We've put together a cool resource for you. As Shona mentioned, strength training is more important than gait retraining. You can grab our free strength training plan here: bit.ly/3f-Strength-Training-Plan
I have to disagree that heel striking is OK if you are an uninjured runner. She states that heel striking puts more impact to the knee and forefoot striking moves the impact to the foot and ankle. This is true and your foot and ankle are great shock absorbers. The knee is not a great shock absorber.
There is plenty of science that says high cushioned supportive shoes make our feet weaker. People under estimate the damage modern day shoes have done and don't respect the time it takes to regain natural foot strength. Took me 4 years. Just did an 80km in vibrams and never going back to normal shoes. Now 4yrs injury free and running better because of it. Anyway happy running you do you 🙏
I mean its not like we had a few hundred thousand years of evolution that designed our body to run in a specific way. Just buy that new shoe with tons of extra padding that you don't need rather than fix your form... I am 100% with you, its better to put in the time and build up strength so you can run right than keep doing damage to your body and Vibrams and Vivo are both top notch.
I’m sick of this garbage from the barefoot people. I don’t care. Go enjoy your Vibrams. 99.9% of people don’t care if they have “weak” feet. I ran an ultramarathon on my weak feet with regular shoes.
@@OmahaTonyG Good on you, I hope you keep having success in your goals. That said its rather sad you feel you have to try and insult people when no one insulted you. If you take offense perhaps you should look at yourself instead of attacking others.
Vibrams belong in the golf bushes I threw mine in anger causing blisters. On UA-cam weak feet/ankles are strengthen in gym, doing fartlek/sprints, hills all help.
The comparisons that some articles and videos make between regular runners and elite runners needs to end. A lot of the time it just comes down to how fast you're running. An athlete running at 4:30 per mile will have a larger forward lean, thus causing them to land more forefoot. An athlete running at 8:00 per mile will not have the same forward lean, and will "sit back" which often causes them to land on their heels. Most videos never mention it, and people look at their form when running at their easy pace, and then compare it to kipchoge running at his easy pace, which is obviously much faster. What people need to do instead is to compare their form when running the same speed as an elite athlete. Doesn't mean they have to run 4:30 pace, just that they have to find a video of an elite running at 7:00 pace
Great video! I ran in vibram 5 fingers for many years trying to change my gait - I literally had a fractured tibia that I assumed was caused by my heel striking..... but even after 4 or 5 years of vibrams, as soon as I ran in running shoes, I went back to heel striking. I'm in cushy Hokas now and don't really pay attention to where my foot is landing.
Mid-foot for this old slow runner. Forefoot just when (if) I sprint at the end of a run. 16km today in bare feet on mostly smooth concrete and asphalt.
If anyone sees this just fyi as this is rarely mentioned: as a barefoot runner one might think that pavement is the worst or hardest on your feet. Well, if the sidewalk is in bad shape you do have to slow down. But gravel, old blacktop, and dry grass in a field are the worst, and dry grass in the field is the one I hate the most. A Summer of carefully incorporating barefoot runs into your schedule can take you to a 5k on regular sidewalks without blisters. But it takes years for your feet to not get dry pieces of sharp field grass stabbing through your arch. Twigs, small rocks, pine needles, no problem, but grass in the plains of the Western Midwest? Terrible and painful. I have barefoot run for three years now including winter down to around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, but tall dry grass in a field… I will go around that if I can. Every other surface I can manage (that I have found so far).
As a non barefoot runner, I'd expect a steep decline to be a barefoot runners worse surface. On the hilly roads where I run, never seen a barefoot runner.
I tought myself to forefoot strick a year or two after I started running, and then transitioned over a couple for years to zero/low drop flexible soled shoes (Inov8 trailfly g270 for road and easy trails, x-talon for difficult trails. I like running off-road, and the thing I've noticed is no more twisted ankles. I think the combination of landing on the forefoot and the foot feeling the ground means that it reacts immediately to uneven ground, I know I've caught the edge of a rock, hole, whatever but the body just deals with it fine. I don't know if anyone has ever done a study of that, probably not I guess.
