/use poor form) therefore heel striking is efficient, is a terrible argument with no evidence. Imo all those elite runners who are currently heel striking would b even faster if they ran with maximally efficient form. Its up to each of us how much potential we leave on the table.
"Statistics" show that it is a myth!! Your "statistics" are one race with 3% top runners as heel strikers!! Nah!!
Obnoxious, sarcastic, unappealing.
Okay, don't watch my videos then. By the way, you know what I find obnoxious and unappealing? All the runners and running coaches who firmly claim lots of things that are not true. For example, that it's always bad if the heel touches the ground first and that elite runners always run on the forefoot. I think it's okay to make fun of them since they have been lying to so many people for so many years. But apparently you can think differently about that.
Thank you for inviting us to comment. Thank you for allowing us to think our own thoughts. Thank you for being such a good sport while receiving our comments.