The Benefits and drawbacks of Barefoot Running

Have started barefoot running n absolutely love the experience though my friends have been saying it causes more knee injury n complete NO No for an flat feet individual

I love Vibram five finger shoes and now I am wearing full time the EL-X model which I believe is the best barefoot shoe on the market. I do not care how others think. I love showing my toes. I am now totally pain free with no surgery or podiatrist visits. You are wrong not to like Vibram.

asking a shod runner about barefoot running? Hmmmm. Like asking a car driver about riding bikes.. Doesn’t make any sense. Also wet sand and pebbled stones are pretty tricky to run on barefoot.. why not try grass and mud and trails first.

You can run even faster if a Rottweiler is behind your behind

I tried vibram five finger barefoot running shoes two months ago now and I’ll never run with running shoes ever again. It’s a gradual process, but I’ll never go back to shoes. I suffer from severe knee pain from the army and I have zero pain when running barefoot now.

The Benefits of barefoot running is you avoid landing on your heel and sending all the shock up your leg and possibly without even knowing it you continue to injure yourself in an unnatural way.

I go barefoot whenever possible. I may not have pretty feet but I can walk and run on most surfaces without issues

at one point, I had fully flat (no arch) feet, barefoot has slowly fixed that over 3 years. i dont even have to wear rigid orthodics any more, and all the pains went away aswell. but that’s just my experience, barefoot really improved my life

If she had transitioned to barefoot running years ago she would have never had shin splints I bet!

Anyone have any advice for someone wanting to start barefoot jogging?

Don’t let people police you, run barefoot:) went for my first barefoot stroll today, loved it.. Thanks mate great stuff

instead of going straight for cushioning to barefoot, just get more minimalist shoes, and make a conscious effort to land on your forefoot to start gently building up those muscles. Given time you will be running with proper form, be faster and efficient, much less hip and knee strain, and with not too much discomfort from the transition.

no rocket science. look at the best distance runners in the world are from africa and all started barefoot. Im from africa and you see barefoot guys running sub three hours like a fun run. natural is best. dumb humans need to learn that.

How can you do this living in a land locked area and during cold winters? Is summer the only time?:(

Did you come out with shoes on your feet when you were born?
Go right ahead and say:
“No but that does not mean we dont need shoes especially if its cold”
You would need shoes if you come from a cold climate or live in the city but there are natural benefits to running barefoot if you can get beyond the excuses.

You have to change all of your normal daily shoes to zero drop. I wear Belleville Mini Mils at work.

I injured myself exactly how you explained it when I first got my Vibrams.

i got my altra shoes today. its from you adveticing. you told about this shoes im surprised never seen that kind of running shoes i htink is more compfortable. i tell u later what is my experiences wiht. that. shoe. take care my running coach. but u dont alliliate market? for that or?
frank.

So, I work in retail meaning about 40 hours a week I’m walking on a hard floor. Would these benefit me? Will there be a real in period? How long before my get stop hurting?

When your a track sprinter you run with spikes going on the ball of your foot but long distances people switched it to heel wonder if humans could build muscle to run on ball of foot and go long distances at an extremely fast stride frequency because you bounce off the ground better

To give this real balance, you need to get someone on the other side and invite them onto a video to share their view of pros and cons of running in traditional trainers. Or perhaps both you and they have pros and cons of both styles.

claiming the terrace steps or claiming hills moutain with or without shoes bare foot
incline and decline to be shown what way they carry
pressure point is said but most of that touches ground a shoe always make to shape in the shoe shape structure landing but barefoot as per the weight asper weightless person the landing and standing differs
how do allopathy research says
y some times most of the people allowed to use oil apply oil most of the asian like india as per advice bare foot people apply oil and then they walk barefoot on the road side thar roads contraction always said

c most difference shown, bare foot experiment always shown on proper sand space of running shown but reality that is always hindered to people million of people uses roads to run in bare foot y do they experiment, highy wary roads contraction

barefoot understanding it helps to release some vent inside the body to release the air and inhale fresh air that are congested in the body
first experiment how much air inside the body circulation and how were to release the air when fat over power the body joints and ends how air is almost left to move around and mostly it has hard to breath inhale and exhale that carries more of vent ends circulation of regular flow often decreased when fat almost over power in the body some few points end bare foot helps to make ventricles or vent to move around easily better than shoes that what we understand

Also don’t go from a high heel to toe drop running shoe to barefoot or minimalist without a slow transition unless you want to hurt your Achilles tendon and possibly everything else. I’m slowly doing it by doing 1/3 of my run barefoot, 2/3 with shoes but you need to transition at a speed that works for you. Too much too soon for anything with running = injuries.

I’m a large chap, 286 lbs as of today and this writing, and I’ve also just run about 1.2 miles thanks to the c25k running program and barefoot running allowing this to not massively overload my legs and give me shin splints, as earlier attempts at running in traditional shoes did. My case is not all cases, but it works, where the traditional trainer industry would simply be grinding my shins into the pavement.

