Running: You are doing it wrong.

MassiveDelta
MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
edited November 11 in Fitness and Exercise
Up until Mid September 2011 I ran in Asics shoes exclusively and Struck the ground with my heel. I had spent the previous year losing weight, learning to run, and building up my speed and distance.

Since I enjoyed running a good friend suggested I read a book called "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" By Christopher McDougall. First this is a fantastic book I would recommend to all runners or those who aspire to be runners. The book details how its possible that so many hobby runners get injured while wearing the most expensive shoes money can buy and how a hidden tribe can run for hundreds of miles...Yes I said hundreds, with out getting a injured wearing only a thin sandal.
Yes the book promotes barefoot running but, its not a commercial, it really does a fantastic job of explaining a lot of how our bodies work and what we are doing wrong and why.

Essentially after reading this book I decided to change how I run. I would say its probably a very high percentage of people that run, run by heel striking. I did too. However after reading the book and listening to the description I decided to change how I run. Quite honestly considering Id always been a heel striker I transitioned pretty easily over the course of about 3-4 runs. Yes I still wear shoes. In fact my Asics are still my primary shoe however I do own a pair of Zoots that Im learning to enjoy.

I basically just started trying to run the way the book described. Leaning slightly forward keeping my strides short and quick and maintaining my hips and my legs underneath my body instead of out in front and striking the ground at the mid or fore foot.

Guess what....I could run further and longer almost immediately. Remember I had been running for 1 and half years already I wouldn't suggest you try this on legs that are unconditioned.

You dont have to go barefoot or minimalist to run the way our bodies were designed you just have to start doing it.

This article promotes barefoot running but also gives a great detailed explanation about body position and posture. Give it a try for a couple weeks you will see great results
http://www.wildmovement.com/barefoot-running-technique
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Replies

  • TaintedVampyre
    TaintedVampyre Posts: 1,428 Member
    This is a great post with attached article. I'm pretty sure, even with all the barefoot running I did as a kid, I'm a "heel striker". The transition seems easy to accomplish if you put a little more thought into your stride. Thanks so much for the recommendation. All the best!
  • ambervargo
    ambervargo Posts: 67 Member
    Great book and great advice. I am as slow as ever but am not a heel striker and people don't beleive me when I tell them that. I feel like a lot of people perpetually sprint by definition, not run.
  • btdublin
    btdublin Posts: 250 Member
    bump
  • Chagama
    Chagama Posts: 543 Member
    bump
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member
    great book, and solid science behind it as well. I tried barefoot running and it was fun! I was so surprised at how comfortable it was.
  • Jme2012
    Jme2012 Posts: 106 Member
    bump
  • allisshiney
    allisshiney Posts: 107 Member
    Great book. Even if you not want to change your stride it is fantastic to read during training of before a big race.
  • lindsyrox
    lindsyrox Posts: 257 Member
    Has anyone on here actually really ran BAREFOOT? running in minimalist shoes is like skinny dipping in a speedo. Try running truely barefoot, its awesome!

    i started w/ Vibrams, then Merrel trail gloves, then went full bare this fall and barefoot is a whole new world of awesome free running... then winter came. Can't wait for summer to come back so i can shed my shoes :D
  • demery12371
    demery12371 Posts: 253 Member
    Bump
  • Spamee
    Spamee Posts: 148 Member
    I have this book from the library...havent opened it yet...I will now. Thanks
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member
    Yep, it is really well written. he's a good story teller.
    I did not become a runner, but I do run occasionally, and I totally changed what kind of shoes I wear for running or walking. Those big clunky motion-control shoes I wore for years were a huge mistake.
  • carynlondon
    carynlondon Posts: 7 Member
    I just finished this book, and it is fantastic. It's really made me rethink how I run as well. Thanks for posting!
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member
    Has anyone on here actually really ran BAREFOOT? running in minimalist shoes is like skinny dipping in a speedo. Try running truely barefoot, its awesome!

    yes I have, and it was great!! It was actually more comfortable on concrete than on soft ground. who knew?
  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
    I've read that book (AMAZING!) as well as taken some seminars in Chi Running (similar ideas, mid-foot strike, lean forward, etc). I've found that when I specifically tried to alter my stride, it caused more injury and pain than how I ran previously.

    However, over time (the last 1.5 years or so), I've noticed that my posture and running stride have changed subtly over time, to mirror some of these things (leaning forward, etc). I'm still more of a heel striker, but it works for me and I've never had a running injury (knock on wood) other than when I've pushed myself too hard, too fast and then I had shin splints or a couple of days with plantar fasciitis.

