Hi everyone, its Bretta Riches from RunForefoot.com. Today I'm going to be
talking to you about why you may be getting sore calves when you first learn
forefoot running, whether you're barefoot or whether you are doing so in barefoot-
inspired running shoes. I get a lot of comments and questions about why the
sore calves when learning forefoot running, so I just want to reiterate why
your calves may become sore when learning forefoot running, like I said
whether you are doing so barefoot or whether you are doing so in barefoot-
like running shoes. It's important to note that the calves have a different and
distinct mechanical task in forefoot running than they do in heel strike
running. Because of this, you will get some sort of calf soreness, depending on
your fitness level and running experience, you may encounter mildly sore calves or
extremely sore calves. Calf soreness is a well-known form of soreness related
to the early stages of learning forefoot running. In forefoot running,
the calves have a more tight control over balance, spring behavior as well as
a shock absorption than in heel strike running. Because of this, there will
be a massive surge in muscle activation in the calves as well, but don't forget
that the calf activity is not exhaustive in forefoot running --what I mean by
that is, the more you run forefoot, the more the calves will strengthen and
become a more valuable spring contributor to forefoot running. In a
sense, forefoot running is in part powered by the calf muscles. With more
forefoot running experience, the calf pain will completely diminish and will
have a profound effect on your calf strength. In heel strike running,
calf activity is more repressive and the knee does a lot of the mechanical
work which can foster, based on mechanical overload, can foster runner's
knee. Just to compare the mechanical behavior of the calf muscles in forefoot
running versus and heel strike running and to give you a better understanding
as to why your calves may become sore when learning forefoot running, one study
confirmed that the calf muscle activation duration in
forefoot running lasted longer than the calf muscle activation duration in heel
strike running. The research paper, which I linked below in the description box,
found that habitual or highly experienced forefoot runners activated
their calf muscles on average 9.7% longer duration than heel
strike runners. The researchers also found that forefoot runners activated
their lateral calf muscles 6.32% to 14.3% longer in duration than in
heel strike running at slow moderate and fast speeds. What this data means is
that forefoot running livens the calf muscles more so than in heel strike
running. In forefoot running, the calves are more mechanically on board and
collaborate more with the ankles to provide a stronger, steady, sturdy support
base for your forefoot strike landing when you run. That's the principle
reason for your calf soreness and tightness. Again, in forefoot
running, the calves are more engaged mechanically and energetically than in
heel strike running. Because your calves aren't used to being put to this
kind of word in this capacity, your calves just need a period of time to
adapt. Embrace the soreness. It's not a big deal, even though blow-torched-feeling
calves might be alarming for some, it typically does not signal that you are
doing anything wrong at the mechanical level, but rather the soreness is a
constructive role in the adaptation of the leg to forefoot running. For more
information on the performance and health benefits of forefoot running
please visit my blog runforefoot.com where you will also find information on
the health benefits of barefoot running as well and please subscribe to
my youtube channel to stay updated on all the latest research regarding the
biomechanics of running and scientifically-backed nutritional
information for endurance running. Thanks so much for listening and
watching. Have fun out there on the roads, bye for now!