WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The best running shoe may be none at all, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. Thanks to Jesse for the article, good stuff in here. If you haven’t noticed Jesse and Caleb have some pretty unconventional footwear for running. They use what are called Vibram 5 finger shoes. There are more and more injuries that get attributed to running, way more then needs to be. Today’s running shoe industry has taken advantage of this and develops running shoes that are marketed towards poor running technique. The average runner most likely uses a heel striking form of running. It has been demonstrated that people who predominately run barefoot develop a different strike pattern. These people generally land on the balls of their feet while running. Why is this important? This decreases your risks for injury by decreasing the impact forces that you body feels while running. Research by Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and colleagues found very convincing evidence that suggests this. For more information click here. As you can see in the videos below there is a transient impact with heel striking that occurs when the heel is outstretched. This impact can be 1.5 – 3 times your body wieght. Imagine someone hitting you in the heel with a sledge hammer that heavy. It’s no wonder that people injure themselves running. When running barefoot or with a ball of the foot landing first you have a gradual impact curve with the most force being applied when the foot in directly underneath the you. This is a position in which the body is more capable of handling such a force.

WOD: “Helen” 3 rounds: 400m run, 21 KB swings, 12 Pullups

Level III – KB 53/35#

Level II – Band pullups 35/20 KB

Level I – 200m 20#KB Band pullups or 2x jumpin pullups