After reading Born to Run, I immediately switched to a forefoot strike. My calves were sore for about two months, but now they are extremely toned, my knees don't hurt from running, and I've never looked back. I'm definitely a fan of off-road running as well!
Same with me. I started running with minimalist shoes and even though my calves were maxxed out, the absence of knee pain (patellar tendinitis) even on long runs was well worth the transition. Now my calves have much more stamina , they don't get tired and knees are the best they've been in years. (I'm 50).
i am just a young runner but ever since i am thinking i was running on the forefoot. I also noticed that i automatically switch up to an midfoot landing on asphalt and if i do longer runs on hard surfaces i definitely can feel the impact but more in the ankles than knees or hips
My experience - I ran with heelstrike for about 15 years. I had regular injuries - ankles, problems with my knees, and especially my back. Then I changed the technique to the forefoot. It was very difficult from the beginning. But I went slowly and after a year, I was actually able to run normally this way. For the last 8 years, I haven't had any more footstrike-related injuries. Above all, my posture has improved and I no longer have back problems. I also ran barefoot for a while and found that it was practically impossible to run on my heels on the trails. Running barefoot is a very good workout for proper running. Sneakers are a very individual choice, some are minimalist, some maximalist, ... depending on the surface, the weight of the runner, the running style, the kilometers, ... When you find sneakers that really suit you, open champagne and celebrate. :-)
Children naturally run on the fore foot 🦶 also… shoes are like a cast.. moccasins or thin sandels are what native Americans wore and they are some of the greatest runners
Same here. About 7-8 years ago, I decided to migrate from heel strike to fore/mid-foot strike. I started by beginning my runs a the local track by running as far as I could barefoot. It is impossible to run far heel striking barefoot but my soles weren't tough enough to handle it for more than one lap at first. I eventually could do over a mile and by then, my running form had adapted to more of a forefoot strike. I couldn't help it. It took me about six months to make the adaptations before it became natural. One of the key changes I made was gradually reducing my heel drop from 11-12 mm to eventually 4-5. I briefly tried zero-drop but that was too much. Although Guran doesn't bring it up, the main advantage of getting off of your heels is that heel striking makes your skeleton absorb most of the impact whereas the alternative moves it to your muscles and tendons which protects the joints, especially the hips, ankles and knees. It's our natural shock absorption system. It may be hard to abandon heel striking because we've all been doing it for most of our lives,. but it is not how our bodies are designed to operate. And it is even harder to go back once your body has adapted to the more efficient fore/mid-foot strike. Just my opinion based on my experience.
@@pasadenaphil8804 The issue is that these are opinions, not empirical. The suggestion that people just over stride and that naturally mid to heel striking is ideal holds as much weight, evidence-wise. Olympians seem to exhibit that. I am not suggesting that you are wrong, just that it interesting and little academic work exists.
Sometimes when people talk about heel striking they are actually talking about over-striding and that adds to the bad reputation. I focus on my foot landing under me rather than which part of the foot makes contact first. I'm predominantly a heel striker and have no issues.
Yeah, there are several mistakes runners make that just happen more among heel strikers but don't neccessarily come with it. E.g. overstriding, not bending the knees enough, sitting posture, low cadence, etc. A subtle heel strike shouldn't be a problem. I switched to forefoot because my knees hurt. But after learning to bend the knees the right amount upon landing I feel good with a midfoot strike as well.
This is a really interesting point.. it could be that switching to a midfoot/forefoot strike encourages us to not over-stride and *that* is what makes the difference? I've no idea, but since I switched to minimalist shoes I no longer seem to get injuries - which is great as it means I can go running, yay.
I watched a slo-mo video of Shalane Flanagan run at the end of her NYC Marathon victory years ago and it sure looked like she was landing on her heels. But as you point out, she was landing with her feet right under her and rolled forward so fast that it was impossible to detect without slowing the video. Makes me wonder if that even counts as heel striking. Her knees were bent and she rolled right through the strike.
I am a beginner runner in my early 50s, so naturally I am concerned about any damage I could get from running. Watched a lot of videos about striking patterns and being a heel striker myself tried switching to toe striking under assumption that it is less damaging. I have to agree with the video that both ways can lead to injury, only in different parts to the foot/leg. This was my experience. Also from my experience I came to a realization that the key to a painless running is not the striking patterns, but a proper strength of leg muscles and joints. Stronger legs naturally lead to a very different running style, which feels more like spinning invisible bicycle pedals, with very soft touch of the ground, almost like flying over the road. While weaker legs cause sort of a stomping style, with very hard landing on your feet. When I was running on weak legs, I was stomping and making very loud noise with every step. But now I can barely hear touching the road and it doesn’t matter how I land. So my advise to the new runners would be starting with proper strengthening your legs before actually trying to run.
I run 4 to 6 times a week for the past 4 years but I don't compete in races, just running for pleasure . What helps me to stay injury free is too do strength my body with Pilates lessons 3x a week and don't run with the same exact shoe every day. I use running shoes that are mostly stable enough for my minor overpronation and the drop changes from 8mm up to 12mm and with different height of the middlesole and more or less cushioning. This way I can give a little break for some muscles ,tendons and bones when I run with a higher or lower drop shoe.
I would agree to a degree, but the heelstrinking isn't the way we are built to run. It is an adaptation because of the increasingly more spoongy shooes we wear and we have weaker and weaker legs and calves, more flat feet etc. The way the legs are built, they are like springs and forefoot walking/running incorporates every leg muscle, while heelstrinking does not and pretty much eliminates the spring part out of our legs and transfers it to the back and again, which leads to more and more back problems we have. You may be a heel striker and it doesn't mean you will have problems, but for sure, you are not running/walking they way we are built. But I do agree that with how modern running shoes are designed, heel strike running is more efficient.
@@MiracleWarriors Like the idea of changing shoes so your slightly change your gait and move different muscles. That's got to be good for all round strength, right?
I switched from a heel strike to midfoot in my 40s. I had run all my life but always felt like somethingwas wrong with me as i always felt like a plodder hence making the change. After transitioning I had a year with tight calves and 2 minor calf tears however I then progressed to run better and faster than I had for the previous 40 years of my life. Changing to miidfoot strike had given me what felt like springs in my legs and allowed me to hugely improve my speed and distance. I also noticed less injuries with no hip or knee pain which I'd had when I used to heel strike. So definitely was a positive experience for me but I appreciate we are all made differently. Thank you for your video.
I’m a natural forefoot runner and I still sometimes get injuries, so completely agree with him on it depends on your body and there is no proper science back up for it. However I believe stretching, recovery and muscles strengthening exercises are way more important for supports and improvements 😊
THX for great content once again! Like Michael B -- Focus on strike below center of mass and my tendency is heel strike. At 58 with several injuries and traffic accidents in my bag I have learned to match goals to reality. 1) 30% (20kg) heavier than at skinny 18 yrs old. 2) Lower back partly crushed in traffic accident. 3) Cartilage worn in both knees. 4) Left ankle held together by surgical steel albeit easily dislocates => Remedy: Twitch it back in place and WALK home
The stigma of landing on your heel is so dominant in this sport. I remember watching a video where someone captured the landing of 5k and 10k runners on the track and it was interesting to see that even the elite runners will land slightly on their heels. Building strength from your feet all the up to your hips seems to be the best option for all runners to help with injury prevention. Great video.
I don't think it needs to be stigmatized, but in general heel landing leads to poor running form. There is some truth to what is considered natural running. Avoid roads (you'll probably injure yourself), and try running barefoot one day, and you'll most likely feel uncomfortable landing on heels - even if that's what you have traditionally done. Shoes make that style more bearable and masks the effects of landing on heels, might be ok short term, but will lead to long term effects. You should feel like you're gliding on the surface more than landing on it
There is a difference between just landing on the heel and transferring the weight over midfoot/forefoot vs loading the heel. The first option is actually ok and more efficient for long-distance runs, the second is indeed harmful and inefficient.
Excellent video. I started running 30 years ago, and my Saucony shoes had 12 millimeters offset. Ten years ago Saucony changed their shoes to 8 millimeters offset. Within a year I had three calve muscle injuries. Now I changed to Mizuno shoes, with 12 millimeters offset and no more problems. So heelstrike for me.
One man's meat appears to be another man's poison. As a beginner runner, I didn't even know what "drop" was in shoes. Later it turned out all my running shoes were 10 mil. In the meantime I bought the Clifton (5mil) and gradually increased my mileage. And then there was no going back to high-drop shoes. Every time I put on a 10, or even an 8 mil drop shoe, I felt it was working against me somehow. Now all my shoes (about 20 pairs) are within 0-6 mil drop range, but the ones I use for long runs (21 to 50k) are only 0-5. No science to back it up, but that's the way it works for me. Ca. 300 km of monthly mileage.
I believe more trail running and avoiding hard surfaces, especially with barefoot shoes is very important. I love my barefoot shoes, but its primarily the open toe box and zero drop that i love. Its hard to go back to normal running shoes were my toes end up squished, causing me pain
Absolutely agree. I didn't really like how much slower I ended up running with minimalist shoes. With that said, I'd never run in anything other than my zero drop natural toe box Altras again
Did my knee in running on my heal accidently once. Never before then realised people ran differently. But its evident in my house...kids run on their heels and the whole house shakes as they run round it. But me, always been a front foot runner without realising, always pretty quiet on my feet when i chase after them. Point being, if i can run round my house and not make a sound or shake any ornaments like my smaller, lighter kids do. Surely theres a huge reduction of impact occuring in the front foot running with alot of absorbtion through the natural suspension of the muscles and tendons throughout the knees AND ancles.