What I find interesting as a die hard minimalist walker for many years and recently a runner, is the slow changes in the conversation around this topic as the research evolves as channels like this that seem to generally favour sticking to heel striking to being less dismissive of it since as Lindsey has said in a video from a year back is he doesn't think minimalist shoes make sense on modern surfaces. The minimalist shoe movement also advocate a slow change into having no drop from the front to the back as it takes time for the Achilles tendon and calf muscles to lengthen out. So doing some or all of these barefoot walking at home, a ten minute walk per day in minimalist shoes, a 1km run and wait to see how the body reacts as a baseline of where you are at. One of the key things as was said is ankle and foot arch strength need to be build up, I would add to that the whole chain from the glutes to the foot arch have to fully activate, there is a new book, Born to Run 2, just out which is a guide to running in this way. The single leg squat has been very useful to get everything firing at the same time, which interestingly for me was happening on the stronger leg.
All that came about bc some guy wrote a book about the Ra Ra Muri Indians in Mexico's canyons. They don't run barefoot, the run in sandals made from old tires and leather straps that go in between the toes. They will make you a pair if you go into the canyon to visit. We called them "cheese cutters". They will take your old running shoes, if offered, and run in those.
@@michelewheldon6105 It is my understanding they run in homemade sandals for long runs and barefoot for shorter runs. There are now minimalist runners like the Xero line which combine zero drop with a wide toebox for running in that at a glance look like any other brand.
@@michelewheldon6105 their feet are naturally strong. They can run barefoot or with sandals or with shoes. Most people have weak feet and can't even run 2km in sandals without getting injured. It takes time
Thank you so much. So much more relaxed - felt like I was running more with my 'feet' instead of my 'legs' - my thighs had been feeling 'heavy' really early in my runs, but not yesterday.
I reviewed footage of my running strike and I've come to the conclusion that I'm a midfoot striker. Even in slow motion playback, it looked like my heel was going to hit first but at the very last second, the midfoot strikes first. I'm now looking into if I would be better off in a shoe with a lower heel drop. I'll probably keep a mix of shoes with high and low heel drops to help balance out the load on my legs. If my hips and knees need a break, I'll use a low heel drop to shift the load more to my calves and Achilles.
This is a nonsensical debate. The only reason someone can heel strike when running is because they wear padded shoes. Does that mean that everybody naturally lands on the forefoot when running barefoot? No, they don't. Some people are just bad at running, so in a world with no padded shoes those people just wouldn't run, period. And that's exactly what happened prior to the invention of the padded shoes in the 70's, running was basically just for athletes, jogging didn't really exist yet. But there is a correct way of running biomechanically speaking, and padded shoes were invented so people who run "wrong" could still run, that's all. But that doesn't make heel striking "good", in the same way wearing glasses doesn't magically turns bad eyesight into good eyesight, glasses are just a tool that allow people with bad eyesight to see better, but they still have bad eyesight.
I'm training my self to go Fore foot to Mid foot. Reason being, I go thru running shoes very fast with heel striking... it wears down the heel part of the soles pretty quick when jogging long miles a day.
Opposite for me, I switched out to zero drop shoes and focused on slowly changing to a forefoot/midstriker , it helped so much. I do think natural running , using all our toes and how barefoot running is better for us. Im a bit heavy runner so the transition was difficult but well worth it, no more knee pain, and even with left flat foot.
I agree, I do both and barefoot is way more fun. It feels springy and interesting. Feet can get quite tired and sore on some surfaces/distances though so still mix it up
I’ve recently transitioned to more of a mid foot strike from forefoot strike after getting some calf strains due to overloading. Also strengthening my hips, glutes, and hamstrings which helps take load off lower legs
I have started to transition to a slightly lower drop shoe. That being a 5 or 6 mil drop compared to my favored 8 mil drop. That being based primarily on long term calf loading from higher drop shoes. I have found that my Asics TriNoosa 14 with a 5 mile drop and my NB rebel V2 allow me to run longer and place less load on my calves. The load is spread more to my quads during long runs (26 milers). But I will still stay with a higher drop for faster paced work and especially races half marathon and below.