    I'm glad it works for you, but not everyone needs to change their stride to run well. Try out different things, see if it works for you, and keep on running!
  • lyn267
    lyn267 Posts: 58 Member
    bump
  • thinclo
    thinclo Posts: 164 Member
    bump
  • mhotch
    mhotch Posts: 901 Member
    Bump, I don't have time to read this right now.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    Sounds very much like Chi Running. Another pretty good read and designed for beginners. I'm still slow enough that it's easy to be mindful of technique. I'm sloppy one day, I'm in pain for days!
  • Fitwam
    Fitwam Posts: 275 Member
    bump
  • jjblogs
    jjblogs Posts: 327 Member
    bump
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Has anyone on here actually really ran BAREFOOT? running in minimalist shoes is like skinny dipping in a speedo. Try running truely barefoot, its awesome!

    i started w/ Vibrams, then Merrel trail gloves, then went full bare this fall and barefoot is a whole new world of awesome free running... then winter came. Can't wait for summer to come back so i can shed my shoes :D

    Yeah, I come from the land of barefoot running... I find it hard to understand why people are getting so excited about what is, to me, a really natural thing to do. That said, where I live these days, I'd be running in cowpats and sheep dung. not that appealing.
  • Cordy_in_CT
    Cordy_in_CT Posts: 134 Member
    bump
  • Nica_LosN_It
    Nica_LosN_It Posts: 115 Member
    bump
  • KimmieBrie
    KimmieBrie Posts: 825 Member
    I run in minimal shoes and don't strike with my heel. My husband is 45 has been running since being a high school track star, has several marathons and lots of competitive races under his belt, and is a heel striker. He's comfy that way and set in his ways. Obviously that works for him, and my way works for me. Running barefoot is fun too! till you cut your foot on something. If I didn't need the shoes for protection, I'd wear none.
  • BriskaPacojame
    BriskaPacojame Posts: 195 Member
    BUMP
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    The best thing I can tell you to do is take off your shoes and go run in the grass for a short distance. That is how you should be running.

    Our expensive running shoes are ruining us. They are forcing use to run wrong. I dont necessarily think barefoot is the way to go but I definitely think a minimalist shoe is a smart thing to work towards both for better form, more efficiency and increased distance and speed with a lower over all risk of injury.

    I'm no expert but our bodies were designed to run this way. You weren't born with shoes on so anything that can mimic a barefoot or near barefoot foot strike and stride is ideal.

    The fact that Persistent hunting, where we literally chased an animal until it collapsed from exhaustion is pretty dang cool to me. Who would have ever imagined that a human being could chase a deer until it collapsed from exhaustion. To be able to run at a steady pace for hours and hundreds of miles is an amazing ability only the human body is designed to undertake.
  • FainJ
    FainJ Posts: 25
    What the heck does "bump" mean? Fist bump? Bumping up one's montivation? I dunno.
  • frumpytofit
    frumpytofit Posts: 83
    bump++
  • CaptainMFP
    CaptainMFP Posts: 440 Member
    Please be aware the research to support this claim is MINIMAL. The best research (I've seen only 1 actual academic study) made the following conclusions:

    (1) Forefoot striking produces less chronic injury than heel strike running.
    (2) Forefoot striking does NOT reduce the risk of severe injury.
    (3) A change in running gait -- if not implemented slowly and carefully -- can produce injury. Some heel-toe runners would be best served to remain heel-toe runners.

    All the claims that forefoot is "right" and all other gaits are "wrong" is NOT scientifically based. It's anecdotal at best and pushed by coaches and trainers whose data are not terribly rigorous.

    The only scientific perspective is this: forefoot striking appears better in general, but this is not an absolute; transitioning can be a source of risk in and of itself.

    A blog at the NY Times that discusses the research study in question (and interviews the authors of the study which looked at Harvard cross-country runners over several years) can be found at this link: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/why-runners-get-injured/?src=me&ref=general.

    For the record, I'm a forefoot strike runner who has developed IT band issues during my transition. I think there is merit to adopting this running style if you can, but the evidence to claim one is right and the other is wrong (as advanced by the OP) simply does not exist at this time. Anecdotal evidence -- even collected from multiple sources -- does not qualify as a real scientific data set.
  • DreamiJeani
    DreamiJeani Posts: 72
    Has anyone on here actually really ran BAREFOOT? running in minimalist shoes is like skinny dipping in a speedo. Try running truely barefoot, its awesome!

    i started w/ Vibrams, then Merrel trail gloves, then went full bare this fall and barefoot is a whole new world of awesome free running... then winter came. Can't wait for summer to come back so i can shed my shoes :D

    I use Vibram FiveFingers but lately I've switched to the New Balance Minimus and I like it even more since I can wear regular socks. I would totally try barefoot running but the places I have available to run are less then stellar on maintenance (glass and bird poo mostly) I do go barefoot on the beach of course ;)

    The thing I notice most from when I run in my minimals is that my hips dont hurt like they used to after even a short run.
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