Long story short, I came across this research paper (link here) and it highlighted the beneficial training effects of a “floating heel” while performing jumps. The idea of a floating heel is quite simple. The mid/forefoot is raised and the heel is no longer in contact with the ground, hence the name “floating heel”. Your mid/forefoot have to become quite active and force the arch the work a little harder than it might otherwise, as the weight and load is now place on the only spot that has contact with the ground, being the mid and forefoot.
The idea is that with the heel no longer in contact with the ground, the constraints based approach forces you to work the ankle complex in a way that might be more favorable and transferable to sport. The position of that of a floating heel and contact during a plyometric are quite similar, see image below.
This got me to thinking quite about how I train and how often I am putting my self in “heel” driven position. What I mean by that is that when performing the majority of my exercises (basically all outside of plyometrics) the force is being driven through my heels. While having heels on the floor is probably best for heavy loads, because having balance become an issue while performing something designed to overload the musculature and not your ability to balance sounds like a bad idea, I can see the floating heel being used elsewhere.
Here is an exercise below that comes to mind when thinking about utilizing the floating heel method. It is a drop catch kettlebell squat. The idea is quite simple, absorb and redirect a load as fast as possible – similar to that of a plyometric. Here, I am using a floating heel, because I am training not just the quads, but the entire lower leg complex – ankle and arches included, to absorb and redirect forces. Honestly, it was quite a unique stimulus, my ankles really felt the load. I can see how this sort of set up may allow for better training of the foot/ankle complex in movements that are designed for such – nothing too heavy.
Whenever introducing any kind of movement, make sure it is best for you. Try it out in a safe way and by no means but yourself at risk for injury. Being healthy is the most important part of training and setbacks are never a welcomed site.
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