@@therangersinger I also enjoy the Tri Noosa. I’ve also used the Hoka Mach 4 which is a 5mm drop. It seems like the really low drop shoes like Altra would actually pull more on the Achilles & calf
@@trainwellracewell I have often wonder that as well. But maybe my train of thought is a bit off since my calves are a bit on the tight side all of them time and I figure a lower drop shoe (zero like Altra) would cause me to stretch them out more under load....therefore causing more pain 🤣🤣. But at the same time Im a midfoot runner at most paces and transition to forefoot for faster stuff so it may not even affect me much.
It also depends on speed. Not as simple as you appear to suggest. The faster I run, the further forward I run. That's what kids do. Kids typically run fast.
I’ve found that I’m a combination runner. Is that a thing? So, my super slow paces like long runs and recovery/easy days are a mid foot/ heel strike. And my hard/fast pace days tend to be forefoot.
Switching the gait takes a really long time, she says months, but I would say years or at least a year. It took me three years to get my barefoot running distance with no injuries to the same level as I had with regular thick padded running shoes. Of course, I made the switch while recovering from a tibial stress fracture and a stress fracture by my toes so of course I had to go super slow anyway for almost a year
I have found foot strike is just one part of overall good running style. When you have good style foot strike goes to the mid/ forefoot. It’s best to lean into the run, keeping arms high and at front, not overstepping past the mid line, cadence of 180 regardless of speed, shoulders back, lifting heels higher at back. I think heel striking is an indication of overstepping giving added shock up the leg and wasting forward momentum.
Is the bigger risk from overstriding? This will tend to make you heel strike but it is not the strike that's the problem but slamming on the brakes on each stride.
The main issue is where your foot strikes the ground in relation to your hip. It should ideally be below the hip and as you say, overstriding can cause the ankle/foot to be infront of that line acting as a brake. So for me whether you heel strike or not is maybe not so much of a problem as long as it is under the hip on landing.
I used to be a rear foot striker and the max that I can run is 30 minutes. When I shifted to fore foot strike I managed to run 1 hour with out any problem. I guess the question is, what are the professionals doing, because if they are using forefoot strike then it must be good.
I was recently diagnosed with fat pad atrophy, so I think I need to switch from heel striking to forefoot striking. I would love to see more videos on developing forefoot striking form and strength training (especially since it may be hard for me to find professional guidance on this where I live right now).
I've done it, I'd say number 1 is build up tib ant strength to avoid shin splints. I did it with sustained deep squat holds but you can look up the knees over toes guy, he advocates it a lot
do trail and technical terrain runners tend to forefoot strike etc. and would this be a representation of a natural(primitive) running gait. also does high performance in any activity often compromise form and promote injury over health and fitness training goals for longevity.
That definitely had me doing a double take, since they showed that clip as they were saying that most people will forefoot/midfoot strike when running barefoot.
What if you forefoot strike on one foot and heel strike on another? This must be due to a biomechanical imbalance somewhere and will eventually cause injuries.
That would be an issue with putting all "elite" in one group. "Most" will forefoot strike, because "most" aren't doing long distance running... Flawed data pull.
i've never been able to understand how people heal strike. all my life i've been running on my toes cause nobody can sprint on their heals and that's important in football
We've put together a cool resource for you. As Shona mentioned, strength training is more important than gait retraining.
You can grab our free strength training plan here: bit.ly/3f-Strength-Training-Plan
I have to disagree that heel striking is OK if you are an uninjured runner. She states that heel striking puts more impact to the knee and forefoot striking moves the impact to the foot and ankle. This is true and your foot and ankle are great shock absorbers. The knee is not a great shock absorber.
There is plenty of science that says high cushioned supportive shoes make our feet weaker. People under estimate the damage modern day shoes have done and don't respect the time it takes to regain natural foot strength. Took me 4 years. Just did an 80km in vibrams and never going back to normal shoes. Now 4yrs injury free and running better because of it. Anyway happy running you do you 🙏
I mean its not like we had a few hundred thousand years of evolution that designed our body to run in a specific way. Just buy that new shoe with tons of extra padding that you don't need rather than fix your form... I am 100% with you, its better to put in the time and build up strength so you can run right than keep doing damage to your body and Vibrams and Vivo are both top notch.
Nobody have time like you.
