Conversely, landing on your heels first will slow you down and cause unnecessary impact to your joints, according to running coach Rick Morris. Sprinting on the balls of your feet allows you to drive forward with speed and get maximum power from your calves and quads.
Landing on the balls of the feet is considered effective. But landing on the toes may cause injury if you're a distance runner. Although it's effective for sprinting and short bursts of speed, landing too far forward on your toes isn't recommended for longer distances. It could lead to shin splints or other injuries.
"Our comprehensive review suggests that telling someone to run on the ball of their foot instead of their heel may make them less efficient, at least in the short term. Additionally, there is no evidence either way on whether running on the balls of your feet reduces injury."
When you heel strike, your body has to work harder, creating a disadvantage for you. Running on forefoot creates more power and engages more muscles. Moreover, it prevents all kind of injury and also helps to keep your posture more aligned.
“The activity of the major muscles of the ankle, knee, hip and back all increase if you walk on the balls of your feet or your toes as opposed to landing on your heels,” says Carrier. “That tells us the muscles increase the amount of work they are producing if you walk on the balls of your feet.”
To run with proper form, you should focus on landing your feet as close to under your hips as possible. This will help to reduce the braking forces that your body experiences with each stride. Keep your running cadence high to achieve this, and aim to run with a midfoot strike.
When it comes to sprinting, landing on the balls of your feet is ideal for speed, efficiency and injury prevention. Leaning too far forward and pushing off with your toes will compromise your technique and won't give you enough power to drive you forward at top speed.
We recommend focusing on the key muscle groups involved in running, such as quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Strengthening these key muscle groups will allow you to see immediate results as you run faster than you ever have before!
“A lot of people think they need to push off the ball of their foot when they run, but the structures in the foot are not meant to do a heavy push-off,” Johnson says.
Hamstrings
Located in the back of the thigh, the hamstrings are a two-joint muscle that extend the hip and control the leg. They are responsible for force production in the push-off phase. If you want to run faster or sprint efficiently, strong hamstrings are a necessity.
Although, most recreational runners are rearfoot strikers, most studies have found the majority of elite distance runners are forefoot or midfoot strikers (Hasegawa et al 2007).
Summary: Heel-striking is arguably the most common footstrike pattern amongst runners. There's no clear advantage of switching to a forefoot strike and some evidence suggests rearfoot may even be more efficient, especially in endurance events.
Is a midfoot strike better for running? Yes, a midfoot strike allows your body to better absorb the impact forces while running. Heel striking results in a more abrupt ground impact as the calf and achilles are not able to absorb forces at ground contact.
Mid-foot and toe-strike running allows your body to use the force and momentum that you're creating to your advantage." This is because if you're landing in the front of your foot—or on your toes—you're on the ground for less time, which gives you the benefit of increased speed.
For faster sprint times it is important to limit the amount of time that your foot spends in contact with the ground during each stride. This is why sprinters run on the balls of their feet and sprinting spikes all have the spikes positioned on the forefoot.
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 the same time. And if you're heel striking, then your heel should land first and then smoothly transition to a toe take-off.
Forefoot and midfoot strike patterns may protect the heel and lower limbs from some impact-related injuries. Theoretically, a forefoot running style may reduce ground reaction forces and reduce stress reactions/fractures, anterior knee pain, and low back pain.
What is runner's face? If you haven't heard the term, you've likely seen it. It is the face of a lifelong runner with leathery, saggy skin and a gaunt appearance. It is the result of lots of sun exposure and little body fat.
“Yes, running can help give you defined abs,” said Todd Buckingham, Ph. D., exercise physiologist. But before you get too excited, it's important to note that running alone isn't enough to improve muscular definition in your midsection.
The best way to breathe while running is to inhale and exhale using both your nose and mouth combined. Breathing through both the mouth and the nose will keep your breathing steady and engage your diaphragm for maximum oxygen intake. It also allows you to expel carbon dioxide quickly.
The 'balls' of the feet are technically, the metatarsophalangeal joints (MTP joints).
What they found was that a longer forefoot allows the plantar flexors of the foot to do more work at certain velocities; that is, the long toes allow for better running economy at higher speeds. This also may be why short and slight runners do better than tall ones.