Running Style: weight on the balls of your feet?

[Hats26]

Before Christmas, my running style confidence went down when I realised I had shin problems. The pain went after a while (luckily- As I went skiing in January!) The pain then came back so I stopped immediately and eventually changed my shoes. The guy in the shop said it is better for you to run on the balls of your feet.. So I am trying to adjust the way I run, but I thought it would be good to ask other Fitbit members on their running style? One thing I do not want is to be out of exercise to wait for the agony/weird tension to go. The gym staff suggested helpful ways to strengthen my leg muscles, so fingers crossed things improve. Prior to my shin problems (only a couple of issues), I had been doing ParkRuns and had trained for Survival of the Fittest. The first time I realised I had a shin issue was when I actually touched the front of my shin and it was not very comfortable. 

I am a newish runner and am hoping for some advice on how to improve? I now have better trainers- I hope! Vivo barefoot and the actual barefoot ones, but I only wear them inside. Around the time I got shin problems was when I bought a pair of trail trainers that I wasn't necessarily using during the correct running environment. 

[karan · Accepted solution]

Im sorry to hear this. 

Shoes wise I would reccomend the Nike Air Max. They are very comfortable. 

In terms of running I would definately try those foot/leg workouts and for running take it slow and gradually progress. 

When your shins are a bit stronger and not sensitive, you should take some kind of wood (branch, broom, any other rounded peice of wood) and hit your shins with it up and down. Obviously in the beginning do it softly but eventually take it up a notch. This will callouse your shins therefore you wont have problems with them. Many martial arts styles take this practice on. This was started a while back by monks in Japan and other places in order to use their shins when kicking. Martial Artist to this day widely use this practice (may not use wood but something in replacement). If you are to watch the UFC fighters they rely heavily on shin kicks. Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Renen Barao, George St. Pierre, Lyoto Mchida, Thiago Alves, Carlos Condit, Anthony Pettis and many others use this to toughen their shins up. Even besides the UFC there are many practioners that do this to their shins. 

[Hats26]

Ah thank you Karan! Well yes the funny thing is that I am a big skier, and I've never had shin issues before. Mind you, I did not do much running purely because I was worried about my knees but they have seem to have had any issues. My fear was the hard impact of running outdoors, so I try to run off road when I can. 

Yes, good idea. I did something similar in the gym with one of thoes foam cylinder things.. But now that I am slowly getting back into it, I will see how the leg workouts go. I think it is also something to do with the fact that when running my muscles or something have gone inwards, thus making my arches flat. My amount of skiing possibly has not helped, but usually I only go once a year. A lot of snow in Scotland at the moment though, so making the most of it while we have it! Thanks again for your suggestions 🙂 

[NativeSFGirl · Accepted solution]

Hi Hats26,

I am not a pro (only been running about 2 years) or anything close but I found that when I was running on the balls of my feet, my calves and knees were crazy burning. I run with a midfoot strike and no bounce.  Have found this really works for me to keep my breathing well throughout my runs as well as injury free.

Another thing for me at least was not to streach before a run.  When I did pre-running streaches my shins and legs in general hurt a lot more.  I ease into my runs by running really slowly the first 1/4 to 1/2 mile, then picking up the pace once my body is fully warmed up.  I have injured my knee going out too fast without properly warming up my body.  I do streach for about 5-10 minutes after I run and it feels great and helps a lot. 

By the way I only run outdoors on concrete/sidewalks.  Hopefully this helps you a bit.

[whome]

Sounds like shin splints to me (of course, What do I know?) You might want to take a look at this http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/shin-splints or just google "shin splints", that's where I found this and there is a lot more there as well, like this one from wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_splints

Hope this helps

[Hats26]

Yeah I think that is my plan too to be honest... To build things up slowly. The tips the gym suggested were to strengthen my arch muscles through using the Leg Press and the other one was to stand on my tiptoes then back to help. A great thing after a run was to use a tennis ball or something and to roll your foot on top of it. 