I’m sick of this garbage from the barefoot people. I don’t care. Go enjoy your Vibrams. 99.9% of people don’t care if they have “weak” feet. I ran an ultramarathon on my weak feet with regular shoes.
@@OmahaTonyG Good on you, I hope you keep having success in your goals. That said its rather sad you feel you have to try and insult people when no one insulted you. If you take offense perhaps you should look at yourself instead of attacking others.
Vibrams belong in the golf bushes I threw mine in anger causing blisters.
On UA-cam weak feet/ankles are strengthen in gym, doing fartlek/sprints, hills all help.
The comparisons that some articles and videos make between regular runners and elite runners needs to end. A lot of the time it just comes down to how fast you're running. An athlete running at 4:30 per mile will have a larger forward lean, thus causing them to land more forefoot. An athlete running at 8:00 per mile will not have the same forward lean, and will "sit back" which often causes them to land on their heels. Most videos never mention it, and people look at their form when running at their easy pace, and then compare it to kipchoge running at his easy pace, which is obviously much faster. What people need to do instead is to compare their form when running the same speed as an elite athlete. Doesn't mean they have to run 4:30 pace, just that they have to find a video of an elite running at 7:00 pace
Great video! I ran in vibram 5 fingers for many years trying to change my gait - I literally had a fractured tibia that I assumed was caused by my heel striking..... but even after 4 or 5 years of vibrams, as soon as I ran in running shoes, I went back to heel striking. I'm in cushy Hokas now and don't really pay attention to where my foot is landing.
Thanks for watching Steph! Glad to hear you're running injury-free & loving the Hokas.
Enjoy your continued injuries!
I was a heel striker but changed my gate to fore foot. I had knee trouble and shin splints.
Mid-foot for this old slow runner. Forefoot just when (if) I sprint at the end of a run. 16km today in bare feet on mostly smooth concrete and asphalt.
If anyone sees this just fyi as this is rarely mentioned: as a barefoot runner one might think that pavement is the worst or hardest on your feet. Well, if the sidewalk is in bad shape you do have to slow down. But gravel, old blacktop, and dry grass in a field are the worst, and dry grass in the field is the one I hate the most. A Summer of carefully incorporating barefoot runs into your schedule can take you to a 5k on regular sidewalks without blisters. But it takes years for your feet to not get dry pieces of sharp field grass stabbing through your arch. Twigs, small rocks, pine needles, no problem, but grass in the plains of the Western Midwest? Terrible and painful. I have barefoot run for three years now including winter down to around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, but tall dry grass in a field… I will go around that if I can. Every other surface I can manage (that I have found so far).
As a non barefoot runner, I'd expect a steep decline to be a barefoot runners worse surface.
On the hilly roads where I run, never seen a barefoot runner.
I tought myself to forefoot strick a year or two after I started running, and then transitioned over a couple for years to zero/low drop flexible soled shoes (Inov8 trailfly g270 for road and easy trails, x-talon for difficult trails. I like running off-road, and the thing I've noticed is no more twisted ankles. I think the combination of landing on the forefoot and the foot feeling the ground means that it reacts immediately to uneven ground, I know I've caught the edge of a rock, hole, whatever but the body just deals with it fine. I don't know if anyone has ever done a study of that, probably not I guess.
What I find interesting as a die hard minimalist walker for many years and recently a runner, is the slow changes in the conversation around this topic as the research evolves as channels like this that seem to generally favour sticking to heel striking to being less dismissive of it since as Lindsey has said in a video from a year back is he doesn't think minimalist shoes make sense on modern surfaces.
The minimalist shoe movement also advocate a slow change into having no drop from the front to the back as it takes time for the Achilles tendon and calf muscles to lengthen out. So doing some or all of these barefoot walking at home, a ten minute walk per day in minimalist shoes, a 1km run and wait to see how the body reacts as a baseline of where you are at. One of the key things as was said is ankle and foot arch strength need to be build up, I would add to that the whole chain from the glutes to the foot arch have to fully activate, there is a new book, Born to Run 2, just out which is a guide to running in this way. The single leg squat has been very useful to get everything firing at the same time, which interestingly for me was happening on the stronger leg.
