There’s a good bit of talk these days about Barefoot training and barefoot running. In today’s post, I’m going to address a few keys points, both good and bad, about Barefoot training and running.
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Since the Book “Born to Run” was published, it sparked a huge movement toward running in these Vibram Five Fingers.
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On a less technical note. Why are folks wearing these silly looking Vibram Five Finger shoes to do daily tasks like going to the mall or to walk the dog? Training in Vibrams is one thing. But, wearing them as a part of your normal, everyday wordrobe is another.
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Have we forgotten that sandals offer more freedom of foot movement than any other shoes and still allow you to look cool?
The Performance U Approach to Barefoot Training
. Having been a long time martial artist, I’ve always preferred to exercise without shoes. As a coach, I’ve also always encouraged my athletes to perform much of their strength & conditioning training without shoes as well. . Some athletes are not comfortable training without shoes. Others (when not training with me) train at gyms who have a “no barefoot” policy. In cases like these, I encourage them to at least perform their Dynamic Warm Up without shoes. Especially the CNS Activation portion of the Warm Up! This can usually be done in the yoga room or group-X room at your local gym. . If you’re not familiar with the Performance U approach to Dynamic Warm Up – Check the Warm Up Progressions Vol.1-3 video series. .
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Why Use Barefoot Training?
. The truth is, there is no research to justify the claims that shoes create postural problems, movement dysfunctions or a lack of body awareness and/or proprioception. But, we do have our common sense! . Humans are born without shoes. So, it only makes sense that we don’t “need” shoes and may be better off without them. Also, when convincing certain athletes of the importance of Barefoot training, I like to tell them to imagine how dull their sense of touch would be if they wore gloves all day long. . Plus, the feet, along with the hands and face, have the highest amount of proprioceptive receptors than other place in the body. . So, my advice to all healthy athletes is to avoid wearing shoes as much as possible when training, just walking around and chilling at your the house. .Born to Run, But not…
. There are a few instances which I don’t recommend barefoot training. . First, if you have any specific foot dysfunctions requiring shoe orthotics such as pronation syndrome -Walking, running and training with out corrective footwear will only worsen existing foot dysfunctions. . My second point of contention on the Barefoot training movement is about Barefoot running. Or, more specifically, running while wearing Vibram Five Fingers.
Since the Book “Born to Run” was published, it sparked a huge movement toward running in these Vibram Five Fingers.
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Here’s the problem – Yes… we are born to run. But, we are NOT born to run on concrete pavement!
. We are born to run on dirt, grass, sand, mud and other natural earth surfaces. All of which have a certain amount of “give”. Concrete however, has no “give” and will tear up joints if you don’t have some extra padding from a modern day running shoe. Plus, if you add in the fact that most folks who begin a running program are usually weak, slightly overweight, full of movement dysfunctions and are generally out of shape – running on concrete with no padding is a recipe for disaster! .Remember – “Don’t run to get fit, get fit to run”.
In this case, a better saying would be – “don’t barefoot run to get fit, get fit to barefoot run”
. So, don’t throw out your fancy modern day running shoes! Nike Free’s running shoes are a great choice for a padded but “free moving” running shoe. .A Word From the Style Police!
.On a less technical note. Why are folks wearing these silly looking Vibram Five Finger shoes to do daily tasks like going to the mall or to walk the dog? Training in Vibrams is one thing. But, wearing them as a part of your normal, everyday wordrobe is another.
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Have we forgotten that sandals offer more freedom of foot movement than any other shoes and still allow you to look cool?
Hey Coach,
Simon here, how are things going! So, for athletes who do have a foot dysfunction and require orthotics, what kind of shoes do we wear? How should we do deadlift variations, keeping our heels close to the floor but with corrective support? How about squats? Hope all is well.
I agree as usual.
It is funny how people in our industry forgot why shoes were invented… I taught barefoot high impact aerobics in the early 80′s, (all the old favorites, running in place, jumping jacks, etc, just like you see in the current boot camp type classes, by the end of the 80′s we were all broken down…then better shoes came along and we all had less injuries. Barefeet for low impact type moves are great when the surface is safe. However, concrete floors, roads, are no place for running or jumping…they just want to sell ugly shoes.
I developed a chronic calf cramping that ended my running. Saw a PT and stretching along with inserts for my flat feet helped, but I was never going to be the runner I once was.
Fast forward a decade and I took a Muay Thai class which was barefoot, of course, and all that pronation left me a calf cripple. So I got to thinking. More barefoot training?
I bought Vibrams to add running back into my arsenal of training. You can’t wear these things to work, so I bought the Nike 5.0 (which is advertised as like half barefoot). I was amazed at the adaption going on in my vastus medialis, soleus, feet, and other muscles.
It takes a long time to adapt away from the shoe business! I’ve been at it 3 months and luckily have trails to run rather than concrete. I wear the vibrams to the gym as well. I took the Muay Thai class again and except for some tightness in my soleus, I was nearly healed to a normal state. I love my Vibrams and do not care about the fashion police =)
Coach Tumminello,
A few questions……….
1) While we may not be born to run on concrete, do you feel that running in Nike Frees or Even progressing to Vibram Five Fingers on concrete would tear up the joints if a person spends sufficient time building up via the proper practices in the weight room and also spends transition periods running barefoot for progressively longer distances (even if starting out ultra-short, such as 100-yard runs)on grass, and then possibly on packed dirt trails, and so on?
2) With respect to sandals, are you referring to any specific type? While I have only seen comments of an anecdotal nature, I always see people claiming that sandals cause unfavorable alterations in gait mechanics. Or perhaps that only applies if doing something more than walking or if walking for massive distances, as opposed to just being out and about………..or perhaps it only applies to poorly made flip-flops, hah, hah.
3) When you speak of orthotics, are you strictly referring to situations where the person has a true structural reason (either congenital or acquired) to be wearing them? I ask this, because sometimes you have people with functional issues who are just given these as a crutch. While these “functional issues may not allow as much latitude in barefoot training, they wold still seem to allow for steady progression over tme, as opposed to a true structural issue that won’t resolve on its own and would require an intervention like orthotics.
Sorry for the barrage of questions.
As always, thank you for sharing this content and for any feedback. It’s always a pleasure to read your work.
Good, level-headed post Nick.
As for the fashion aspect, I often do my mid-week grocery shopping on the way home from the gym. Frankly, I could not give a shit what people think of the look of my Vibrams!
I’ll stroll through a busy shopping centre without a second thought and smirk to myself as everyone does a polite double take at my feet. The small kids are even funnier, as they’ll often follow me around the supermarket pointing at my feet!
When we get everyone wearing them, then it will no longer look bizarre!
Great article! I have a love hate relationship with discussing this.
If you were to not wear shoes full time no matter what surface you would develop calluses which would decrease mechanoreceptor sensitivity.
The feet and the hands take up a large amount of the homunculus and have a large number of receptors but the area with by far the most is actually the cervical vertebral region. In particular the rectus capitus posterior (major and minor) and zygapophyseal ligaments.
My advice to athletes and the general population is it is great to walk on grass, on beaches, and indoors without shoes. I’m defintely not an advocate of sprint training without shoes as several of the plantar ligaments often get repetitively sprained and lengthened. Then you start seeing subluxed cuneiform and cuboids or just decreases in arch stability even though the muscles are stronger. When these individuals stop training for a while and then come back they can have problems.
Cheers,
Jim
Msc. Pt
Bsc. Kin
There are other barefoot like shoes like those from Feelmax, Terra Plana’s VivoBarefoot, … that all look like normal shoes. So you can be close to barefoot but don’t look stupid.
I’ve ran completely barefoot on concrete and I don’t believe that it’s a problem. In fact it feels like the shock absorption of running with a forefoot strike feels greater that having a little bit of rubber under your heel when running with a heal strike.
Coach great article! I would also add in Chuck Taylors to train in because they offer a lot of flexibility and feel great on my feet!
I like a shoe in the gym, and I like to see others wearing a shoe or some type of foot covering (no bare feet, please). I’ve actually had words with a fellow who takes his shoes and socks off while stretching on the mat. I use that mat, too, and I just don’t want to put my face anywhere near where his nasty bare feet were. Ick.
Years ago, I stupidly dropped a weight plate on the big toe of my right foot (luckily a small plate) but it nonetheless broke my toe. I’m certain I’d have had a bigger problem if I hadn’t been wearing sneakers.
Another matter–I prefer a cross-training shoe with forefoot support and stability when I’m going to be doing squats and lunges. (I wobble WAY too much while doing walking lunges wearing running shoes!)