I just wear them for everyday shoes and it feels way better been doing it for four years now. When I put regular sneakers on now it feels like brick cages on my feet.

we are created by God not evolving over a million years he has made our foot suited for bare foot running

I tried barefoot running for the first time yesterday after much research. I began running only a few months ago and it took only several weeks before my knee started to hurt so bad that I had to take several weeks off. I studied up on the kinds of shoes I was wearing but then I decided to try barefoot running to see if it would make a difference. With shoes my knee pain was an 8 out of 10 without shoes my knee pain was a 1 or 2 out of 10. This is based on only one day out..

Minimalist shoe runners that are still heel striking are either a) not listening to their body, or b) buying minimalist shoes as a trendy purchase and not as a result of investigation. Either of these will hurt eventually, whether we’re talking about running or absolutely anything else.

I use barefoot shoes, merrell vapor gloves like in video and barefoot is a lot different. I run barefoot and the skin touching the ground brings more awareness. The landing technique is pretty much the same accept you feel the different asphalt and rocky surfaces. There is a reason merrell uses the word vapor gloves. It is the same as wearing a glove while reading a book or something. Knock yourself out with comparisons. It takes a little time for the nerves on the skin to get used to the rough underground. The skin thickens and becomes also more resistant to hot summer pavement. Yes, if you are not careful at first and run too long you end up with blisters. After awhile you can run in snow or on hot pavement. Patience is the key.

That uni is about to loose it’s Nike sponsorship…..lol. Bought a paid of minimalist shoes back in 2011, changed my running style and haven’t looked back.

Barefoot running is normal running. Wearing casts is the new weird thing.

No no no, you DON’T want support. And how on earth do you get foot problem with barefoot.

I recently started running barefoot on the treadmill and for some reason I run with only the very front of my foot my heels and mid foot never touch and after words my calves are sore lol

Hello, people!
I run only barefoot almost everyday, 4 seasons, but I have to admit that when the winter comes I’m starting to have problems with the footwear. I’ve used Vibram Five Fingers(with sock and without), Merrel Glove, New Balance Minimus, Aqua-shoes with wool sock, only wool sock(it’s perfect on dry snow, in my opinion) and the last winter I’ve been running with a neoprene 0.5 mm sock (I’ve tried to run with bare feet too,but it’s a slow process). I have to tell you that for me the neoprene sock works exceptionally well. I’m running only trails, not hard surface (asphalt, concrete…), soil only. Even when sprinting the sock is pretty stable, but with 0.5 is little chilly when the snow melts. It starts to absorb water(because I wear another sock underneath), so I have a plan for this year. I will buy 1 mm neoprene sock, put a wool sock underneath and for the slippery ice-I will use spray glue+sand on the bottom(which method I saw in another video, but for shoes) and let you know what happened.
In conclusion I think that barefoot runners face hard times when the wet winter comes. So…that’s my plan to defeat it.
I will be glad to hear more ideas for snow and wet cold weather from you.
Have a great day!

Jesus, can you millennials try any harder to be not interesting

Anyone even remotely interested in barefoot running should read “Born to Run” as it has been the catalyst for this rise in barefoot running. It quotes a lot of studies, goes into a lot of history, and discusses modern running.

It also emphasizes one very memorable fact for me, and that is the architecture of our foot; a complex arch that over millions of years has been designed to be efficient in its functioning, consisting of quite a few bones, more joints, and even more ligaments and muscles. It is so beautifully designed that it should be illegal to misuse this work of art.

Gotta say that it took me about a year of inconsistent running to transition to full forefoot striking. First few months I was only able to put in a mile or 2 per week on sand, my calves would feel absolutely torn the rest of the week and you’d see me hopping along on my heels.

I’ve switched shoes to vivobarefoot brand. I really like them and now I hardly wear any other shoes and when I do, I wear my old nike shoes for running. Normal shoes now squish my feet and I don’t like them at all. I can feel my feet getting stronger and I’m experiencing less fatigue in my feet at the end of the day.

Please leave your thoughts and experiences of barefoot running below. If you haven’t subscribed already please hit that like button. Keep it rolling ��

If it’s hard ground shoes should be used otherwise for soft ground bare foot is best it feels awesome

Look at “Older Yet Faster.” However it takes a very long time to transition.

This is not an accurate test, should done test on a barefoot runner and a regular shoe runner. As it is more about how you run and what you put one. Asking a regular runner to run barefoot for a short test isn’t going to change his footstrike that drastically and therefore the results won’t be that different. It takes quite some time to adapt and change your running pattern once you go the barefoot route for your muscles, joints and ligaments to adapt to your new style of running to run efficiently.