Oh yeah.. Breathing is an issue too, so I am doing a bit of swimming when I can. I look forward to getting back into ParkRuns but not sure when I'll reach another PB, I imagine I'll be stuck at 26.23, which for someone who isn't a big runner is probably okay for now!? Everytime I finished the run, the First Aid were a bit concerned and asked if I was okay... All I could do was the thumbs up sign whilst trying to get my breath back!! Not sure how the midfoot strikey works? I've not even taylored my walking/running stride as I imagine I would not do it properly. I ran for 40 minute the other day, which was fun. Mostly off road and had no plan of direction but was great, running up & down steps, different terrain. I think I prefer off road running, easier on the knees? I am a big skier, so that is possbily a reason why my feet are a wee bit too flat. Oh gosh, I injured my kneed skiing... I can barely horse ride without the pain, mind you I don't often do that anymore anyway. Yeah that is the thing, I think that is what has put me off running for such a long time... That and breathing. 

 @whome  thank you too for your help 🙂 

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

I am a new runner who gave it up decades ago due to shin splints. After orthopedic surgery and vigorous walking for recovery I started little runs. Just a mile at a time. Like Forrest Gump.:)

I had no pain! It was even a bit exhilirating. And this was in the worst summer heat. I had been training on StairMaster and elipticals and had the cardio capability, but didn't know how to run right. I decided to do it "barefoot style". I got some New Balance Minimus shoes and ran "mindfully", with a forefoot strike. Sort of flat-footed. NOT on the balls of my feet. It's also called "Chi running". Check it out on Runners World and YouTube. I needed to make sure I didn't get injured. At 62 I don't want to be sidelined for avoidable problems.

I'm up to 5 miles now. That last mile was real ugly, but I did it. And I've been regulary running 5K at the 30 minute rate. And no injuries. No cramps, tighrness, nothing. Not even blisters or sore feet from those skinny-soled running shoes. They are only 5mm of vibram. It has been amazing.

You can do it too. Just study it and pay attention to what you're doing.

Pete

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

Please ignore the advice to strike your shins with ANYTHING! That is the most absurd advice I have read. Your Vivo Barefoot shoes were a good choice. You do not want to injure yourself.

Pete

[Hats26]

Oh okay, thank you Poder! I will look it up. I don't know if I mentioned apart from the vivo barefoot, I also have the barefoot  style ones too. Still getting used to them and using them more indoors. Oh good...! At the moment I am using the Vibram ones for circuits.. Will get back into doing 5ks more soon too. But yes, I should research more first so that I don't injure myself. 

[KatchMe]

I am an avid runner and from my experience when someone says to strike on the balls of your feet, they don't mean run on your toes. My understanding is to not strike with your heal first, but instead strike toward the ball of your foot (middle) and roll toward your toe. I have read most distance runners do this and I use to run 75 miles a week and run like this too. Some people pronate and some people supinate, that is why it is important to be fitted to the correct shoe for the way you naturally run. For me, I tend to supinate, striking the ground with the outside of the ball of my foot and rolling toward my big toe. Over the years people have said different things and I have even tried to hit heal first when that was the popular opinion. Heal first only jarred my back and killed my shins, then slowed me down. I think it did more damage. Everyone is built different and you have to find how you naturally strike the ground and how to improve on what is natural for you. That is why the correct shoe is important and even then, they aren't always perfect. In my opinion, I can never find a shoe that has enough padding in the front of the shoe for the balls of the feet and toes, so I always have to add padding under the original pading to meet my comfort needs. But I do start with the closest shoe that fits my running style. Good luck.

[Hats26]

Thank you.. Yeah when I am running I am thinking, is this right or this. The guy whom I got the running shoes from said to visit for whatever reason, so I might do that when I have more time.

[Jabrat]

Very interesting I too will look this up
- just starting to lightly jog right now

[buggirl82]

I have been a runner off and on for a while.  I am not good at it, not running long distance, or at any high speed.  I have knee problems and flat feet, so I have tried a variety of styles.  The style that works best for me is the "barefoot" style that was previously mentioned.  It takes a while to get used to because it doesn't really feel natural.  I find that I have less knee pain, and no shin splints. Everyone is different so do some experimenting to find what works for you. Your shoe is key, make sure you get analyzed, a lot of major athletic shoe stores do it for free and will recommend a shoe that will be best for you.   

