Lets just end the heel strike debate right now.

Ritz is working with his coach as we speak to improve his form by NOT heel striking. To say that all elites don't heel strike is not accurate.

wtf102 wrote:

malmo,

are there any running books or guides that teach how to heel strike ? is there a correct way to heel strike as opposed to a wrong or inefficient way? is your heel strike optimal or could you improve it?

if a somewhat uncoordinated person with a very limited athletic background wanted to start running to keep fit and maybe test their own potential, what would you tell them with respect to their own, unsure gait?

thank-you

What are you trying to say?

Really?? wrote:

You guys are not paying attention to what I'm saying. It all depends on where you put the most pressure on your foot. If you strike *lightly* on your heel but put the most pressure on your forefoot then that is ok..

What the hell is the matter with you. EVERYONE puts the most pressure on their forefoot, heel-strikers, mid-footstrikers, and forefoot strikers, everyone, E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.

You guys are so obsessed to prove me wrong? Fine, I'm done here until I see some reliable evidence not some opinated so called *facts*

We've done so many times in many different ways. You are the ones with an irrational belief that you cannot prove. You cannot prove your thesis becasue it is not true.

Really?? wrote:

You guys are so obsessed to prove me wrong? Fine, I'm done here until I see some reliable evidence not some opinated so called *facts*

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Good luck finding some people who accept your word as fact and don't question the rediculous garbage you have been spouting off as gospel. Perhaps there is a Minimalist/Forefoot striking cult you can join and you can all drink the Barefoot Kool-Aid together?

This thread is full of nonsense and accusations of all kinds (from both sides), into which I will not wade, but I do want to point out a few things:1)

malmo wrote:

What's more, have you ever noticed that those who have chronic Achilles problems are always forefoot strikers?

False, a significant number of chronic Achilles tendonitis patients are heelstrikers. The Achilles tendon and triceps surae work eccentrically during a heelstrike, as the forefoot hits the ground (and concentrically during push-off).

2)

That is a midfoot strike. Not a heelstrike.

3) You can say what you want about Steve Magness' own career (he did run 4:01, which is nothing to scoff at), but he is a class act and is coaching a very successful group of high schoolers. If that's what malmo's pinky could do, it's a damn shame he's using all ten fingers to piddle around with a bunch of damn fools on the internet.

4) Youtube science is bollocks. Unless you have high speed film in good resolution, you cannot definitively conclude anything about a runner's footstrike style. Photographs are equally useless, because footstrike varies by terrain and condition. Some might heelstrike in trainers but not in spikes. Nearly everyone heelstrikes on a downhill.

Anyways, back to the madness. Have fun, kiddos.

Please provide video of your form so we can see what "magnificent form" looks like. It would also be helpful to see before and after video of your form so we can see how much better you look now. If you can provide a list of your pr's both before and after that would be great too.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Good luck finding some people who accept your word as fact and don't question the rediculous garbage you have been spouting off as gospel. Perhaps there is a Minimalist/Forefoot striking cult you can join and you can all drink the Barefoot Kool-Aid together?

_______________________________________________________

Can anyone on here do all three strikes? Because we should have someone try them all out and tell us the different speeds of the run and pain caused by it and etc..So we can actually get somewhere. I can do Forefoot and Midfoot but not Heel(Thank god it wasn't the other way around)

I thought you were done posting.

check mate.

muscle imbalances wrote:

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

check mate.

Umm, not really retard:

Please note that we present no data on how people should run, whether shoes cause some injuries, or whether barefoot running causes other kinds of injuries. We believe there is a strong need for controlled, prospective studies on these issues.

Really?? wrote:Can anyone on here do all three strikes? Because we should have someone try them all out and tell us the different speeds of the run and pain caused by it and etc..So we can actually get somewhere. I can do Forefoot and Midfoot but not Heel(Thank god it wasn't the other way around)

The majority of runners that I know that have messed around with changing their foot strike have ended up injured. And those that were successful didn't end up running any faster. But I know a ton of runners who when they started running more, got faster.

muscle imbalances wrote:

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

check mate.

This study was also funded by Vibram:

FUNDING DISCLAIMER: Research presented on this site was funded by Harvard University and, in part, by Vibram USA®.

No conflict of interest there...

How can you even start the debate when the key term, e.g. "heel strike", has not even been defined.

So, anyway can anyone sum up and say who is winning?

A simple run in the snow is very instructive. Look back at your foot prints. Is the deepest impression near the ball of your foot with a shallow sweeping of the snow at the heel area? If yes, then you are primarily a forefoot 'driver.' You might be an initial or simultaneous heel kisser, but your power stroke or push off comes closer toward the front of the foot.

Look at the snow prints of other runners. Many folks strike deeply and forcefully at the heel; the impression of the rest of their shoe is at most half as deep as that of the heel. It's as if there is little to no drive or push off phase. It's just strike and roll or strike and lift.

The fellow above has a point; it's not the initial touch that matters so much but rather how or even if you apply force to propel you forward.

It's the force, the push that moves the runner. It's the forces moving through the runner's body that determine injury susceptibiliy and efficiency.

It's the force, the push that moves the runner. It's the forces moving through the runner's body that determine injury susceptibiliy and efficiency.[/quote]

How can you push off with your heel? That is ridiculous. Everyone pushes off with the front of their foot!

A Skeptic wrote:

It's the force, the push that moves the runner. It's the forces moving through the runner's body that determine injury susceptibiliy and efficiency.

How can you push off with your heel? That is ridiculous. Everyone pushes off with the front of their foot![/quote]

Have another look at my post. I just made that very point. The shoe prints appear to show that some runners plant the heel hard and roll lightly onto the forefoot, pushing very timidly or perhaps lifting the leg more than pushing, like the occasional running back who has a reputation for moving well on sloppy ground.

Can we all just agree that overstriding is bad?