Thanks Goran. Love your channel. A great and emotive subject. I was a fast and competitive school boy runner (state and national level in 800m, 1500m and x-country). When I look at photos from that time (late 70’s early 80’s) I was clearly a forefoot/mid-foot striker and had no injury’s. Additionally, all shoes were minimalist back then. As shoes became more structured and padded and I was in a phase of my life (mid career) and not as regular a runner I became a heel striker. I started to experience injuries. This was likely a combination of many factors that likely afflict recreational runners such as lack of consistency in addition to a rear-foot strike. I also read Born to Run when it came out. Subsequently, I converted to barefoot. I understood the limits on adaption and took 18 months to achieve what I consider to be fully adapted. That was 11 years ago and I have been injury free since. However, I am also much more consistent runner once again. Additionally I largely run on technical trails. The evolutionary argument for a gait that reflects a barefoot gait is so compelling that I believe all runners who currently run in that way would benefit from properly and safely converting through adaption to such a gait. However, most people want a quick fix and lack the patience and willingness to regress in their running performance while they adapt to reap the benefit. If you are thinking of making this change, it will take time. Be patient and start with only walking for a month or so, allow your foot musculature, connective tissues and soles to adapt before you even take your first running step. I wear shoes now but still occasionally go for short barefoot runs to remain efficient and deepen the neuromuscular pathway associated with an efficient running gait.
I really like your non black and white thinking! There is something, though, that I really find interesting and that I hear no one discussing. That is HOW the heel strike is detected. I've seen clips where heel strikes are discussed combined with videos of lots of different runners landing on there heel, but there is a difference between the heel touching the ground first and actually landing all the weight on your heel. My hypothesis is that most of the people we call heel strikers actually just touch the ground ever so slightly with their heel first, then come over the foot with their body before actually applying their weight onto the foot. At least that is my conclusion is after watching thousands of customers in the running shop I work at. Good vid, keep it up!
Superb video Göran! Very well explained, using references to scientific papers, and ending with simple and easy to understand conclusions and advices. Great work!
@@goranwinblad @Roberto Turrado Camblor It is not as colorfull as you described it Roberto. The paper presented by Goran is a bit of low quality. To make it short I'll focus only on the vGRF impact peak topic presented in the paper. In my opinion the authors of the paper not only made the paper with a bit of a attitude but also made an metrologicall error, probably mostly due to a lack of mechanical and physical knowledge. 1. The authors did not only not fully understand the cited by them paper of Grubber and Davis, but also didn't show the full information related to this paper which may be missleading, 2. The authors cited publications regarding one of the problems of vGRF plotting, which is not speaking about what the authors are suggesting. 3. The authors made a huge error in understanding how do vGRF plotting works and what is the math behind it. The vGRF plot of force in time has to have the same integral in both cases of heel running and forefoot running (for the same runner). And this is visible even in the plots the authors are presenting as a potential evidence against it. The vGRF is always the sum of the initial peak and active peak. So there is no hidden 'initial peak' inside the active peak. But of course, the overall force of the initial peak is evenly distributed inside the active peak. That is why the integral is always the same. Which is not what the authors of the paper are presenting. Concluding. Nowadays, there is a lot of scientific papers of low quality due to the simplest reasons - money. Government pays for publications. So as ascientist you have to produce a lot of it. So the quality is low. Always have doubts reading nowadays paperwork.
I watched this video 12 months ago(and a couple others, but this is the one that really stuck), and have slowly changed my stride from heal to mid foot over those twelve months and I am now able to run consistently for an hour. Never got past a couple minutes before that. It’s made a huge difference. Thank you for the info and inspro!!! ❤😊🎉
I like to heel strike and roll forward at an easy pace. The strike point moves forward naturally as I increase my pace. So I do a variety of strike points/pace and appreciate your trail run variety suggestion. What do you think about this idea to prevent injury: as we spend most of our time on one foot when running I feel learning to balance on one leg is a key exercise to both strengthen lateral leg muscles and develop control so we don’t over use them when running if our balance isn’t perfect. That was a long sentence, sorry.
One of the best analysis I’ve seen around this-helped me understand my own running style more (I’m not a natural runner) and it seems ok: consistency remains king-thanks!
Goran, love your summary about this topic. I've always been ambivalent about which is the better way. At an early point of my fitness journey I thought a forefoot landing was softer on the body but I started to get tight calfs and shin splints. Then I started to run by heel striking and my legs got a little more comfortable but then my back would be a little tighter. Every style has it's pros and cons, but if you find the style that fits you the best I think that's all that matters. I'm becoming more of a fan each day Goran, keep up the great content! 👏🤗🏃♂️
Thanks for a really informative video on this subject. I remember when I started track in high school that the coaches told everyone to heel strike. They said land on your heel, push off on your toes. It did feel weird and I got bad shin splints. I believe now that they were actually teaching us to overstride. Now, I try to focus on small steps, which leaves me more of a mid-foot stride.
I've noticed that as my legs got stronger, my stride lengthened automatically without changing my form. More "air" time. It's like in downhill running technique where you lean forward with belly button ahead of nose, "shorten" your stride and quicken your cadence. When I review my Garmin data, I always find that my stride was just as long as before I "shortened" it, probably because I am going downhill faster with minimal oscillation. Heel strike is a complicated thing to evaluate. In fact, it's hard to isolate any factor and come to conclusions without considering several other factors.
Born to Run didn't change the way I ran, since I didn't run back then, but it changed my outlook on daily footwear. I had struggled with plantar fasciitis for ages. I got orthotics to treat it and my doctor told me I would need to wear supportive orthotic shoes for the rest of my life. I nodded, but as soon as the pain subsided I switched to foot-shaped, mostly zero drop, footwear and I haven't had a single issue since. I do wear regular running shoes but always mindful of width, which keeps my PF at bay. I prefer zero drop shoes for trail running though, nice to get the feel of the "road"
I had plantar fasciitis for years, taking weeks, then months and even over a year off in an attempt to get over this ailment. Then I heard about this minimalist style landing on my forefoot. Even though I had active plantar fasciitis, trying this style with slippers, this ailment dissapeared never to come back. It does put more stress on the calves, Achilles tendons, and feet, but it is the way people, with good feet, survived for thousands of years. It allows us to navigate sloping terrains, and obstacles with less issues to our knees and back. It is unfortunately, a bit more effort, as many of us resort to more heel striking as we get tired.
Great video! I just got told from people that "know" running that I should switch to forefoot or midfoot landings. Felt very unnatural and I could simply not get it to work well with my stride. Happy to see that I can stick with my heelstrike :) .
I appreciate your evidence-based approach to this topic, which as you pointed out, so many of us initially adopted based on story-based narrative ten year ago or so. I switched to running in the first version of Vibrams Five Fingers, which didn't have a sole at all and I'm convinced that my achilles' tendons are paying the price today. It's sidelined me for over a year and reduced mobility even while walking.
I'm amazed at the effect that book had on the sport of running. It's an absolutely terrific adventure story but the slightly cult-like barefoot revolution it spawned is hard to fathom- particularly as in the book neither Jenn not Scott, who are really the star runners, are barefoot folks. I think the plus side is there is now more shoe variety than before and some of the more minimalist/natural toe-box shoes are really super comfortable.
ever heard of this book. Lots of news about research around twenty years ago or so... I went for "barefoot" back when fivefingers had just introduced their second model, the KSO, because of all the research I had seen over the years...
I used to run barefoot on the road. My natural footstrike was heel, rolling to toe. However, saying 'strike' was a bit misleading. Running barefoot on hard and coarse surfaces, it was more of a 'touchstrike'. I used to teach kids sport and athletics at the time; there was an event each year that was done barefoot. So I would get them to run around the gym - quietly. The echoing wooden floor initially sounded like thunder - but after a few lessons, they glided around quietly.
Thank you so much for this video. As a 51 year old guy I started to enjoy running since last year. The first thing I heard was that my heelstrike was no good. So a couple of months I forced myself into the forefoot technique. Now I’m out for the last 2 months because of Achilles tendinitis. Nice! 😢. I’ve no hope at all. There is no recovery, no plan, no options. I have to wait. There is a possibility that my running days are over. So my advice is this: only listen to your body and never mind the “running police”.
I think this is highly individual. I had problems for many years with shin splints that just wouldn't heal. I stayed away from running for a year but it came back after just 2 -3 runs. Switched to a forefoot running style 10 years ago and have not had any pain or other running related injuries since. So, if the way you are running works for you, no need to change!
An interesting video…..I was a miler and half miler in high school and was city & provincial ( State) champion and was successful as I was a forefoot runner and we wore spikes which generally precluded heel striking. As I grew to middle age, I dropped track and ran road races and had a lot of success in age class competitions ( always on the podium) for 5 & 10K, but as I gradually went up to half and full marathon’s, again with a lot of success, I developed forefoot issues around the age of 45. I’m 72 now and still winning age classes but was recently diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy such that if I want to run on consecutive days I to run a hybrid style alternating between the two styles, either that or stop running altogether.
Very interesting. Last November I undertook a biometric analysis with a running coach as I knew something wasn't right as I kept getting right knee injuries. The analysis showed that my right foot was heel strike and left was midfoot - so clearly there was an imbalance. Since then I've worked on striking midfoot on my right leg and a few other things like running more upright and increasing cadence. The evidence was already on the soles of my walking shoes where the right shoe was much more worn at the heel. Interestingly for 3 years before the biometric analysis I had bought a pair of Vivobarefoot shoes for walking and the wear on the soles of both shoes was symmetrical and even. Since I've switched to midfoot on both sides I'm glad to say that I have had no right knee pain and I feel good after each run. I haven't gone as far as trying barefoot shoes for running, just keep them for walking.
I once had knee problems so severe I could barely walk an eighth of a mile, the distance between where I parked my car at work and my desk in a large industrial facility. I had just bought an expensive pair of running shoes (I was in my 60s at the time and would run at 8 - 11 minute per mile pace depending on the distance and kind of workout). I also bought some extra cushioning inserts that were sold by an aggressive salesman who said this is what I needed. In almost no time, I had severe knee problems. After being barely able to walk to my desk one morning, on a whim, I pulled the inserts out and found I could walk back to the car much better. I then happened to see a film on TV about barefoot running. I got some running sandals from a company specializing them. It took a year to make the transition to "modified barefoot running." The clip above was correct. Calf muscles were stressed and I had to be careful for a full year while the muscles built up, lest I injure myself. However, I am now 76, run in thin sandals only, and can run 100 meters in under 20 seconds (with a running start) on hard pavement. I would have given up running because of my knees if I had not found out about this. I now do a lot of wind sprint workouts in order to exercise the super fast twitch fibers which is supposed to naturally increase the production of various hormones. For what it is worth, I do not worry about whether my heel or toe lands first. However, I do want most of the pressure on landing to be absorbed by the ball of my foot. So, I go by weight and pressure on the ball, not angle. I found that the sandals have more wear up front, where most of the pressure is, than in the heel area. However, there is some wear back there. I wonder if maybe my heel actually lands first but the ball of the foot bears most of the landing pressure. This works for me.
I've always been a forefoot runner, especially when running track in my high school days; however, i find that it is best to use all three methods when I'm running mountain trails.
I've tried "barefoot" shoes for running last year. Should say this switch from conventional supercushioned shoes to minimalistic positively affected my technique - just because you rely only on your feet, your body becomes more accurate on how you land yourself. The big deal is cadence, let's not forget about this aspect. Legs should move fast enough to minimize time of contact with the surface. Of course, to make this switch succesfully and in healthy way you should reduce your regular mileage in the beginning and increase it gradually as your feet become stronger.
Great video, very impartial take and the key message being that transitions need to be gradual is spot on! I used cheap shoes for my first year and stuggled so hard, then moved to vivo barefoot shoes and really started to enjoy running. I took it slow and steady but eventually got a bad IT band injury by going for a long trail run (more than 10% over my ususal max distance). After 7 months of foot strengthening and rehab, I got back into running again with the help of Hokas, but I still wear barefoot shoes daily for walking, and I'm slowly building up running kms in them again, as I feel it has big benefits for my foot and calf strength. Would you do a video on foot mobility and strength one day? I feel it would be really beneficial to beginner runners as well as more seasoned runners who aren't aware of how to transition to barefoot, or even just wake up and strengthen all the muscles in our feet. Thanks man! Keep it up =]
I was waiting for the knee position when landing but it didn't get mentioned. Because this does effect your running economy allot. Perhaps a topic for a future video? Great video like usual. And I agree with your view on the book :)
Interesting stuff. I've been a runner for a long time, but other than the two videos I've watched on this channel so far, I never gave technique any thought; just warm up, lace up, and go. I'm so out of the loop that I thought people land on the front of the foot. Now that I've seen the numbers, odds are that not even I do! I'll pay attention this morning.
I realised that the best for me is just not thinking about it. My feet strike however they land and there was significant improvement in speed and comfort. Good to hear I'm not on the wrong path :D
Eric Orton who is the running coach mentioned in Born to Run has a great TY channel and while a big proponent of forefoot striking says not to transition from heel to forefoot without a long transition period. As for the book I think its fair to say it abides by the Mark Twain principle of never letting the truth get in the way of a good story.
I completely agree with all the emphasis on the slow progression, however I personally really do believe that running on the forefoot can really help prevent specific injuries such as shin splints, which are an extremely prevalent injury among runners. The only real evidence I have for this is myself because I used to heal strike and back then I pretty much always had shin splints and shin pain, but one winter I slowly changed my strike to mid foot and then eventually forefoot, although now I usually have a mix of forefoot and mid foot depending on how tired I am. And ever since I have never had shin splints again. I know that this could just be because my shins got used to the impact on them, but many of my friends who still heal strike continue to have shin splints for years and years and still have them now when you'd think that their shins would have gotten used to it by now. So, my logic is that the mid foot and forefoot strike move the impact off of the shin to help reduce the stress on it and reduce shin splints
Yeah I agree that the real problem witht he craze that came after Born to Run came out was that people tried to just switch right away and throw themselves into a complelty different running style then what they were used to. People who eased in and tried minamalist/barefoot running on trails and beaches and surfaces like that proably didnt get injured like the people who went straight to concrete. As long as you focus on having decent form and weight distrbution when your foot strikes, I dont the shoe matters that much, especially for recreational runners who arent trying to get scorching times on a hard flat surface.
So far this is the best description and the best recommendations about the running. I also see that many runners who have been doing it for decades and run from 5 km to marathons also naturally follow those principles.
Balanced. Logical. Informative. Well done. It seems to me that there isn't one "perfect" running form for everyone. Generally, my sense is to find the most efficient-feeling form you can maintain when the body is loose. Everywhere along the entire body, not just where you land.
Well, the problem was or is and at least here in the states, everyone wants a quick to pill to swallow to get better, I read the book you mentioned and it made sense, the problem was, no one payed attention to the transition needed between forms and shoes. Years of running with shoes which provide excess support to the point of preventing your feet, and calves from getting strong. Everyone just jumped from heel striking to mid, and forefoot without a proper transition causing injuries. Don’t blame the methods, blame the inability of humans to be patient. Just saying…great video
Food for thought. I was one of many that changes my step and ended up with various issues. Now I alter my step throughout my run and seems to work fine.
Hey Goran, it's another interesting video from you! I would add from my point of view, that foot strike really depends also on speed you want to run. If someone is speeding, than it's very possible that he will do forefoot strike without noticing. By jogging he will do heel foot striking. This is natural and forcing body to change it is not a good idea, I think. Also in the past I read a lot theories that forefoot strike is more economical, more "professional", so I tried to do this while running few kilometers. I got huge muscle sores for next days and I decided let it go and run my own way (heel strike), which feels more natural to me.
I have hyper mobility in my joints. Including my knees today I did A 8 km run forefoot my calves hurt. But my knees don't. I see this as an absolute win as my calves get trained, and my knees stop getting hammered with my waight from start to finish.
Even before this book, heel striking was being talked about as "bad" when i was in college in 2002. I changed very deliberately to stay on softer surfaces and toe striking. This helped tremendously to reduce knee pain. It did take a LONG time to get efficient with toe striking though.
You hit the nail on the head by saying it's not a black and white matter and not everyone is the same. I think there is a fine balance between the concept of Born To Run and where you land on your feet with or without cushioned shoes. I'm currently changing from heel strike to forefoot strike as I've gotten an inflamed tibial tendon along with my left foot slapping the ground at the end of my run, which I believe are both caused by heel striking. This is somewhat supported by recording myself running where I found myself heel striking with my left foot more so than my right foot. The human anatomy is very complex and finding what works best for you as an individual is what matters the most!
Awesome video. Yeah, I don’t think our ancestors ran long distances either and I don’t think we’re really evolved to do that. Really appreciate the background and your insight in the subject though. It makes sense that heel strike is the most common and most natural. Also makes sense that an adaptive technique and personal bio mechanics are super important to maximizing performance and reducing injury vs. a one size fits all solution (i.e. mid and front foot strike are always better). I just got done with a 9 mile trail run full of loose rocks, tree roots, and ferns trying to push me off the trail and trip me by the ankles and it was apparent that I need to pay more attention to each step and each stride to avoid missteps which sap energy and to avoid banging my feet up. Guess that’s why we train, huh?
Very wise words. Listen to your body, adapt and do not follow only one specific path towards your goal - life with running :). There are always multiple path to achieve something so the same concept applies here as well :).
I have changed my form from heel strike to fore foot strike in the last few months. I used to get niggles and pain around my left knee and right hip when I was a heel striker. (I could not run through the pain on my hip) But since making the pivot, these happen very rarely. Instead i'm a little more prone to shin splints. Specificially on the posterior side of my calves. I'm taking this as a sign that I need to spend more time in the gym strengthening my calves and ankles. Im glad that when I watched this video, you have explained why this is happening!
