BFR and heel strike?

[Barefoot Cassie]

I didn't think that I had a heel strike. I didn't think you really could while BFR. I thought I had more of an entire foot hitting at the same time (mid-foot strike?) Well, apparently I was wrong. The professional pictures were just posted for my 5k this past Sat. and I most certainly have a heel strike. How can that be?

I did not pay for the pictures because I was only interested in my feet...I guess I just post the link?



Oh, and this first picture is TERRIBLE!

 

[jschwab]

Cassie, I am a heel strike

Cassie, I am a heel strike skeptic. In that I am skeptical that a midfoot/forefoot landing is the be all and end all of healthiness. I heel strike some of the time and some of the time I don't. It depends on if I'm on a hill, if I'm distracted, if there is a chip mat or a finish line, dumb luck. I ran midfoot and forefoot in shoes. If you look at my old running shoes, there is zilch wear anywhere on the heels - it's really kind of unbelievable looking.

Eventually I was avoiding my heel so much I was running on my toes - shoes made me run more forward on my foot, not less. And those were pretty minimal shoes with a small heel-toe drop. I swtiched to minimalist running to get that heel down and land at least on my midfoot/full foot, but sometimes I heel strike. I never understood where wearing shoes could make people heel strike - when I wore them I apparently did everything to avoid touching down the heel and was pitched forward most of the time.

I would not worry - your body will tell you what to do. I love those pics, by the way!

 

[Abide]

Also try to find a side pick.

Also try to find a side pick. your leg still looks pretty far forward of your center of mass so even though your heel is touching I would bet as soon as there is weight placed on your foot you have more of a midfoot strike.

You can tell when you heel strike barefoot because you will feel a jarring sensation in your head. It is not comfortable.

 

[Barefoot Cassie]

I will see if I can find a

I will see if I can find a side pic. If I can't find one then I may just have to try to take one.

I don't feel any kind of jarring sensation in my head.

 

[Barefoot Cassie]

This is the only side pic I

This is the only side pic I have...I may have to take some since this one does not have my foot on the ground.

 

[jschwab]

I think it's just ther

I think it's just ther tension of the race.

 

[barefoot.zumba.runner]

I agree with Abide, by the

I agree with Abide, by the time your foot strikes, it may be more of a midfoot. Try shortening your stride a bit and you'll land more mid foot. Also, while landing midfoot, try to keep yourself from putting too much weight forward (bending knees and dropping your butt should help a bit with this). I'm thinking that this may have been part of the cause of my stress fracture, too much weight put forward into my midfoot strike.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

If a heel strike isn't

If a heel strike isn't injuring you, then it's not bad. If it is, then it is bad. I do happen to think that most people will run healthier/safer with a midfoot plant, not forefoot, not rear-striking.

Cassie, you need to get someone to video you from the front, back, and side, then upload to YouTube, and share here. That's the best way to tell if you are striking heel first.

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Also, Cassie, I noticed your

Also, Cassie, I noticed your leg seems quite straight when you're striking. I know that for me, following Ken Bob's advice to keep my knees bent has helped a lot. If it's not causing problems, you may be fine, but if you can keep those knees bent, I think you'll be running a little more gently. It will probably help you to shorten your stride a bit and be landing more under your center of gravity. Worth a shot anyway, right?

(And by the way the knees bent thing takes some getting used to--felt very weird to me at first!! But I really do think it's helped me!)

Your upper body looks nice and upright! After seeing a photo my hubs snapped on my race this weekend, I think that's something I need to think about more.

 

[BFwillie_g]

 The footstrike is almost

The footstrike is almost irrelevant compared to the leg position at time of contact. And outstreteched leg, overstriding, really is something you might want to actively work on ironing out over time. But if you're not having serious issues, take it easy with corrections and changes.

The goal of that "midfoot strike" has less to do with the foot iteself and more to do with getting the feet under the center of gravity. Generally, it's impossible to heelstrike without also overstriding, as your photos demonstrate, Cass...

 

[Danjo]

You might have just been heel

You might have just been heel striking in those pictures, it'll happen every once in a while if you are kinda zoning out. I would also say its possible that you were overstriding and putting your heel down first, but bending your knee enough that by the time your weight was on the foot the whole foot had touched down. A real heel strike is really obvious when you're barefoot, you feel like a "THUNK!" through your whole body, so if you didn't notice you must have still been landing gently. I'd see if you can fix the over-striding thing though.

 

[Longboard]

I was shocked at some race

I was shocked at some race pictures snapped of me that also looked like heel striking. BUT, I pay very close attention to my foot strikes, and know for sure that I am a simultanious mid-foot/heel lander, with less weight on the heel than the midfoot. After seeing those pictures of myself, I payed even more attention, and realized that it is a last split second thing for me that my feet point downward more for the real landing. I'll bet you don't really heel strike either, it would HURT!

 

[Barefoot Cassie]

Thanks for all the advice

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

Sounds like I really need to get some video done to see what I'm doing or not doing. Like I said, I never thought I was a heel striker.

I will work on getting that video.

 

[Neil_D]

HI there,I reckon Beth has

HI there,

I reckon Beth has it right in that if you can consciously keep your knees bent it becomes almost impossible to over stride and land on your heel.

I'm sure I started off doing the same thing. Once you get that feeling of having a good bend in your knees I think your running photos will look more like you expect.

Get the Pose Running book as well, it is a great tool in helping you run correctly.

Interestingly, I came across this book on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Barefoot-Running/dp/1615640622/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293515784&sr=1-20

What do you reckon, is that guy about to heel strike too?



Neil

 

[stomper]

Don't panic, Cassie.   IMHO

Don't panic, Cassie. IMHO If you're not feeling that thunk and that shockwave travelling up through your body, and you're not getting hurt. whatever you're doing with your heel can't be that bad. Nice outfit, BTW. :santa: