Originally Posted by
woodcraft
From the linked article:
"It’s no surprise that the ball of your foot provides the best lever arm for the calf muscles to propel our bodies with walking or running, and so it also serves as the optimal placement to have our foot on the pedal."
Now for 'pedal', try substituting:
ski; ice skate; swim fin; skate board; in line skate; wind surfer; snow board; rowing shell.
Amazing how much technicality can come out of a questionable assumption.
???? What questionable assumption? What does any of that mean? Every sport is different. Alpine skiing, the couple generated to put pressure on the forebody of the ski is between the ball of the foot and the cuff of the boot. We put pressure on the tails by sitting back and pulling up on the forefoot with our shin muscles. None of that exists on the bike. However XC skiing, the kick is delivered entirely by the ball of the foot, same with running, though many land on their heels. Squatting, the force is on the heel, the ball is just for balance. Etc.