As ever in life moderation!! I took up running in 2012 at age 26 and didn't think about footwear very much and bought shoes with a large heel. I had a lot of over training injuries and constant niggles and knee injuries / strains (think once a month I'd be out for 1 week plus) for several years as a beginner and never made any improvements. I switched to barefoot running immediately (cold turkey), my thought process being that being forced to switch to a more natural strike pattern would help. I immediately noticed a difference with being able to strike the ground naturally in terms of comfort, speed and no injuries after for 5-6 years. I ran half marathons and a marathon with minimal cushioning until I thought I'd try "Merrell vapor trail 3" for speed. They are incredibly thin, zero cushion and totally flat, very flexible. Turns out I went too far and did myself a metatarsal stress fracture which took me a couple of years really to recover from. 6 months after the stress fracture I got checked on a treadmill with a highspeed camera and turns out I'm naturally a neutral runner with a fore/mid strike so that's good but they recommended a cushioned running shoe from Brooks which I then recovered in for a couple of years to rebuild my foot, confidence and fitness. Half marathon is my main event these days and as with everything moderation is important I think. I doubt I'd have gotten a stress fracture had I trained in more protective shoes and avoided shocks from stones, pot holes, acorns etc on the road. I'm again relatively injury free and hopefully won't have anymore bad ones - my approach is to train thinking about form more and select shoes for the purpose with appropriate levels of protection. In my case this is 1. "barefoot running" style shoes which compliment my strike pattern for most training runs but with some cushioning. 2. Long run / off road shoes with lots of cushioning for plodding mostly off road miles 3. Racing shoes - Saucony Endorphin speed 2 :)
Thank you so much for this! I have always been a forefoot runner - I have very narrow heels - and when I started running, it put a lot of stress on my calves as they weren’t yet strong enuf to manage the load. When I tried to change to a heel strike (this was pre the minimalist running trend), I kept getting injured. A very wise podiatrist told me not to try to alter my natural gait, and not to increase speed or distance too quickly. Physiologically we’re all different and naturalist running is running with a foot strike which is natural for the individual.
I did the mistake of suddenly changing my footstrike to forefoot thinking it would improve my running and all it did was make my calves hurt like crazy!
I had the same issue at first and it took me a whole summer to build up to higher mileage. But think of it this way, my calves had never been trained for my entire life and were simply not used to the load. If a runner was a mid or forefoot striker from the start, all muscles would train together and the calf pain most likely wouldn't be an issue. Every video on this subject has had the same comments about "injuring" your calves during the process. I don't consider this an injury, it's a muscle/tendon that's been overworked.
Sometimes, especially when I run longer distances I find it helpful to switch my footstrike from midfoot to forefoot, maybe running one kilometer on forefoot before switching back to midfoot ☺️
I noticed over time after going from forefoot running to heel running I began to get knee pain and shin splints quite often. It was only after i switched back to forefoot running that the pain slowly went away. The funny thing is that since I could remember I had always been a forefoot runner, but as I tried running more and more, my foot began changing the strike on itself.
Hello Goran! ive been watching your videos for a long time and i am SUUUUPER excited to say im moving to Norway ! cant wait to run around in such a beautiful country!
IMO, the leg is clearly designed for absorbing the impact toward the front. The heel is there for stability. If you were looking at a hoof, that would be more like the toes.
I wouldn't call myself a runner, but I do about two 10km runs a week - mostly trail runs. I notice that when the terrain is simple and flat, I heel strike. When I run over challenging terrain (rocks, tree roots), I forefoot strike.
I bought my first running shoes because of you. I bought the Nike renew run (that is the one you compared in a video with your alpha fly I believe). I have to say I really loved them. Running is running shoes is so much more comfortable. So thank you.
It is interesting to observe what the body does by itself. When I climb up the stairs, I land heel first; while climbing down-toe first (softens the landing). To use minimal effort during motion, perhaps we need to let gravity/earth to the work and transition efficiently between steps; An extreme heel first movement would result in a bit of resistance from the ground, a heel-midfoot landing probably maximizes your balance as well as energy you draw from the ground for the next transition. I never knew that folks could run toe/metatarsal first. I have seen dancers use this approach for having soft feet, but it requires higher levels of fitness! The beauty of life is in its variety and possibilities.
I started running with zero drop shoes (that are padded). It made it much more natural to strike with the forefoot, and all my pain finally went away. My calves were sore for a while, but now theyre stronger so it's a win win
I've always been a forefoot striker even as a casual runner. Recently I've been trying to move towards heel strike because I actually have imbalances in my hips core and lower back which are probably what lead me to preference my forefoot. I've struggled with mild hip pain and poor mobility on my right hip for a few years. Recently I've been trying to run slower, with a deliberately activated core and glutes to make sure those muscles are working, and focusing on heel strike with good foot shape & knee over foot positoining. I am of course running slower, but my hips don't have issues after I run like this, and sometimes later in the day/night I even get an almighty reliveing crack in my groin/hip socket which indicates to me that some very small muscles are around the socket are getting a better workout, and then they release later in the day.
Great video. I need cushioning in my running shoes..esp on downhill stretches. But at the same time, i do run barefoot on the beach on certain days when the tide is low. The sand is tightly packed in some areas but looser in others. Overall,a great workout for foot muscles which i don't get when I'm wearing cushions😂.
Hahaha, after watching and reading the comments of video, im quite proud to know forefoot strike is the right way to go at age 14. Back then i never knew injury related whatsoever from the strikes, but i read an article from magazine "FOURFOURTWO", and in one excerpt there's arsene wenger quoting that he was surprised some young talents he met in the academy who had extreme talent with speed didnt even know how to sprint with forefoot strike, which, in wenger's theory is the only way for sprinting. I tried to follow while playing basketball and it sticks till today. Never had running related injuries.
I tend to run on my toes when on grass. I don't even think about it it just happens. On pavement I'd say it's more mid foot and heel combined not all heel.
I'm trying to start running with a forefoot strike or at least midfoot strike while running, the only issue is that my average pace is close to 6m/1km, and it seems a bit slow to run with the forefoot strike, I'm feeling strange by running that way. Also, my steps are pretty close to running at such a pace which makes forefoot strikes even less comfortable, and it feels like I'm a ballet dancer in sneakers. That's why I'm trying to use midfoot on daily bases. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?
Super interesting video! I didn’t know that the barefoot trend was kickstarted by a book! Makes sense. I wonder has the ”yllestrumpor” / wool socks 🧦 running started from that idea too 🤔 anyway, I feel like 5finger shoes are the only ones which benefits the run with the toes balance and force. My friend uses them all the time. I got too many blisters from them so I use Hoka’s 😅
Was a big fan of the book also back then. Only the fact that it made you think about things differently was nice about it. I follow that it's not all black and white and most people don't have enough patience causing to get injuries for sure. I think that if you don' t have issues you shouldn't change. But gathering evidence on the amount of injuries is not exactly easy to determine in a good sterile way. A lot of factors can cause injury as overweight overtraining or even small accidents on the way. So to have a good study on the amount of injuries due to one striking pattern you would need a lot of people with different backgrounds different underground and closely followed with the same trainingprogram. Otherwise it's just speculation for any direction you want your investigation to go. One thing that makes me in favor of the not heel striking way is that I often notice a lot on trails that people with a heel strike struggle more in the downhills. Your next landing leg has some distance to go before the foot can land because it's behind. So if you would trip on landing by a root or rock you are more likely to fall then on a forefoot midfoot striding pattern hwere the next foot is almost in place. But I'm a midfoot forefoot striker so easy to judge. But looking at my dog and other animals it is striking that they all run on their toes and use their achilles better but of course they are build differently... Thanks for letting us think about it once more ;-)
I switched to mid-foot stricking and it was all problems for 10 over years. I switched to heel-foot stricking and I improved my running efficiency dramatically. I now run faster and longer. The key for heel-strike is the landing (gotta be aligned with g-force) and the ground contact time (it should be split seconds). When done right, the body is effortless propelled forward.
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After reading Born to Run, I immediately switched to a forefoot strike. My calves were sore for about two months, but now they are extremely toned, my knees don't hurt from running, and I've never looked back. I'm definitely a fan of off-road running as well!
Yeah, it gives back energy and doesn't feel tired during long runs.
Same with me. I started running with minimalist shoes and even though my calves were maxxed out, the absence of knee pain (patellar tendinitis) even on long runs was well worth the transition. Now my calves have much more stamina , they don't get tired and knees are the best they've been in years. (I'm 50).
i am just a young runner but ever since i am thinking i was running on the forefoot. I also noticed that i automatically switch up to an midfoot landing on asphalt and if i do longer runs on hard surfaces i definitely can feel the impact but more in the ankles than knees or hips
I changed my heel strike to a mid foot strike and felt the same way. Calves so sore for a month but I’m so glad I did it.
I can only agree. Went so far and bought a few pair of everyday barefoot shoes.
the slow mo shot with you at normal speed in the start was cool
My experience - I ran with heelstrike for about 15 years. I had regular injuries - ankles, problems with my knees, and especially my back. Then I changed the technique to the forefoot. It was very difficult from the beginning. But I went slowly and after a year, I was actually able to run normally this way. For the last 8 years, I haven't had any more footstrike-related injuries. Above all, my posture has improved and I no longer have back problems. I also ran barefoot for a while and found that it was practically impossible to run on my heels on the trails. Running barefoot is a very good workout for proper running. Sneakers are a very individual choice, some are minimalist, some maximalist, ... depending on the surface, the weight of the runner, the running style, the kilometers, ... When you find sneakers that really suit you, open champagne and celebrate. :-)
Yes when i was young I noticed i had fewer injuries or less pain if I ran faster, it was because I was less on my heel.
Children naturally run on the fore foot 🦶 also… shoes are like a cast.. moccasins or thin sandels are what native Americans wore and they are some of the greatest runners
@@geronimo2485 do you have any empirical evidence for any of those claims?