[Hats26]

Thank you... I like the barefoot vibrams but I've not worn them outside as I don't want to get them wet whilst on a run or hurt my shins. I guess I could run on the pavements but the run is less interesting. I am a big fan of off road running, but often my trainers get wet. Have you found it awkward your barefoot vibrams getting wet whilst running? Slightly stupid question.. I've been using my Vivobarefoot trainers more, but my shins are pretty exhausted, I've not run a huge distance recently but I've been on my feet nonstop. I cannot wait till things improve. I ought to do some research but then that could go on for a long time. At the end of the day I just probably need to man up and go for a run with them outside for a bit and see how I get on and stop being so overprotective of knees/shins! 

[josephz2va]

I wouldn't recommend Air Max. I wore them for a year and developed severe callus damage and tightening on the sides by running up to 90 minutes on a treadmill. When I went to Nike, I informed a staff member I'm looking for treadmill 4 MPH runs. Lunarglide+4 was one of their recommendations. Not sure what the other one was, but I went for Lularglide+4 in the end. I do have some callus damage, but not as severe. The pain is still there, but I need to wear splints at night from planter fasciitis.

[BartL]

Interesting read. I’ve had similar experience with shin splint and am now using Vivo Barefoot shoes too.

I’ve had shin splint for years, every time I tried to restart running it went ok till after some weeks I could up the pace and the distance resulting over and over again in shin splint. I tried shop owners and specialist recommendations on a variety of shoes, ignoring the pain and, stretch exercises to avoid shin splint to no reveal. This until 1.5yrs ago I came across a UK documentary on how to avoid injuries from running. In short; the message was to run on the front foot.

Running on your front foot for the first time is like starting over on learning how to run. Forget the distance and the pace for a while, concentration on the right posture and landing position is key. To my amazement it worked, no more shin splint since that time!

Since the restart of my running I’ve been using Saucony’s suited to my weight. Due to my weight I was chewing through the cushioning quite rapidly hence was looking for something more durable. Very recently I bought Vivo Barefoot shoes, One’s for road- and Evo II for off road running. Again it’s like starting over with running, short stretches first before putting in the pace and the distance. So far so good, no shin splint or other pains. Quite happy with them, now let’s see if they are durable 🙂

Hope you enjoy your Barefoot’s and like me will be shin splint free!

Cheers, Bart.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi Harriet;

Well; the snow has hopefully melted in Scotland and I hope you are doing better.

I recently bought a pair of the more expensive Vivo running shoes while on clearance and am wearing them to knock about while wearing out my NewBalance Minimus shoes.

It's become hot here in Central Texas so I am doing my miles at 4:30AM and despite the early time, that time of day is magic. Nobody is about. The air is sweet and still. The only sound to be heard are my steps and it's almost hypnotic. I am working on a 9-minute mile.

So keep on lassie! I bet by now your doing jus fine.

Pete

[Hats26]

Cheers @SunsetRunner ! I've been a bit distant from Fitbit recently, had so much on. I'm actually seeing a physio this afternoon to get something resolved hopefully. Recently one of my knees got painful during three different exericises- even pilates!! I have got another pair of Asics that will help (I think) strenthen my foot muscles to allow me to go back to vivos. 9 minute mile? that sounds interesting. I've not done any exercise since my knee hurt. 

My sister in law has been doing bootcamp pilates, which looks brilliant so I will try that in London when I move. I can imagine with the heat!! Rather different in UK ha ha!

[EmilyF]

Hats26, I recommend going to a shoe shop that specializes in running.  They will fit you with a shoe that is right for you based on your running style and needs.  Typically they will size your foot, watch you walk barefoot, and watch you run, then recommend shoes for your specific needs.  There is no sense in people recommending shoes to you, as shoes are unique to your individual needs.  What works for one will not always work for others.  

I have not tried the minimalist shoes, but I know if you are transitioning to them, you must do it slowly because your body isn't used to that type of walking/running.  If the shoes are new, they may (or may not) be the cause of the shin splints.

Also, the foam roller exercises will help your muscles.  You can also try stretching before and/or after your run.  

As far as running on your toes, KatchMe explained it.  You aren't running on your tiptoes, just landing toward the front of your foot.  If you are interested, I would recommend getting a cadence analysis.  This will give you much more detailed information on your running form and where improvements are needed.  Each person runs differently and that is why it is important to be fitted properly for your running shoes.  Otherwise, you should run they way you run, and get a shoe that supports that. 

Hope this helps!  

[Hats26]

Thank you... I will do. I've had my running gait looked at before.. Will see how things go. 

Harriet