All that came about bc some guy wrote a book about the Ra Ra Muri Indians in Mexico's canyons. They don't run barefoot, the run in sandals made from old tires and leather straps that go in between the toes. They will make you a pair if you go into the canyon to visit. We called them "cheese cutters". They will take your old running shoes, if offered, and run in those.
@@michelewheldon6105 It is my understanding they run in homemade sandals for long runs and barefoot for shorter runs. There are now minimalist runners like the Xero line which combine zero drop with a wide toebox for running in that at a glance look like any other brand.
@@TadeuszCantwell Not when I was there seeing them run.
@@michelewheldon6105 their feet are naturally strong. They can run barefoot or with sandals or with shoes. Most people have weak feet and can't even run 2km in sandals without getting injured. It takes time
Thank you so much. So much more relaxed - felt like I was running more with my 'feet' instead of my 'legs' - my thighs had been feeling 'heavy' really early in my runs, but not yesterday.
I reviewed footage of my running strike and I've come to the conclusion that I'm a midfoot striker. Even in slow motion playback, it looked like my heel was going to hit first but at the very last second, the midfoot strikes first. I'm now looking into if I would be better off in a shoe with a lower heel drop. I'll probably keep a mix of shoes with high and low heel drops to help balance out the load on my legs. If my hips and knees need a break, I'll use a low heel drop to shift the load more to my calves and Achilles.
Really informative and helpful. I'll stop stressing now and just run!
This is a nonsensical debate. The only reason someone can heel strike when running is because they wear padded shoes. Does that mean that everybody naturally lands on the forefoot when running barefoot? No, they don't. Some people are just bad at running, so in a world with no padded shoes those people just wouldn't run, period. And that's exactly what happened prior to the invention of the padded shoes in the 70's, running was basically just for athletes, jogging didn't really exist yet. But there is a correct way of running biomechanically speaking, and padded shoes were invented so people who run "wrong" could still run, that's all. But that doesn't make heel striking "good", in the same way wearing glasses doesn't magically turns bad eyesight into good eyesight, glasses are just a tool that allow people with bad eyesight to see better, but they still have bad eyesight.
Also I have changed all my running shoes to Altra and Innov-8
I'm training my self to go Fore foot to Mid foot. Reason being, I go thru running shoes very fast with heel striking... it wears down the heel part of the soles pretty quick when jogging long miles a day.
Opposite for me, I switched out to zero drop shoes and focused on slowly changing to a forefoot/midstriker , it helped so much.
I do think natural running , using all our toes and how barefoot running is better for us.
Im a bit heavy runner so the transition was difficult but well worth it, no more knee pain, and even with left flat foot.
I changed my running gait from heel to mid/fore foot. Also, imo windlass landing of the feet are so critical as well.
I have run both ways ...i prefer barefoot or vibrams
Two complete different running experiences
I agree, I do both and barefoot is way more fun. It feels springy and interesting. Feet can get quite tired and sore on some surfaces/distances though so still mix it up
I’ve recently transitioned to more of a mid foot strike from forefoot strike after getting some calf strains due to overloading. Also strengthening my hips, glutes, and hamstrings which helps take load off lower legs
I have started to transition to a slightly lower drop shoe. That being a 5 or 6 mil drop compared to my favored 8 mil drop. That being based primarily on long term calf loading from higher drop shoes. I have found that my Asics TriNoosa 14 with a 5 mile drop and my NB rebel V2 allow me to run longer and place less load on my calves. The load is spread more to my quads during long runs (26 milers). But I will still stay with a higher drop for faster paced work and especially races half marathon and below.
@@therangersinger I also enjoy the Tri Noosa. I’ve also used the Hoka Mach 4 which is a 5mm drop. It seems like the really low drop shoes like Altra would actually pull more on the Achilles & calf
@@trainwellracewell I have often wonder that as well. But maybe my train of thought is a bit off since my calves are a bit on the tight side all of them time and I figure a lower drop shoe (zero like Altra) would cause me to stretch them out more under load....therefore causing more pain 🤣🤣. But at the same time Im a midfoot runner at most paces and transition to forefoot for faster stuff so it may not even affect me much.
What matters is where the foot lands not the heel or forefoot. The foot needs to land under the center body of mass.