Same here. About 7-8 years ago, I decided to migrate from heel strike to fore/mid-foot strike. I started by beginning my runs a the local track by running as far as I could barefoot. It is impossible to run far heel striking barefoot but my soles weren't tough enough to handle it for more than one lap at first. I eventually could do over a mile and by then, my running form had adapted to more of a forefoot strike. I couldn't help it. It took me about six months to make the adaptations before it became natural. One of the key changes I made was gradually reducing my heel drop from 11-12 mm to eventually 4-5. I briefly tried zero-drop but that was too much.
Although Guran doesn't bring it up, the main advantage of getting off of your heels is that heel striking makes your skeleton absorb most of the impact whereas the alternative moves it to your muscles and tendons which protects the joints, especially the hips, ankles and knees. It's our natural shock absorption system.
It may be hard to abandon heel striking because we've all been doing it for most of our lives,. but it is not how our bodies are designed to operate. And it is even harder to go back once your body has adapted to the more efficient fore/mid-foot strike. Just my opinion based on my experience.
@@pasadenaphil8804 The issue is that these are opinions, not empirical. The suggestion that people just over stride and that naturally mid to heel striking is ideal holds as much weight, evidence-wise. Olympians seem to exhibit that. I am not suggesting that you are wrong, just that it interesting and little academic work exists.
Sometimes when people talk about heel striking they are actually talking about over-striding and that adds to the bad reputation. I focus on my foot landing under me rather than which part of the foot makes contact first. I'm predominantly a heel striker and have no issues.
Yeah that’s a good point!
Yeah, there are several mistakes runners make that just happen more among heel strikers but don't neccessarily come with it. E.g. overstriding, not bending the knees enough, sitting posture, low cadence, etc. A subtle heel strike shouldn't be a problem.
I switched to forefoot because my knees hurt. But after learning to bend the knees the right amount upon landing I feel good with a midfoot strike as well.
This is a really interesting point.. it could be that switching to a midfoot/forefoot strike encourages us to not over-stride and *that* is what makes the difference? I've no idea, but since I switched to minimalist shoes I no longer seem to get injuries - which is great as it means I can go running, yay.
@@syrus3k I think this may well be the real issue. The over striding.
I watched a slo-mo video of Shalane Flanagan run at the end of her NYC Marathon victory years ago and it sure looked like she was landing on her heels. But as you point out, she was landing with her feet right under her and rolled forward so fast that it was impossible to detect without slowing the video. Makes me wonder if that even counts as heel striking. Her knees were bent and she rolled right through the strike.
Thank you for approaching the topic academically, with studies to back it up. You've gained a new sub😊
Thank you for your open minded approach to teaching and learning about running.
I am a beginner runner in my early 50s, so naturally I am concerned about any damage I could get from running. Watched a lot of videos about striking patterns and being a heel striker myself tried switching to toe striking under assumption that it is less damaging. I have to agree with the video that both ways can lead to injury, only in different parts to the foot/leg. This was my experience. Also from my experience I came to a realization that the key to a painless running is not the striking patterns, but a proper strength of leg muscles and joints. Stronger legs naturally lead to a very different running style, which feels more like spinning invisible bicycle pedals, with very soft touch of the ground, almost like flying over the road. While weaker legs cause sort of a stomping style, with very hard landing on your feet. When I was running on weak legs, I was stomping and making very loud noise with every step. But now I can barely hear touching the road and it doesn’t matter how I land. So my advise to the new runners would be starting with proper strengthening your legs before actually trying to run.
That’s an interesting way to describe running styles…I like it! Good advice.
I run 4 to 6 times a week for the past 4 years but I don't compete in races, just running for pleasure .
What helps me to stay injury free is too do strength my body with Pilates lessons 3x a week and don't run with the same exact shoe every day. I use running shoes that are mostly stable enough for my minor overpronation and the drop changes from 8mm up to 12mm and with different height of the middlesole and more or less cushioning.
This way I can give a little break for some muscles ,tendons and bones when I run with a higher or lower drop shoe.
What are some good safe exercises to strengthen the legs for a beginner in his mid-forties ?
I would agree to a degree, but the heelstrinking isn't the way we are built to run. It is an adaptation because of the increasingly more spoongy shooes we wear and we have weaker and weaker legs and calves, more flat feet etc.
The way the legs are built, they are like springs and forefoot walking/running incorporates every leg muscle, while heelstrinking does not and pretty much eliminates the spring part out of our legs and transfers it to the back and again, which leads to more and more back problems we have.
You may be a heel striker and it doesn't mean you will have problems, but for sure, you are not running/walking they way we are built.
But I do agree that with how modern running shoes are designed, heel strike running is more efficient.
@@MiracleWarriors Like the idea of changing shoes so your slightly change your gait and move different muscles. That's got to be good for all round strength, right?
What a great intro with this smooth transition of three strikes. I’ve played it over for like 5 times !
I switched from a heel strike to midfoot in my 40s. I had run all my life but always felt like somethingwas wrong with me as i always felt like a plodder hence making the change. After transitioning I had a year with tight calves and 2 minor calf tears however I then progressed to run better and faster than I had for the previous 40 years of my life. Changing to miidfoot strike had given me what felt like springs in my legs and allowed me to hugely improve my speed and distance. I also noticed less injuries with no hip or knee pain which I'd had when I used to heel strike. So definitely was a positive experience for me but I appreciate we are all made differently. Thank you for your video.
I’m a natural forefoot runner and I still sometimes get injuries, so completely agree with him on it depends on your body and there is no proper science back up for it. However I believe stretching, recovery and muscles strengthening exercises are way more important for supports and improvements 😊
THX for great content once again!
Like Michael B -- Focus on strike below center of mass and my tendency is heel strike.
At 58 with several injuries and traffic accidents in my bag I have learned to match goals to reality.
1) 30% (20kg) heavier than at skinny 18 yrs old.
2) Lower back partly crushed in traffic accident.
3) Cartilage worn in both knees.
4) Left ankle held together by surgical steel albeit easily dislocates => Remedy: Twitch it back in place and WALK home
That very last comment that you squeezed in, about not always running on road, is really key!
Took me also a year to fully run on my forefoot. And I remember my calves burning in the beginnen. Great video, thanks!
The stigma of landing on your heel is so dominant in this sport. I remember watching a video where someone captured the landing of 5k and 10k runners on the track and it was interesting to see that even the elite runners will land slightly on their heels. Building strength from your feet all the up to your hips seems to be the best option for all runners to help with injury prevention. Great video.
Hip are key in walking too.
I don't think it needs to be stigmatized, but in general heel landing leads to poor running form. There is some truth to what is considered natural running. Avoid roads (you'll probably injure yourself), and try running barefoot one day, and you'll most likely feel uncomfortable landing on heels - even if that's what you have traditionally done. Shoes make that style more bearable and masks the effects of landing on heels, might be ok short term, but will lead to long term effects. You should feel like you're gliding on the surface more than landing on it
@@juniorjunior8494so kipchoge has bad form?
@@dontliebehonest6545 Kipchoge is not a heel striker. Some of his closest competition is, so your point stands, but he's a midfoot runner.
There is a difference between just landing on the heel and transferring the weight over midfoot/forefoot vs loading the heel. The first option is actually ok and more efficient for long-distance runs, the second is indeed harmful and inefficient.
Excellent video. I started running 30 years ago, and my Saucony shoes had 12 millimeters offset. Ten years ago Saucony changed their shoes to 8 millimeters offset. Within a year I had three calve muscle injuries. Now I changed to Mizuno shoes, with 12 millimeters offset and no more problems. So heelstrike for me.
One man's meat appears to be another man's poison. As a beginner runner, I didn't even know what "drop" was in shoes. Later it turned out all my running shoes were 10 mil. In the meantime I bought the Clifton (5mil) and gradually increased my mileage. And then there was no going back to high-drop shoes. Every time I put on a 10, or even an 8 mil drop shoe, I felt it was working against me somehow. Now all my shoes (about 20 pairs) are within 0-6 mil drop range, but the ones I use for long runs (21 to 50k) are only 0-5. No science to back it up, but that's the way it works for me. Ca. 300 km of monthly mileage.
12 mm heel drop gives me the worst shin pain im going for 4mm hoka mach 5 but i beed to heal my shins first
I believe more trail running and avoiding hard surfaces, especially with barefoot shoes is very important. I love my barefoot shoes, but its primarily the open toe box and zero drop that i love. Its hard to go back to normal running shoes were my toes end up squished, causing me pain
Absolutely agree. I didn't really like how much slower I ended up running with minimalist shoes. With that said, I'd never run in anything other than my zero drop natural toe box Altras again
Did my knee in running on my heal accidently once. Never before then realised people ran differently. But its evident in my house...kids run on their heels and the whole house shakes as they run round it. But me, always been a front foot runner without realising, always pretty quiet on my feet when i chase after them. Point being, if i can run round my house and not make a sound or shake any ornaments like my smaller, lighter kids do. Surely theres a huge reduction of impact occuring in the front foot running with alot of absorbtion through the natural suspension of the muscles and tendons throughout the knees AND ancles.
I am always asking myself this question as I am running! Thank you for addressing it.