Great post. I wear basic “flip-flops” almost the entire summer season, except when I am training in a gym. Do you think there are negative consequences to flip-flops- I notice if I do an excessive amount of walking, my calves- particularly tib-anterior are sore the next day.
Also- what do you think about the FIT-FLOPs that are being sold lately? They are supposed to strengthen calves and butt… A fad for sure, but dangerous?
Thanks!
Nick, love your website. Good to see that you’re endorsing barefoot training. I happen to be a proponent of barefoot training with individuals who suffer from excessive pronation. I like to look at it from a realisitic perspective. Yes, people might require orthotics because in our society today we are required to wear shoes to work, school, etc. But, I also like to look at strengthening the foot with barefoot training. Theorhetically, running barefoot will allow you to get the proprioception that is missing when you wear shoes, and you’re able to respond much better (i.e. you don’t pronate as much). I find that it’s a much better way to strengthen the muscles in and around the foot (i.e. using your own body weight with running vs. using a blue theraband for inversion exercises). Let me know what you think…
Great post Nick!
Hiya Coach, Yes, I do agree. I started running barefoot several years ago on the astroturf soccer field in our park. It just made sense to me and I’m glad to see you recommend it. I felt the same way for the reasons that you stated. Our gym does not allow barefoot training, as if it would make a difference if one were to drop something. Gotta try some of those other light weight shoes mentioned by your bloggers.
Personally i feel that Vibram 5 fingers are overpriced, i am using addidas jaw paw, u get the same feel as barefoot!
Good stuff Nick and I look forward to your thoughts on the questions above.
I have been having athletes go barefoot or minimal shoes for almost 3 years now. While that is not a ton of people, pretty much everyone loves it and will not go back to normal shoes.
The key is to get the foot to work like normal again, and most people have horrible working feet. This takes specific mobility work and then training (stress) in specific positions to get the foot to re-model back to “normal”
Even though you may not think you apply much force during the day, most walk about 5,000 steps easily in a day at 2-4 X bodyweight with each impact; so it adds up (thanks to Dr. Cobb of Z-Health for pointing that out to me years ago).
I see lots of athletes with bad hips and almost everyone of them can be traced back to bad feet and ankles. Fix up the feet and ankles and the hips work much much better. Decreased power in the hips is a protective move by the body to protect the bum feet/ankles (aka arthrokinetic reflex).
Off my soapbox I go.
rock on
Mike T Nelson
Thank you for sharing this. Good advice for first time barefoot runners like me. I would prefer barefoot training to get used to it because barefooting also requires enough knowledge and skills to prevent injuries.
Parasites!?
While people didn’t run on concrete in the past, the Tarahumara mentioned in the book ran for days on canyon rocks. I can’t imagine the canyon rock is softer than concrete.
I think its up to the individual to make up their own mind. Some people are perfectly happy with running shoes. Some don’t like them at all. Some fall in the middle. I’m in the middle. I run in shoes a lot, but run in VFF’s at times, and occasionally completely barefoot on concrete. It teaches you to land softly and has great carryover to shod training, increasing step turnover speed and minimizing ground contact time per step. I personally wouldn’t do it all the time, but there are those like Ken Bob Saxton who have run on thousands and thousands of miles barefoot with no problems on concrete. They could be the exception rather than the rule, but it obviously can be done and is done regularly.
As for running inefficencies and gait issues, I personally think that our constant chair sitting is as much a cause of problems with form as anything else. Tight hip flexors, poor lumbar and thoracic posture, and internally rotated and hunched shoulders certainly don’t help one to have good running form.
Kathleen, you said:
“I use that mat, too, and I just don’t want to put my face anywhere near where his nasty bare feet were. Ick.”
Please learn more about biology and reality before making uninformed statements. You would rather have the soles of people’s shoes there? Soles that never have been washed in 99% of the cases? How about his hands, which is how most germs are spread? And all those things do not matter, whether shoes that were all over the city or bare feet touch that mat. Microbes control the chemistry of the earth, and we have an immune system that does well to protect us. Come on, you remember how so many people were going barefoot everywhere during the 1970s? And the sky did not fall.
The argument “concrete is extra hard, so we need extra padding, but on grass, barefoot is OK” doesn’t make sense to me. It implies that running shoes decrease injury on concrete, but increase injury on softer surfaces. What am I missing?
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