Actually I was thinking specifically of running or jogging in context of what you said about the treadmill. Landing on the front part of the foot and only touching the heel (to relax the muscles briefly) is good for the knees. Your calves will take a hit but rest them and slowly build them up and you should be fine.

But translating to cycling, it would be just like using clipless I guess since most clipless shoes fix to the front of the foot.

If you use platform pedals then adjusting the position of the foot so that the middle of the heel is not in direct contact with the pedal will probably help.