Glad it was helpful! 😊
Thanks Goran. Love your channel. A great and emotive subject. I was a fast and competitive school boy runner (state and national level in 800m, 1500m and x-country). When I look at photos from that time (late 70’s early 80’s) I was clearly a forefoot/mid-foot striker and had no injury’s. Additionally, all shoes were minimalist back then. As shoes became more structured and padded and I was in a phase of my life (mid career) and not as regular a runner I became a heel striker. I started to experience injuries. This was likely a combination of many factors that likely afflict recreational runners such as lack of consistency in addition to a rear-foot strike. I also read Born to Run when it came out. Subsequently, I converted to barefoot. I understood the limits on adaption and took 18 months to achieve what I consider to be fully adapted. That was 11 years ago and I have been injury free since. However, I am also much more consistent runner once again. Additionally I largely run on technical trails. The evolutionary argument for a gait that reflects a barefoot gait is so compelling that I believe all runners who currently run in that way would benefit from properly and safely converting through adaption to such a gait. However, most people want a quick fix and lack the patience and willingness to regress in their running performance while they adapt to reap the benefit. If you are thinking of making this change, it will take time. Be patient and start with only walking for a month or so, allow your foot musculature, connective tissues and soles to adapt before you even take your first running step. I wear shoes now but still occasionally go for short barefoot runs to remain efficient and deepen the neuromuscular pathway associated with an efficient running gait.
"a bit more time.." is the key. Great! :D
I really like your non black and white thinking! There is something, though, that I really find interesting and that I hear no one discussing. That is HOW the heel strike is detected. I've seen clips where heel strikes are discussed combined with videos of lots of different runners landing on there heel, but there is a difference between the heel touching the ground first and actually landing all the weight on your heel. My hypothesis is that most of the people we call heel strikers actually just touch the ground ever so slightly with their heel first, then come over the foot with their body before actually applying their weight onto the foot. At least that is my conclusion is after watching thousands of customers in the running shop I work at.
Good vid, keep it up!
Superb video Göran! Very well explained, using references to scientific papers, and ending with simple and easy to understand conclusions and advices. Great work!
Thanks Roberto!
@@goranwinblad @Roberto Turrado Camblor
It is not as colorfull as you described it Roberto.
The paper presented by Goran is a bit of low quality. To make it short I'll focus only on the vGRF impact peak topic presented in the paper.
In my opinion the authors of the paper not only made the paper with a bit of a attitude but also made an metrologicall error, probably mostly due to a lack of mechanical and physical knowledge.
1. The authors did not only not fully understand the cited by them paper of Grubber and Davis, but also didn't show the full information related to this paper which may be missleading,
2. The authors cited publications regarding one of the problems of vGRF plotting, which is not speaking about what the authors are suggesting.
3. The authors made a huge error in understanding how do vGRF plotting works and what is the math behind it. The vGRF plot of force in time has to have the same integral in both cases of heel running and forefoot running (for the same runner). And this is visible even in the plots the authors are presenting as a potential evidence against it. The vGRF is always the sum of the initial peak and active peak. So there is no hidden 'initial peak' inside the active peak. But of course, the overall force of the initial peak is evenly distributed inside the active peak. That is why the integral is always the same. Which is not what the authors of the paper are presenting.
Concluding. Nowadays, there is a lot of scientific papers of low quality due to the simplest reasons - money. Government pays for publications. So as ascientist you have to produce a lot of it. So the quality is low. Always have doubts reading nowadays paperwork.
I watched this video 12 months ago(and a couple others, but this is the one that really stuck), and have slowly changed my stride from heal to mid foot over those twelve months and I am now able to run consistently for an hour. Never got past a couple minutes before that. It’s made a huge difference. Thank you for the info and inspro!!! ❤😊🎉
I like to heel strike and roll forward at an easy pace. The strike point moves forward naturally as I increase my pace. So I do a variety of strike points/pace and appreciate your trail run variety suggestion. What do you think about this idea to prevent injury: as we spend most of our time on one foot when running I feel learning to balance on one leg is a key exercise to both strengthen lateral leg muscles and develop control so we don’t over use them when running if our balance isn’t perfect. That was a long sentence, sorry.
One of the best analysis I’ve seen around this-helped me understand my own running style more (I’m not a natural runner) and it seems ok: consistency remains king-thanks!
Wdym natural runner?
Goran, love your summary about this topic. I've always been ambivalent about which is the better way. At an early point of my fitness journey I thought a forefoot landing was softer on the body but I started to get tight calfs and shin splints. Then I started to run by heel striking and my legs got a little more comfortable but then my back would be a little tighter. Every style has it's pros and cons, but if you find the style that fits you the best I think that's all that matters. I'm becoming more of a fan each day Goran, keep up the great content! 👏🤗🏃♂️
Thanks for a really informative video on this subject.
I remember when I started track in high school that the coaches told everyone to heel strike. They said land on your heel, push off on your toes. It did feel weird and I got bad shin splints. I believe now that they were actually teaching us to overstride. Now, I try to focus on small steps, which leaves me more of a mid-foot stride.
I've noticed that as my legs got stronger, my stride lengthened automatically without changing my form. More "air" time. It's like in downhill running technique where you lean forward with belly button ahead of nose, "shorten" your stride and quicken your cadence. When I review my Garmin data, I always find that my stride was just as long as before I "shortened" it, probably because I am going downhill faster with minimal oscillation. Heel strike is a complicated thing to evaluate. In fact, it's hard to isolate any factor and come to conclusions without considering several other factors.
7:15 "our bodies are great at adapting to whatever we do". Thanks Goran.
This is a well done review of running technique! I love these types of videos
thanks. found my people. and thanks for putting this up. i too share your concept and have been running freely injury free with these concepts
Solid thesis! Exceptional video presentation!Thanks.
Born to Run didn't change the way I ran, since I didn't run back then, but it changed my outlook on daily footwear. I had struggled with plantar fasciitis for ages. I got orthotics to treat it and my doctor told me I would need to wear supportive orthotic shoes for the rest of my life. I nodded, but as soon as the pain subsided I switched to foot-shaped, mostly zero drop, footwear and I haven't had a single issue since. I do wear regular running shoes but always mindful of width, which keeps my PF at bay. I prefer zero drop shoes for trail running though, nice to get the feel of the "road"
I had plantar fasciitis for years, taking weeks, then months and even over a year off in an attempt to get over this ailment. Then I heard about this minimalist style landing on my forefoot. Even though I had active plantar fasciitis, trying this style with slippers, this ailment dissapeared never to come back.
It does put more stress on the calves, Achilles tendons, and feet, but it is the way people, with good feet, survived for thousands of years. It allows us to navigate sloping terrains, and obstacles with less issues to our knees and back. It is unfortunately, a bit more effort, as many of us resort to more heel striking as we get tired.
Great video! I just got told from people that "know" running that I should switch to forefoot or midfoot landings. Felt very unnatural and I could simply not get it to work well with my stride. Happy to see that I can stick with my heelstrike :) .
Thanks I’m glad my video could help, good luck with your running 😊
I appreciate your evidence-based approach to this topic, which as you pointed out, so many of us initially adopted based on story-based narrative ten year ago or so. I switched to running in the first version of Vibrams Five Fingers, which didn't have a sole at all and I'm convinced that my achilles' tendons are paying the price today. It's sidelined me for over a year and reduced mobility even while walking.
I'm amazed at the effect that book had on the sport of running. It's an absolutely terrific adventure story but the slightly cult-like barefoot revolution it spawned is hard to fathom- particularly as in the book neither Jenn not Scott, who are really the star runners, are barefoot folks. I think the plus side is there is now more shoe variety than before and some of the more minimalist/natural toe-box shoes are really super comfortable.
Yeah it’s really interesting the impact that book had. Yeah I agree on that!
ever heard of this book. Lots of news about research around twenty years ago or so... I went for "barefoot" back when fivefingers had just introduced their second model, the KSO, because of all the research I had seen over the years...
I've always hated shoes since I was a kid and would be barefoot as much as possible.
I used to run barefoot on the road. My natural footstrike was heel, rolling to toe.
However, saying 'strike' was a bit misleading. Running barefoot on hard and coarse surfaces, it was more of a 'touchstrike'.
I used to teach kids sport and athletics at the time; there was an event each year that was done barefoot. So I would get them to run around the gym - quietly. The echoing wooden floor initially sounded like thunder - but after a few lessons, they glided around quietly.
Thank you so much for this video. As a 51 year old guy I started to enjoy running since last year. The first thing I heard was that my heelstrike was no good. So a couple of months I forced myself into the forefoot technique. Now I’m out for the last 2 months because of Achilles tendinitis. Nice! 😢. I’ve no hope at all. There is no recovery, no plan, no options. I have to wait. There is a possibility that my running days are over. So my advice is this: only listen to your body and never mind the “running police”.
That sucks. I mean there is always cycling 🚴
I think this is highly individual. I had problems for many years with shin splints that just wouldn't heal. I stayed away from running for a year but it came back after just 2 -3 runs. Switched to a forefoot running style 10 years ago and have not had any pain or other running related injuries since. So, if the way you are running works for you, no need to change!
An interesting video…..I was a miler and half miler in high school and was city & provincial ( State) champion and was successful as I was a forefoot runner and we wore spikes which generally precluded heel striking. As I grew to middle age, I dropped track and ran road races and had a lot of success in age class competitions ( always on the podium) for 5 & 10K, but as I gradually went up to half and full marathon’s, again with a lot of success, I developed forefoot issues around the age of 45. I’m 72 now and still winning age classes but was recently diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy such that if I want to run on consecutive days I to run a hybrid style alternating between the two styles, either that or stop running altogether.
Very interesting. Last November I undertook a biometric analysis with a running coach as I knew something wasn't right as I kept getting right knee injuries. The analysis showed that my right foot was heel strike and left was midfoot - so clearly there was an imbalance. Since then I've worked on striking midfoot on my right leg and a few other things like running more upright and increasing cadence. The evidence was already on the soles of my walking shoes where the right shoe was much more worn at the heel. Interestingly for 3 years before the biometric analysis I had bought a pair of Vivobarefoot shoes for walking and the wear on the soles of both shoes was symmetrical and even. Since I've switched to midfoot on both sides I'm glad to say that I have had no right knee pain and I feel good after each run. I haven't gone as far as trying barefoot shoes for running, just keep them for walking.
I once had knee problems so severe I could barely walk an eighth of a mile, the distance between where I parked my car at work and my desk in a large industrial facility. I had just bought an expensive pair of running shoes (I was in my 60s at the time and would run at 8 - 11 minute per mile pace depending on the distance and kind of workout). I also bought some extra cushioning inserts that were sold by an aggressive salesman who said this is what I needed. In almost no time, I had severe knee problems. After being barely able to walk to my desk one morning, on a whim, I pulled the inserts out and found I could walk back to the car much better. I then happened to see a film on TV about barefoot running. I got some running sandals from a company specializing them. It took a year to make the transition to "modified barefoot running." The clip above was correct. Calf muscles were stressed and I had to be careful for a full year while the muscles built up, lest I injure myself. However, I am now 76, run in thin sandals only, and can run 100 meters in under 20 seconds (with a running start) on hard pavement. I would have given up running because of my knees if I had not found out about this. I now do a lot of wind sprint workouts in order to exercise the super fast twitch fibers which is supposed to naturally increase the production of various hormones.
For what it is worth, I do not worry about whether my heel or toe lands first. However, I do want most of the pressure on landing to be absorbed by the ball of my foot. So, I go by weight and pressure on the ball, not angle. I found that the sandals have more wear up front, where most of the pressure is, than in the heel area. However, there is some wear back there. I wonder if maybe my heel actually lands first but the ball of the foot bears most of the landing pressure.
This works for me.
I've always been a forefoot runner, especially when running track in my high school days; however, i find that it is best to use all three methods when I'm running mountain trails.
Conscious running. I'm sure there's an expansion on that aspect of running somewhere.
I've tried "barefoot" shoes for running last year. Should say this switch from conventional supercushioned shoes to minimalistic positively affected my technique - just because you rely only on your feet, your body becomes more accurate on how you land yourself. The big deal is cadence, let's not forget about this aspect. Legs should move fast enough to minimize time of contact with the surface. Of course, to make this switch succesfully and in healthy way you should reduce your regular mileage in the beginning and increase it gradually as your feet become stronger.
Great video, very impartial take and the key message being that transitions need to be gradual is spot on! I used cheap shoes for my first year and stuggled so hard, then moved to vivo barefoot shoes and really started to enjoy running. I took it slow and steady but eventually got a bad IT band injury by going for a long trail run (more than 10% over my ususal max distance). After 7 months of foot strengthening and rehab, I got back into running again with the help of Hokas, but I still wear barefoot shoes daily for walking, and I'm slowly building up running kms in them again, as I feel it has big benefits for my foot and calf strength. Would you do a video on foot mobility and strength one day? I feel it would be really beneficial to beginner runners as well as more seasoned runners who aren't aware of how to transition to barefoot, or even just wake up and strengthen all the muscles in our feet. Thanks man! Keep it up =]
Thanks for sharing your experience, and thanks for the suggestion, will maybe do a video about that in the future! 😊
I would love such a video!
Hej Göran! As always a great video. Thank you for explaining and taking your time to educate in this very debated subject.
Hej Anton, glad you enjoyed it!
I was waiting for the knee position when landing but it didn't get mentioned. Because this does effect your running economy allot.
Perhaps a topic for a future video?
Great video like usual. And I agree with your view on the book :)
Dette var en utrolig bra video. Tusen takk! fra en hyggelig nabo i vest :D
Interesting stuff. I've been a runner for a long time, but other than the two videos I've watched on this channel so far, I never gave technique any thought; just warm up, lace up, and go. I'm so out of the loop that I thought people land on the front of the foot. Now that I've seen the numbers, odds are that not even I do! I'll pay attention this morning.
I realised that the best for me is just not thinking about it. My feet strike however they land and there was significant improvement in speed and comfort.
Good to hear I'm not on the wrong path :D
Feels like every part of daily living is over analyzed for the ‘best way’ now. Stressful just to get out of bed - at the best time and best way. ✌️😂
Maybe you don't think about it because you're accustomed to it now.
Eric Orton who is the running coach mentioned in Born to Run has a great TY channel and while a big proponent of forefoot striking says not to transition from heel to forefoot without a long transition period. As for the book I think its fair to say it abides by the Mark Twain principle of never letting the truth get in the way of a good story.
So good to see someone using ACTUAL science to present information!
Subscribed! So good how you explained everything :D
I completely agree with all the emphasis on the slow progression, however I personally really do believe that running on the forefoot can really help prevent specific injuries such as shin splints, which are an extremely prevalent injury among runners. The only real evidence I have for this is myself because I used to heal strike and back then I pretty much always had shin splints and shin pain, but one winter I slowly changed my strike to mid foot and then eventually forefoot, although now I usually have a mix of forefoot and mid foot depending on how tired I am. And ever since I have never had shin splints again. I know that this could just be because my shins got used to the impact on them, but many of my friends who still heal strike continue to have shin splints for years and years and still have them now when you'd think that their shins would have gotten used to it by now. So, my logic is that the mid foot and forefoot strike move the impact off of the shin to help reduce the stress on it and reduce shin splints
Yeah I agree that the real problem witht he craze that came after Born to Run came out was that people tried to just switch right away and throw themselves into a complelty different running style then what they were used to. People who eased in and tried minamalist/barefoot running on trails and beaches and surfaces like that proably didnt get injured like the people who went straight to concrete. As long as you focus on having decent form and weight distrbution when your foot strikes, I dont the shoe matters that much, especially for recreational runners who arent trying to get scorching times on a hard flat surface.
Great Video! I wish I watched it 2 years ago. I tried to run on my forefoot and injured myself. 🦶
Your video are so calming to watch and learn...!!!tx mate
I'm so glad I found your video related to all of it and have new things to work on thank you 🙏
Glad you found it helpful 😊
So far this is the best description and the best recommendations about the running. I also see that many runners who have been doing it for decades and run from 5 km to marathons also naturally follow those principles.
Balanced. Logical. Informative. Well done.
It seems to me that there isn't one "perfect" running form for everyone. Generally, my sense is to find the most efficient-feeling form you can maintain when the body is loose. Everywhere along the entire body, not just where you land.
Well, the problem was or is and at least here in the states, everyone wants a quick to pill to swallow to get better, I read the book you mentioned and it made sense, the problem was, no one payed attention to the transition needed between forms and shoes. Years of running with shoes which provide excess support to the point of preventing your feet, and calves from getting strong. Everyone just jumped from heel striking to mid, and forefoot without a proper transition causing injuries. Don’t blame the methods, blame the inability of humans to be patient. Just saying…great video
Food for thought. I was one of many that changes my step and ended up with various issues. Now I alter my step throughout my run and seems to work fine.
Very interesting video you made on this trendy subject, mate ! Thx for your work :)
Hey Goran, it's another interesting video from you!
I would add from my point of view, that foot strike really depends also on speed you want to run. If someone is speeding, than it's very possible that he will do forefoot strike without noticing. By jogging he will do heel foot striking. This is natural and forcing body to change it is not a good idea, I think.
Also in the past I read a lot theories that forefoot strike is more economical, more "professional", so I tried to do this while running few kilometers. I got huge muscle sores for next days and I decided let it go and run my own way (heel strike), which feels more natural to me.
Seems like we over think everything these days w/too much access to info. I agree just do what feels and best to you.
I have hyper mobility in my joints. Including my knees today I did A 8 km run forefoot my calves hurt. But my knees don't. I see this as an absolute win as my calves get trained, and my knees stop getting hammered with my waight from start to finish.
Video quality is on a whole another level, love your videos ..♥️ Just subscribed
Thanks 😊 welcome to the channel!
Even before this book, heel striking was being talked about as "bad" when i was in college in 2002. I changed very deliberately to stay on softer surfaces and toe striking. This helped tremendously to reduce knee pain.
It did take a LONG time to get efficient with toe striking though.
You hit the nail on the head by saying it's not a black and white matter and not everyone is the same. I think there is a fine balance between the concept of Born To Run and where you land on your feet with or without cushioned shoes. I'm currently changing from heel strike to forefoot strike as I've gotten an inflamed tibial tendon along with my left foot slapping the ground at the end of my run, which I believe are both caused by heel striking. This is somewhat supported by recording myself running where I found myself heel striking with my left foot more so than my right foot.
The human anatomy is very complex and finding what works best for you as an individual is what matters the most!
when I switched from heel strike to mid foot , it cost my calves , very painful at that time but gradually reduced with time
Awesome video. Yeah, I don’t think our ancestors ran long distances either and I don’t think we’re really evolved to do that. Really appreciate the background and your insight in the subject though. It makes sense that heel strike is the most common and most natural. Also makes sense that an adaptive technique and personal bio mechanics are super important to maximizing performance and reducing injury vs. a one size fits all solution (i.e. mid and front foot strike are always better). I just got done with a 9 mile trail run full of loose rocks, tree roots, and ferns trying to push me off the trail and trip me by the ankles and it was apparent that I need to pay more attention to each step and each stride to avoid missteps which sap energy and to avoid banging my feet up. Guess that’s why we train, huh?
