Proper Running Foot Strike: 3 Steps to Better Forefoot Running

If you're forefoot running, then you'd want your forefoot to hit first. If you're mid-foot running, you'd want the entirety of your foot to land at just about ... ProperRunningFootStrike:3StepstoBetterForefootRunning ProperRunningFootStrike:3StepstoBetterForefootRunning ByHollyMartin June20,2022 Asalotofyouknowbynow,runningboilsdowntoalotmorethanjustputtingonefootinfrontoftheother.Nutrition,training,andevenyourrunningfootstrikeallplayanimportantpart. Inthispost,wetackleproperfootstrike,stylesofforefootrunning,and3surefirestepstoperfectyourproperrunningform! RunningFootStrike:MostCommonTypesOfRunningStyles Thewayyourfoothitsthegroundasyouruntendstofallintooneofthreecategories. Beforewegetintowhattheyare,let’sfirstmakesomethingveryclear. Oneisn’tbetterorworsethananother. There’snoone-form-fits-allproperrunningformfootstrike—theyareeachvaluableforsometypeofterrain,elevationchange,thesectionofa race,etc. Understanding when tousethem,andhowto blend themtofindyourmost“neutral”foot strikeforthelongrunswillbeourkeyfocushere.Andproperfootstrikeisacrucialpieceofgoodforminyourrunningtechnique. HeelStrike ForefootStrike Mid-FootStrike HeelStrikeRunning:MostCommonStyle Withthisheelstrikerunningmethod(alsoknownasheel-to-toerunning),theheelhitsthegroundbeforetherestofthefootfollowssuittoland.Heelstrikersarecommon. Infact,thisisoneofthemostcommonfoot strikeswesee,andhere’swhy: Ifyouspendmostofyourdayseated,you’veprobablydevelopedchronicallytighthips. Duetothis,yourstridereachesoutmuchfurtherinfrontofyouthanitneedsto.Thisisalsoknownasoverstriding. Youdriveyourrunningwithyourlegsandfeet,notyourhipsandglutes. Theheelstylestrikeisyourbestattemptatcatchingandcontinuingthatstridefromonelegtothenext. Whilewedon’tencourage“defaulting”totheheelstylestrikeoutofpoorrunningform(especiallyforlongerruns), wedothinkitcanbebeneficialasabrakesystemonadownhillorsharpturn.  Utilizingthismethodinthoseinstancescanhelpminimizeinjuryriskondownhills.Havingsaidthat,keepyourstridelengthsafeandreasonableasyounavigateadescent. Heelstrikerunningisn’tnecessarilyrunningonyourheels.Yes,yourheelsstrikefirst,butthatdoesn’tmeanyou’renotusingtherestofyourfoot. Ifyoufindyou’redefaultingtoheelstrikingduetomuscleimbalancesandweaknessesratherthanstrategy,thenwe’llshowyouhowtostopheelstrikingfurtherdowninthisarticle. ForefootStrike:ForefootRunningatSpeed You’llfindthistypeoffootstrike(runningtoetoheel)ontheoppositeendofthespectrum. Whatcharacterizestheforefootstylefoot strike: 1)Yourweightisheavilyfocusedontotheballofthefootandthetoes. 2)Yourheelsarelikelynothittingthegroundbetweensteps. 3)Yourupperbodymaybealittlebentforwardfromthehips. Thoughspendinganentirelongruninthispositionwouldleadtotightnessand crampsintheAchillesandcalves,theforefootstylefootstrike workswelltokickupyourspeedandpush-offacrossafinishlineorupashorthill. Considerityourgaspedal. Useittoliveoutyourdreamsofasprintingfinish. Thereareafewdifferentwaystoforefootstrike: Runningtoetoheel: Landingonyourforefootandlettingtherestofyourfootcollapsebeforetakingoff. Runningontheballsoffeet: Landingontheballsofyourfeet,andsometimesstayingontheballsofyourfeet. Runningonyourtoes: Landingonyourtoesandnotlettingyourheeltouchbeforetakingoffagain. Mid-FootStrikeRunning:AnotherFormofForefootRunning Ah,ahappymedium,themid-footstrikerunning.Notanover-stride,butnotaforefootstrikeeither. Thisisthemostneutralfoot strikeofthethree. Mostofyourfoothitsthegroundatonce,withyourweightbalancedrightaboutevenontopofyourhips,knees,andankles. Thoughyou’lldefinitelywanttoutilizeyournew“brake”and“gas”pedals,you’llwanttofindsomeversionofthismid-footstylestriketouseonthebulkofyourlongerruns.Thisisespeciallyimportantfordistancerunnerslookingtostayinjury-free.Andreallyforallrunners,thisfootstrikestyleshouldbeapartofanyjog. Luckyforyou,we’vegot3tipstohelpyoulearnhowtostartforefootrunning. TweakYourRunningPosture Picturethis:thefootisattheendofalongkineticwhip. Thewaythefootlandsisadirectresultofwhatyourupperbodyandlowerbodyaredoing.What’sgoingonbothaboveandbelowyourcenterofgravitymatters. Theonlywayitcanrespondproperlyisifyourupperbodyposturesupportsit. Thismeansheadstackedontopofshoulders,shouldersontopofhips,etc. Asaresult,thehipflexorsandgluteswillbeabletoengageandpushforward,allowingthestridetoopenasthelegswingsbackandcyclesforwardinonefluidmotion.Corestrengthisanimportantingredienthere,necessarytokeeptherestofthebodyinline.Astrongcorewhilerunningalsominimizesriskofinjuryinyourlowerback. Increasingyourhipmobility