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2 comments
Rollo Mahon says:
October 31, 2011 at 14:38 (UTC 1)
I am really disappointed with your article in the Metro today. I am a performance coach for athletes specialising in barefoot running and after studying of the leading specialist which are not hard to find your article really couldn’t have been further from any pros or cons of barefoot running. Non of you specialist have any understanding of barefoot mechanics. The split squat lunge with a Swiss ball is an exercise I would use to strengthen a heel strikers posture and your massage therapist hasn’t quite understood what shin splints are. When the natural laws of vibration are constantly stressed by bad form running associated with heel striking and poor rhythm. Good form barefoot technique would eliminate shin sings immediately.
After four years of studying barefoot anatomy from the leading specialist it is a shame to see such poor quality reporting on a subject which has such good studies to explain to a population that common injuries are not necessary.
James says:
November 1, 2011 at 10:04 (UTC 1)
Hi Rollo, I’s sorry you’re disappointed with the piece. I see you are a performance coach for athletes, perhaps you should take into account that the article was aimed at every day amateurs who would be getting public transport to work so the base level of understanding, conditioning and ability would be much less than that of your clients.
It’s also worth pointing out that the article was about the transition to minimalism than to pure barefoot – and personally, I think that’s exactly what it did – urged people to exercise caution if they want to try making the switch.
You talk about my specialists having a lack of understanding? Well that’s a pretty sweeping statement. Cabalo Blanco, Nick Anderson (who coaches some of GB’s marathon runners such as Ben Moreau) and Spencer White, head of biomechanics at Saucony, have no understanding of minimal/barefoot techniques? I think they might all argue with that.
As for Russell Holman’s advice on strengthening exercises, they’re meant to be a progression – I’m sure as an exercise specialist you would never recommend someone going straight onto the hardest possible exercise to strengthen a particular part of the body.
Do you think the exercises further down the suggested line – skater squats, stick placers, skater jumps – don’t help those wishing to strengthen their muscles for a transition to minimal or barefoot styles? I’d argue that any single leg exercises that include some form of instability would all help.
Lillian the massage therapist didn’t mention shin splints, rather talked about “minor fractures” as a layman’s term for stress fractures – as you know a much worse condition than splints.
You clearly sit on the side of barefoot running, which is fine – though despite the copious studies you mention, there is absolutely no proof that either barefoot or heel striking is better than worse than the other. Some of the greatest runners in the world heel strike. What great athletes have in common is a quick turnover of stride, reducing the amount of pressure on the feet with every landing and so reducing the possibility of injury.
As I said, the piece was an introduction for regular everyday runners who want to try the transition – would you not agree that they should urge caution as they change, which was the overwhelming message?
Finally, I’ve had several barefoot manufacturers contact me in the meantime, congratulating me on the piece and asking me if I could writer similar articles featuring some of their experts and focussing on a more advanced article on the transition to pure barefoot, so despite your disappointment, I must have done something right with the piece.
Best
James