Very wise words. Listen to your body, adapt and do not follow only one specific path towards your goal - life with running :). There are always multiple path to achieve something so the same concept applies here as well :).
I have changed my form from heel strike to fore foot strike in the last few months.
I used to get niggles and pain around my left knee and right hip when I was a heel striker. (I could not run through the pain on my hip)
But since making the pivot, these happen very rarely.
Instead i'm a little more prone to shin splints. Specificially on the posterior side of my calves. I'm taking this as a sign that I need to spend more time in the gym strengthening my calves and ankles.
Im glad that when I watched this video, you have explained why this is happening!
Very good production! 👍
As ever in life moderation!! I took up running in 2012 at age 26 and didn't think about footwear very much and bought shoes with a large heel. I had a lot of over training injuries and constant niggles and knee injuries / strains (think once a month I'd be out for 1 week plus) for several years as a beginner and never made any improvements.
I switched to barefoot running immediately (cold turkey), my thought process being that being forced to switch to a more natural strike pattern would help. I immediately noticed a difference with being able to strike the ground naturally in terms of comfort, speed and no injuries after for 5-6 years. I ran half marathons and a marathon with minimal cushioning until I thought I'd try "Merrell vapor trail 3" for speed. They are incredibly thin, zero cushion and totally flat, very flexible. Turns out I went too far and did myself a metatarsal stress fracture which took me a couple of years really to recover from.
6 months after the stress fracture I got checked on a treadmill with a highspeed camera and turns out I'm naturally a neutral runner with a fore/mid strike so that's good but they recommended a cushioned running shoe from Brooks which I then recovered in for a couple of years to rebuild my foot, confidence and fitness.
Half marathon is my main event these days and as with everything moderation is important I think. I doubt I'd have gotten a stress fracture had I trained in more protective shoes and avoided shocks from stones, pot holes, acorns etc on the road. I'm again relatively injury free and hopefully won't have anymore bad ones - my approach is to train thinking about form more and select shoes for the purpose with appropriate levels of protection. In my case this is 1. "barefoot running" style shoes which compliment my strike pattern for most training runs but with some cushioning. 2. Long run / off road shoes with lots of cushioning for plodding mostly off road miles 3. Racing shoes - Saucony Endorphin speed 2 :)
Thank you so much for this! I have always been a forefoot runner - I have very narrow heels - and when I started running, it put a lot of stress on my calves as they weren’t yet strong enuf to manage the load. When I tried to change to a heel strike (this was pre the minimalist running trend), I kept getting injured. A very wise podiatrist told me not to try to alter my natural gait, and not to increase speed or distance too quickly. Physiologically we’re all different and naturalist running is running with a foot strike which is natural for the individual.
I love the edits at the beginning of the video!
Thanks!
Train smart - have fun - I'll c u in d next viiddeeoo.....good job bud....
I did the mistake of suddenly changing my footstrike to forefoot thinking it would improve my running and all it did was make my calves hurt like crazy!
Yeah if you transition fast your calf’s are for sure going to feel it 😅
I transitioned from heal to forefoot and i had to go from 3 miles a day to like half a mile the first day
I had the same issue at first and it took me a whole summer to build up to higher mileage. But think of it this way, my calves had never been trained for my entire life and were simply not used to the load.
If a runner was a mid or forefoot striker from the start, all muscles would train together and the calf pain most likely wouldn't be an issue.
Every video on this subject has had the same comments about "injuring" your calves during the process. I don't consider this an injury, it's a muscle/tendon that's been overworked.
Sometimes, especially when I run longer distances I find it helpful to switch my footstrike from midfoot to forefoot, maybe running one kilometer on forefoot before switching back to midfoot ☺️
I recently started running and tried to do the same. My calves were so sore for a week after only 3 kilometres, I barely could walk.
Thank you for this great summary!
Glad it was helpful!
I noticed over time after going from forefoot running to heel running I began to get knee pain and shin splints quite often. It was only after i switched back to forefoot running that the pain slowly went away. The funny thing is that since I could remember I had always been a forefoot runner, but as I tried running more and more, my foot began changing the strike on itself.
Hello Goran! ive been watching your videos for a long time and i am SUUUUPER excited to say im moving to Norway ! cant wait to run around in such a beautiful country!
Very interesting high quality video as always. Could you maybe add the (main) references? Maybe even to the video description?
IMO, the leg is clearly designed for absorbing the impact toward the front. The heel is there for stability. If you were looking at a hoof, that would be more like the toes.
I wouldn't call myself a runner, but I do about two 10km runs a week - mostly trail runs. I notice that when the terrain is simple and flat, I heel strike. When I run over challenging terrain (rocks, tree roots), I forefoot strike.
I bought my first running shoes because of you. I bought the Nike renew run (that is the one you compared in a video with your alpha fly I believe). I have to say I really loved them. Running is running shoes is so much more comfortable. So thank you.
It is interesting to observe what the body does by itself.
When I climb up the stairs, I land heel first; while climbing down-toe first (softens the landing).
To use minimal effort during motion, perhaps we need to let gravity/earth to the work and transition efficiently between steps; An extreme heel first movement would result in a bit of resistance from the ground, a heel-midfoot landing probably maximizes your balance as well as energy you draw from the ground for the next transition.
I never knew that folks could run toe/metatarsal first. I have seen dancers use this approach for having soft feet, but it requires higher levels of fitness! The beauty of life is in its variety and possibilities.
I started running with zero drop shoes (that are padded). It made it much more natural to strike with the forefoot, and all my pain finally went away. My calves were sore for a while, but now theyre stronger so it's a win win
I've always been a forefoot striker even as a casual runner.
Recently I've been trying to move towards heel strike because I actually have imbalances in my hips core and lower back which are probably what lead me to preference my forefoot.
I've struggled with mild hip pain and poor mobility on my right hip for a few years. Recently I've been trying to run slower, with a deliberately activated core and glutes to make sure those muscles are working, and focusing on heel strike with good foot shape & knee over foot positoining.
I am of course running slower, but my hips don't have issues after I run like this, and sometimes later in the day/night I even get an almighty reliveing crack in my groin/hip socket which indicates to me that some very small muscles are around the socket are getting a better workout, and then they release later in the day.
I never struggled with shin splints until I modified to mid-front strike from watching all the gurus on youtube
Great video. I need cushioning in my running shoes..esp on downhill stretches. But at the same time, i do run barefoot on the beach on certain days when the tide is low. The sand is tightly packed in some areas but looser in others. Overall,a great workout for foot muscles which i don't get when I'm wearing cushions😂.
Thanks for sharing!
Hahaha, after watching and reading the comments of video, im quite proud to know forefoot strike is the right way to go at age 14. Back then i never knew injury related whatsoever from the strikes, but i read an article from magazine "FOURFOURTWO", and in one excerpt there's arsene wenger quoting that he was surprised some young talents he met in the academy who had extreme talent with speed didnt even know how to sprint with forefoot strike, which, in wenger's theory is the only way for sprinting. I tried to follow while playing basketball and it sticks till today. Never had running related injuries.
I tend to run on my toes when on grass. I don't even think about it it just happens. On pavement I'd say it's more mid foot and heel combined not all heel.
I'm trying to start running with a forefoot strike or at least midfoot strike while running, the only issue is that my average pace is close to 6m/1km, and it seems a bit slow to run with the forefoot strike, I'm feeling strange by running that way. Also, my steps are pretty close to running at such a pace which makes forefoot strikes even less comfortable, and it feels like I'm a ballet dancer in sneakers. That's why I'm trying to use midfoot on daily bases.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong?
Awesome and informative! Thanks for this great video.
Nice effect at the beginning👌
Tack för förklaringen :)
Great Video!
Thanks James!
Super interesting video! I didn’t know that the barefoot trend was kickstarted by a book! Makes sense. I wonder has the ”yllestrumpor” / wool socks 🧦 running started from that idea too 🤔 anyway, I feel like 5finger shoes are the only ones which benefits the run with the toes balance and force. My friend uses them all the time. I got too many blisters from them so I use Hoka’s 😅
Thanks, glad you found it interesting 😊
Was a big fan of the book also back then. Only the fact that it made you think about things differently was nice about it. I follow that it's not all black and white and most people don't have enough patience causing to get injuries for sure. I think that if you don' t have issues you shouldn't change. But gathering evidence on the amount of injuries is not exactly easy to determine in a good sterile way. A lot of factors can cause injury as overweight overtraining or even small accidents on the way. So to have a good study on the amount of injuries due to one striking pattern you would need a lot of people with different backgrounds different underground and closely followed with the same trainingprogram. Otherwise it's just speculation for any direction you want your investigation to go. One thing that makes me in favor of the not heel striking way is that I often notice a lot on trails that people with a heel strike struggle more in the downhills. Your next landing leg has some distance to go before the foot can land because it's behind. So if you would trip on landing by a root or rock you are more likely to fall then on a forefoot midfoot striding pattern hwere the next foot is almost in place. But I'm a midfoot forefoot striker so easy to judge. But looking at my dog and other animals it is striking that they all run on their toes and use their achilles better but of course they are build differently... Thanks for letting us think about it once more ;-)
I switched to mid-foot stricking and it was all problems for 10 over years. I switched to heel-foot stricking and I improved my running efficiency dramatically. I now run faster and longer. The key for heel-strike is the landing (gotta be aligned with g-force) and the ground contact time (it should be split seconds). When done right, the body is effortless propelled forward.