Something you might find interesting

Posted by on 19 October 2010 | 27 Comments

As a personal trainer, I have always been taught heel to toe action when it comes to running.  As a martial artist, I have always been told to run on the balls of your feet.  The two conflicting methods always lead to a heated debate and quite often I would end up running two different ways.  I was aware of the idea that running on the balls of your feet is beneficial for people with back problems, since reading an article by a Russian Dr.  I then read an article in fitpro magazine that led me to believe that maybe both my personal training and martial art teachers are right and we run different ways according to whether we are wearing trainers or are barefooted.

Before you decide to throw away your trainers and go barefooted, please bear this in mind:

•  There are possible advantages to going barefoot but these are offset by the high probability of puncture wounds.
•  Moving from a shoe to running barefooted requires hardening of the skin, adapting the Achilles tendon to the revised heel position, and improving the overall strength and endurance of the foot.
•  And of course if you decide to go barefooted look out for the dog poo ;)