Take a look at the profile of track spikes. The shoe is very clearly designed to encourage the runner to strike the ground with the ball of his or her foot.
[quote]bsm13 wrote:
By the way, you’re calves will get used to it.
Plus, most people that convert to this way rarely ever have shin splint type pain again because it gets rid of the hard eccentric that happens when the heel strikes first.[/quote]
I was noticing that…my shins are absolutely fine since I started…how long does it take for the calves to get used to it? I think they’re already 3/4" bigger just from the handful of times I’ve ran like this.
I run on the feet of my balls…
Yeah, my balls have feet… Oh yeah…
yes the balls is the correct way to run especially sprint
There is no universally correct footstrike. How you land depends on velocity, surface, slope, etc. Try running barefoot on a cold, wet, hard surface and your heel will never touch the ground even if you jog slowly. Try running barefoot on warm grass and you will be much more inclined to let your heel touch down. Running uphill you will always land on the balls of your feet even if you are wearing thick shoes. Running downhill you will always land heel first even if you are barefoot.
Check out the Oct 2008 issue of Men’s Fitness, it talks about the benefits of barefoot type running using shoes like the Vibram Five Fingers. Read the thread here on T-Nation about the Vibrams!
[quote]AccipiterQ wrote:
bsm13 wrote:
By the way, you’re calves will get used to it.
Plus, most people that convert to this way rarely ever have shin splint type pain again because it gets rid of the hard eccentric that happens when the heel strikes first.
I was noticing that…my shins are absolutely fine since I started…how long does it take for the calves to get used to it? I think they’re already 3/4" bigger just from the handful of times I’ve ran like this. [/quote]
Its funny you say that, because I noticed about the same gains in just a couple sessions of sprinting. I was kind of shocked, had to measure it like 5 times to be sure
[quote]belligerent wrote:
There is no universally correct footstrike. How you land depends on velocity, surface, slope, etc. Try running barefoot on a cold, wet, hard surface and your heel will never touch the ground even if you jog slowly. Try running barefoot on warm grass and you will be much more inclined to let your heel touch down. Running uphill you will always land on the balls of your feet even if you are wearing thick shoes. Running downhill you will always land heel first even if you are barefoot. [/quote]
x2 on this.
One important point to take away from this is try running barefoot. Or in shoes without a built-up heel.
If you run how the human body was designed to run, then it will take care of a proper foot strike on its own.
Personal anecdote here so take it for what it’s worth.
I used to be a heel striker and I also used to get shin splints all the time. I overpronated a lot, and my feet were really flat. I’m 5’9" and at the time was anywhere from 180-185#'s. A few years ago I heard about POSE and Chi-running and all that and I thought I’d give it a try.
Now a few years later I have not had shin splints in years, I’ve actually developed an arch to my feet and I’m sitting around 190-195#'s.
I try to go with a minimalist shoe when I run for the most part, I’m a big fan of the Free’s and I’ve thought about the Vibram Five fingers but haven’t gotten the courage to buy a pair.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
There is no universally correct footstrike. How you land depends on velocity, surface, slope, etc. Try running barefoot on a cold, wet, hard surface and your heel will never touch the ground even if you jog slowly. Try running barefoot on warm grass and you will be much more inclined to let your heel touch down. Running uphill you will always land on the balls of your feet even if you are wearing thick shoes. Running downhill you will always land heel first even if you are barefoot. [/quote]
Correct.
I paid some attention after Zap’s post on the first page and I noticed too my footstrike is on the mid-foot during longer distances or when tired. Uphill I’m too busy fighting gravity to notice.
There was a study recently of marathon runners that also found a wide variety of footstrikes and running forms across both recreational and elite runners.
Cute Avatar Zap 
Reading this thread, I am thinking back trying to remember if the military ever told me how they wanted me to run. I just did sprints today, so I won’t be able to try this out for a couple days. I always thought the right way to run was heel first. I can’t wait to run on toesies! It has always felt faster. I have no idea why I ran the other way.
[quote]debraD wrote:
I paid some attention after Zap’s post on the first page and I noticed too my footstrike is on the mid-foot during longer distances or when tired. Uphill I’m too busy fighting gravity to notice.
There was a study recently of marathon runners that also found a wide variety of footstrikes and running forms across both recreational and elite runners.
Cute Avatar Zap :)[/quote]
I love that crayon guy. I need to edit that douchebag out of the pic.