Most of heel striker are due to cadence too slow. Just practice a bit faster cadence.
And, what if you're like me; middle-aged mum, "elevated BMI" and just really a beginner runner? I can run a 5k park run though.
Go to a sporting event for kids and watch them run. They all mid or forefoot strike unless they are obese.
It also depends on speed. Not as simple as you appear to suggest. The faster I run, the further forward I run. That's what kids do. Kids typically run fast.
I’ve found that I’m a combination runner. Is that a thing? So, my super slow paces like long runs and recovery/easy days are a mid foot/ heel strike. And my hard/fast pace days tend to be forefoot.
That applies to most experienced runners. You are not alone 🤣. I would consider that completely normal and expected.
Switching the gait takes a really long time, she says months, but I would say years or at least a year. It took me three years to get my barefoot running distance with no injuries to the same level as I had with regular thick padded running shoes. Of course, I made the switch while recovering from a tibial stress fracture and a stress fracture by my toes so of course I had to go super slow anyway for almost a year
This is very helpful. Thank you.
I have found foot strike is just one part of overall good running style. When you have good style foot strike goes to the mid/ forefoot. It’s best to lean into the run, keeping arms high and at front, not overstepping past the mid line, cadence of 180 regardless of speed, shoulders back, lifting heels higher at back. I think heel striking is an indication of overstepping giving added shock up the leg and wasting forward momentum.
Very interesting and informative video..thank you!
Is the bigger risk from overstriding? This will tend to make you heel strike but it is not the strike that's the problem but slamming on the brakes on each stride.
The main issue is where your foot strikes the ground in relation to your hip. It should ideally be below the hip and as you say, overstriding can cause the ankle/foot to be infront of that line acting as a brake. So for me whether you heel strike or not is maybe not so much of a problem as long as it is under the hip on landing.
Wouldn't the way your foot falls when running just be the same or similar to the way you naturally walk?
I used to be a rear foot striker and the max that I can run is 30 minutes. When I shifted to fore foot strike I managed to run 1 hour with out any problem. I guess the question is, what are the professionals doing, because if they are using forefoot strike then it must be good.
I have uniquely efficient biomechanics that make my knee and heel feel it on the foot that is less able to access pronation even when walking.
I was recently diagnosed with fat pad atrophy, so I think I need to switch from heel striking to forefoot striking. I would love to see more videos on developing forefoot striking form and strength training (especially since it may be hard for me to find professional guidance on this where I live right now).
I've done it, I'd say number 1 is build up tib ant strength to avoid shin splints. I did it with sustained deep squat holds but you can look up the knees over toes guy, he advocates it a lot
do trail and technical terrain runners tend to forefoot strike etc. and would this be a representation of a natural(primitive) running gait. also does high performance in any activity often compromise form and promote injury over health and fitness training goals for longevity.
I think you'd find they're running on uneven terrain so they're likely to show they are midfoot on flat, forefoot on uphills, heal on downhills.
Im mid strike
And don't have any injury
8.09 - rare footage of a barefoot runner who runs with a heelstrike!
I saw it as more of a mid-foot stride.
@@StephanieMaggs i did that sad thing of pausing the video and yeah, his heel lands first. That's gonna hurt!
That definitely had me doing a double take, since they showed that clip as they were saying that most people will forefoot/midfoot strike when running barefoot.
What if you forefoot strike on one foot and heel strike on another? This must be due to a biomechanical imbalance somewhere and will eventually cause injuries.
All you need is 5 minutes to change your form. Read Born to Run 2 it will change your life......
But so many elites do heel strike.very less percentage for forefoot strikers in marathon
That would be an issue with putting all "elite" in one group.
"Most" will forefoot strike, because "most" aren't doing long distance running... Flawed data pull.
i've never been able to understand how people heal strike. all my life i've been running on my toes cause nobody can sprint on their heals and that's important in football
for sprinting you need to be on your toes, but not for distance running.. not sure many ppl would sustain running on their toes for 40 to 90kms
@@dilochetty9332 take your shoes off and try to land on your heal.
@@fpupesh why? Are we back in d stone ages
@@freakerss so we should not wear shoes?
Long distance running on toes would be really weird and totally unnatural. You'd be like a kangaroo.