Changing my gate from heel striking to midfoot (or forefoot).

*gait

Is changing my 'gait' in this way a good idea or simple a bad one.

The human foot is designed for a midfoot/forefoot landing, run barefoot on concrete and this will become quite obvious quite quickly as you can only crash your heels into a hard surface so many times. Modern shoes dull the pain from landing on your heel so a lot of people can run quite happily heel-first, in which case there's probably not much point switching it up. However, as you've hinted at frequent injury, it might be worth experimenting with your foot placement. You can run on midfoot/forefoot in any shoe, it's just more obvious in minimalist shoes as heel striking is less comfortable. I'd recommend running barefoot on a hard surface to work out the technique, as there are a tonne of folk out there in vibram five fingers who are still heel striking hard, yet they themselves would swear that they are midfoot striking. Picture yourself springing off of your forefoot with your heels just barely 'kissing' the ground on each contact. Whatever you do, take it slowly as chances are that your tendons are currently ill equipped to deal with changing technique.

Be patient with it and don’t force it. Try and do some landing drills to help you land on your mid foot rather than just completely changing your form. Initially it will put much more strain on your calf, Achilles etc. so it’s important not to overload them

I don't think I can do that but I could maybe have a little trot barefoot on some grass. Obviously this is just to dabble. Maybe. It's just an idea really at this point. Curious about it. Yes, have had achilles issues in the past too! It's interesting to think about. I asked several physios/experts and they said completely different things, which was helpful. So I wanted to play about with the idea. A lot of things to consider. Thank you for your post.

Lower drop shoes is a good idea. May go to a 4-6mm drop shoe before you hit up the any 0mm drop shoe.

Some barefoot turf or grass running/sprinting helps acclimate people to the mid/forefoot strike, and landing under your center of mass more appropriately with each stride.

Running many more steep uphills over time (months-years) helped me a great deal move away from ‘heel-striking’ as well. This is a way to integrate way more glute/hamstring strengthening as well as reinforcing better movement patterns and overall running mechanics.

Calf raises are a requisite in my mind also. Better start now. Easy to strain your calves with ‘less shoe - less drop - more hills’.

If there was one thing I could change in my running past it would be to stay as a heel striker. I was indestructible. Then a bit past forty I started believing all that stuff I was reading about how it's natural and healthier to land at midfoot. So I changed. That set off all sorts of problems with my knees, hip, and back. It wasn't broke and I shouldn't have tried to fix it. Take this for what it's worth,

This is good information. You also need to figure out what caused your ball of foot injury. If it is Morton's Neuroma (look it up), the cause is most likely a shoe that is too narrow in the toebox so make sure you address that when you buy new shoes.

I suggest the following. Go to a soccer/football field. Run barefoot on the grass and "dial in" what it feels like. Then, immediately put on your shoes and try to recreate that form.

Low 4-6mm drop shoes will help immensely. I switched to forefoot running years ago, but wearing low drop shoes makes it much easier. Since you're getting new shoes anyway, I suggest that you get a shoe with a rocker sole that promotes a rocking footstrike. They move the heelstrike location about one inch forward on the shoe and make it easier to transition to forefoot strike.

It will take months to fully transition to forefoot so be patient. You might do the forefoot motion for 30 seconds and then revert to your normal form for a minute and then repeat. If you try to do a 30 minute run immediately doing forefoot only, you're likely to get an injury to the ball of foot, foot, achilles, or hip joint.

Fisky, which shoes are low drop with a Rocker sole?

I like a heel striking gate and find it useful coz you can turn around and kick with your heel with a lot of force like a zebra to open a heavy gate unlike forefoot striking gates that nub your toes.

Start by taking shorter steps.

Between "gate" and "villian", LRC is on fire this morning.

Your body will find its natural posture. Run on grass barefoot and report back

GAIT.

I've had surgery on my foot and it wasn't very successful, it's a long story, but that's basically why there is an issue. As with other parts of my body from running injuries.

HRE's story is what my reservations are - but with regard to 'don't fix what's not broken', it's already broken. So I half feel that I may as well try, even if there are differing opinions (not just on here). If I don't like it I can always switch back, I suppose?

I think I subconsciously almost used to make myself land heel to toe.

and busybusy - that is v interesting as it was also something I was considering!

I think I may as well try this and see, even if it's only a little.

Don't play around with this lightly. I tried going from heavy heel to forefoot/midfoot strike and wound up with serious issues (no running for months). Mainly extensor tendinitis in my left foot and anterior tibalis tendinitis in my right leg.

I now see a run specific PT who has helped me a ton with evaluating my gait cycle/seeing all my numbers and prescribing a "return to run" plan that involves a ton of strength work in the gym to prep the foot/legs to run in what is really a way that they've never had experience with.

Don't just change shoes with lower drop and think you'll be fine. This stuff takes work, learn from me please lol

Do a lot of barefoot running...on grass or track oval. Believe me, you won't be "slamming" your heal down running barefoot. Over time, this will retrain your foot strike..then transition to spikeless cross-country shoes for running on roads, until you don't have to think about foot strike anymore, before using more cushion.

Take a look at these drills

Every one of the drills is training some component of running but they all involve that bounce on the forefoot. You would not be able to do any of them on your heels.

Their specific emphasis on keeping the heel off the ground is what you need to get rid of your heel strike.