Read time: 5min.
By Coach Yan Busset
Why Where Your Foot Lands Matter more than How:
When it comes to running, one topic always seems to spark debate: foot strike. Are you a heel striker, a midfoot runner, or do you land on your forefoot? For many runners, this question becomes an obsession. But here’s the truth: HOW your foot lands doesn’t matter nearly as much as WHERE it lands. Unless your foot strike is causing you pain or injury, it’s time to stop stressing over this detail and focus on the bigger picture.
What truly impacts your efficiency, speed, injury prevention, and overall performance isn’t whether your heel or forefoot hits the ground first, it’s where your foot gets the peak impact in relation to your body. Let’s dive into why this matters, what you should prioritize, and how to improve your running form.
Foot landing: The Key to Efficiency, Speed, and Injury Prevention
Running mechanics are all about reducing resistance and maximizing propulsion. When your foot lands too far in front of your body, known as overstriding, you create a braking force that slows you down. This not only wastes energy but also puts extra stress on your joints, especially your knees and hips.
In contrast, landing your foot closer to or directly under your center of gravity helps you maintain forward momentum. It distributes the impact forces more evenly across your body, protecting vulnerable areas, allowing your stride to feel smooth and natural, and improving speed.
Speed Dynamics: Why It’s Not Always About Visuals
It’s important to understand that the placement of your foot on the ground isn’t static: it’s speed-dependent. At higher speeds, your foot might appear to touch the ground slightly ahead of your body. But what matters is that the peak impact, when your body absorbs the most force, happens directly under your center of gravity.
At slower speeds, there’s less forward travel time between initial ground contact and peak impact, so your foot should appear to land closer to directly beneath your body. So long story short , the initial contact of your foot with the ground is not as important, it’s when the peaks load that the foot receive that it’s important for your foot to be under the center of gravity.
Common Issues to Avoid
Overstriding: Often associated with heel striking, overstriding occurs when your foot lands too far in front of your body. This creates a braking force, reduces efficiency, and increases the risk of injury.
Excessive Forefoot Landing: While landing on your forefoot is often seen as a "solution" to heel striking, going too far in this direction can overload your calves and Achilles tendons, leading to strain or injury.
Instead of obsessing over heel, midfoot, or forefoot strikes, focus on achieving a stride where your foot lands under your center of gravity.
Take away tips: How to Improve: Drills and Exercises
To develop better running mechanics, incorporate these simple and effective drills into your routine:
1. Incline Drill
Stand tall, relax your shoulders, and lean forward slightly from the ankles, not the hips,until you feel like you’re about to fall. Begin running naturally from this position, letting gravity do the work. This drill teaches you to keep your foot strike under your body while using forward momentum to your advantage.
2. Treadmill Drill
When running on a treadmill, position yourself close to the front edge. This forces you to shorten your stride and prevents overstriding, as your foot will hit the treadmill's edge if it lands too far forward. Practice this for short intervals to reinforce proper foot placement.
3. Increasing Cadence
Increasing your cadence can help prevent overstriding by encouraging shorter, quicker steps. This adjustment not only improves efficiency but also reduces the peak impact of each stride. With lower impact forces, the risk of injuries decreases, making running safer and more sustainable over time.
Aim to increase your cadence to around 170 to 180 steps per minute, though this may vary depending on factors such as your height, weight and level. Use your running watch to track your cadence and gradually work toward this range ( or low-tech, just count your steps for 15sec and multiply by 4) . Focus on maintaining light, quick steps while keeping your foot strike under your body.
10-Minute Activation and Mobility Routine for Better Foot Placement
Before running, it’s important to wake up the right muscles to make sure your form is as efficient as possible.
A quick activation routine, especially focusing on the glutes, helps stabilize your hips and keep your posture strong. This makes it easier for your foot to land naturally under your center of gravity. When your glutes are engaged, you avoid overstriding, reduce stress on your joints, and improve your running efficiency.
Here is a quick and straight to the point routine that isn’t just about completing your warm up, it’s about preparing your body to run better and avoid injuries.
GLute Bridge (2 minutes): Lie on your back with your feet flat and knees bent. Lift your hips toward the ceiling, engaging your glutes. Lower slowly and repeat for two sets of 10 reps.
Leg Swings (1 minute): Hold onto a wall for balance and swing one leg forward and backward, then side to side. Repeat for 20 swings per leg.
World’s Greatest Stretch (1 minute 30): In a lunge position, place your hands on the ground. Rotate your torso, lifting one hand toward the ceiling. Switch sides and repeat three times per leg.
Butt Kicks (1 minute): Run in place, bringing your heels toward your glutes. Perform two 30-second rounds.
High Knees (1 minute): Focus on quick, controlled steps while lifting your knees high. Perform two 30-second rounds.
Incline Drill (1 minute): Practice leaning forward from your ankles and starting your run naturally. Repeat three to four times.
Strides (2 minutes): Perform short sprints of 20-30 meters, focusing on landing your feet under your body. Walk back to recover between reps.
The Bigger Picture: Relax and Focus on What Matters
Running doesn’t have to be complicated. Instead of getting caught up in the debate over heel vs. forefoot striking, focus on the fundamentals. Landing your foot under your center of gravity reduces resistance, improves speed, protects your joints, and helps you run more efficiently.
Remember, the goal isn’t perfection, it’s progress. Incorporate these drills and exercises into your routine, and over time, you’ll develop a stride that feels natural, efficient, and pain-free. Run smart, stay strong, and let your stride do the talking!
Thank you for reading, and as always, if you have ideas for future blog posts, feel free to send me a DM; I really value your feedback. As always, stay strong, fast, and furious, train hard but smart and see you next week!
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