and strengtheningyourglutes willhelpmakethispossible! FixYourArmSwing Foreverylegswing,there’sanarmswing,anotherkeyingredientinproperformforyourrunninggait. Thiscontralateralmovementiswhatdrivesyourrunning.Oftennewrunnersunderestimatetheimportanceofthearmswing,butitreallydoesplayabigroleingoodrunningform. Improvingtherangeofmotionandpowerofyourarmswingwillinformthelegs,creatinganeasier,moresustainablefootstrike. Relaxingtheshoulderswillincreasetherangeofyourarmswingandthusdrivemorepowertoyourlegs.Especiallyonuphills,yourbodymightfallintoaslightforwardlean.Trytonoticeasthisoccurs,andkeepyourshouldersdownandnotrounded.Avoidslouchingatallcosts,andletyourarmspoweryouupthehill. *Remember:armsswingfronttoback,notcrossedinfrontofyou! Lookingformoredirectionhere? Checkthisout🙂  IncreaseYourCadence Weallknowwhatthat“marathonshuffle”looks/feelslike. Puttingalittlepepinyourstepcansparkawholechainof improvementsinyourrunningform andtherefore,yourfootstrike!Increasingyourcadencesimplymeansincreasingthenumberofstepsyoutakeperminute,therebyshorteningyourstridelength. Forexample,astrongerhippositionallowsyoutopickthefeetupoffthegroundfaster.Whileitmightseemcounterintuitive,increasingyourcadenceimprovesdistancerunning,notjustspeedrunning. Inturn,thatincreasedcadenceencouragesthefeettorelaxandre-strikethegroundinamoreneutral,shock-absorbingmanner.Thisisgoingtotakesomeoftheloadoffofthehamstrings,whichcangetirritatedifyou’reusedtooverstriding. Thinkofitthisway,thequickeryoucangetyourlandingfootofftheground,thelightertheloadithadtobearinthefirstplace.Increasingyourcadencemakesyouroverallrunningstylelighter,reducesstraininthequadsandhips,andthereforehelpstoreducerunninginjuries. Ifyoustruggletopickupthepace,useatreadmilltogetyourbodyusedtoshorter,quickersteps.Remembertofocusoncorrectrunningformevenasyouincreaseyourcadence.Noneedtogetapersonaltrainerinvolvedifyouhavenoneed,justlookforsomedrillsandworkoutsonlinetogetyourbodyusedtoquickerfootturnover. FrequentlyAskedQuestions(FAQs) Whatarethebestforefootrunningshoes? Here’swhattolookforinthebestrunningshoesforforefootstrikers.Certainshoedesignscangetinthewayofasmoothforefoottransition.Thebestforefootrunningshoeswillhaveahigherheel-to-toedropthatallowsyourfoottonaturallytransitionfromforefootlandingtopush-off What’sthebestwaytolearnhowtostartforefootrunning? Practice.Trythetipswementionedabove,andfilmyourselfwhyyou’redoingit.Onceyouknowwhattolookfor,you’llbeabletonoticeanyimprovementsyoucanmaketoyourforefootrunningform. WhatifIexperienceforefootpainrunning? Youmayexperiencealittlebitofdiscomfortifyougofull-onforefootrunningcoldturkey.Ifyou’reputtinginthemiles,easeintoit.You’llbeengagingnewmusclesinslightlydifferentways,sogiveyourbodytimetoadapt.Ifyou’reexperiencingforefootpainwhenrunning,cutbackabitandgiveyourbodytime. Heelstrikevsforefootstrikerunning?What’sbetter? Oneisnecessarily better thantheother—they’retwodifferentkindsofrunningformsthatbothhaveaspecifictimeandplacetobebestused. Howshouldyourfeethitthegroundwhenrunning? Italldependsonwhichstyleofrunningyou’reusing.Ifyou’reforefootrunning,thenyou’dwantyourforefoottohitfirst.Ifyou’remid-footrunning,you’dwanttheentiretyofyourfoottolandatjustaboutthesametime.Andifyou’reheelstriking,thenyourheelshouldlandfirstandthensmoothlytransitiontoatoetake-off. ProperRunningFootStrike:PuttingItAllTogether Ifyoucanmakeachangeinthesethreeareas,yourfeetwillstarttostrikejustbeneathyourhips.Notwayoutinfrontofyouforyourheelstodealwith,andnotbehindyou,foryourtoesandcalvestosupport. Forefootrunningisjustasingletoolinyourrunner’stoolbelt.Couplethatwithastrategicheelstrike(whenappropriate),andyou’llbereadytotackleanyterrainatanydistance. Understandingthatthefootstrikeisdirectlyrelatedtotherestofyourbody’srunninghabitswillmakeallthedifference.Learnhowtostartforefootrunningassoonaspossibletoaddthisstyletoyourrunningarsenal. Evenifyournewfootstrikeisheelortoe-dominant,itwilllikelybemorecomfortableandsustainableforthoselongruns. Related DownloadNow Searchfor: WhatDoYouNeedHelpWith? 5KTraining AdviceandMotivation BeginnerRunning HalfMarathonTraining InjuryFixandPrevention MarathonTraining RunFormandTechnique RunnerNutrition StravaPosts StrengthTraining Uncategorized WarmUp&CoolDown DOWNLOADNOW