For the first two years of competitive running (cross country+track) in middle school i ran in thick well cushioned running shoes. Every other week i would have to take a few days off because of injuries. I switched to minimalist trainers a few months ago and from the first week almost all the pain went away. With practice eventually all of it did as i got used to the proper cadence and gait necessary when running barefoot, or close to it. Ive never felt more fit and ready for this upcoming running season. For anyone who sees this, definitely try barefoot or minimalist shoes, it takes time and practice but it pays off.

This is my view on the topic: https://alesantuz.com/2017/04/23/evolution-of-barefoot-running/

I suffered form 4 high ankle sprains on my left foot. conditioning is key. Now i still have foot discomfort but its getting better

For me, just simple walking barefoot is a great happiness. It’s much better (healthier, happier and more comfortable) than in these torture instruments called “shoes”.

Countless Earthworms were smooshed in the making of this video ��

Super balanced video -> massive backlash by zealots (I guess expected if you don’t make a completely glorifying video about how barefoot running is the be-all and end-all). Thank you very much for the insight. Whenever I actually take up running I’ll probably try minimalist shoes over standard trainers. My thought right now is that the forefoot running should complement my cycling better.

So…people in the U.K. say “nyhk” instead of “nyhkee” for Nike? Huh…

Just started getting interested in barefoot running and tried it too.So far so good! Let’s wait and see! Best wishes from Colombo Sri Lanka!������

Running barefoot vs running in merrell vapor gloves in my experience is the bare skin touching the ground creates another sensation of awareness and also foot flexibility. I was dealing with plantar fasciitis off and on for years because I used to be a heal striker while hiking or walking. And I have narrow feet used to have flattish feet. But I have strong arches now.

Developing a thicker skin is essential and getting used to the hot pavement takes time. If you go out running in hot weather be careful. I got blisters because I didn’t stop. The pavement will burn your soles. Not fun. But the skin will get thicker like dog foot pads. Yes our pads get thicker.
So I noticed immediately I get more flexibility while running barefoot. The tendons and muscles feel better and as if they are healing and preventing injury. My plantar fasciitis is almost gone. I just believe barefoot strengthens the feet the best. Minimalist shoes are good. They help keep most of the running form correct. I really think learning to barefoot walk or run is great for your feet health. Builds bone density and strength. Also your circulation improves, so you don’t get cold feet as much or not at all. We get 4 seasonssnow in winter. I wear vapor gloves and no problems. I’m 54 and ran my first marathon at 52 wearing the merrell vapor gloves. I’m also a fat adapted athlete. LCHF

My podiatrist says that when going walking/hiking in a forest type environment you should be wearing boots that have stiff soles so that it keeps the feet stablised or something when walking on rough terrain, what do you think about this doctrine?

Thanks for the video. Check out these cool shoes: http://haloeffectrevealed.com

I run competitively and I still train in normal trainers even tho I only run on my forefoot. Minimalist shoes aren’t needed for the barefoot running style and for me only has a bigger risk of getting me injured

I switched to barefoot running in 2017 after getting out of the military. I’d been suffering from knee and arch pain for years due to wearing boots and ill fitted running shoes. It got so bad that I started wearing $900 prescription orthotics (a total scam in most cases) and was told that I would have to wear them (and buy new ones almost every year) for the rest of my life. But I switched to barefoot style and all my flat foot and knee/arch pain has gone away. It took a while to get used to but once I did it completely changed my stride and run even when I’m wearing regular shoes.

lol….the way we do this all the time in Africa, grew up running cross-country without shoes, barefoot in zimbabwe, it was enjoyable

why she constantly said “nike” as in “bike”? it’s supposed to be rhymed wtih “spiky”

This was obviously his first time trying this. It is a great reason to reinforce that people who want to change their running style do it slowly and seek advice from more experienced runners, even in your own community. Look up the different kinds of foot and ankle mobility training that will speed up and assist you in the transition, especially in the area of your Achilles and big toe flexion. After 6 months of incorporating minimalist running, I was completely hooked and comfortable. I’ve watched 2 of my brothers take over a year to make the same progress. Listen to your body and find a partner to watch your posture!!!

Lifes too short to run. Slow down smell the flowers, enjoy the world around you:) Your knees and back will thank me. Just walk, no need to run.

Barefoot running is a lifestyle. It’s not a fad. It is how our feet were designed to be used. You can see in the front on view with trainers on the foot doesn’t land correctly. The main thing about BF. running is you have to transition from shoes to Barefoot as your feet have been held in a split for so long they are week. I have been running” BF” with vibrams for years now and I can’t run in anything else. I hate wearing shoes for work and can’t wait to get them off.
My legs shins and knees are all much stronger and no pain what so ever compared to when I ran with padded trainers.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!
I use both in the manner exactly as you’ve explained and, moreover, I “felt deep in love” with minimalists from the early beginning, to start running Vivo BF 5K m, then 8K, 12K m etc. Later on, I purchased Merrell Trail Glove 3/4 and MBT Speed 17 which are not exactly barefoot but rather good simulators. Surely, I train Adidas Boost and even Mizuno WR 18 for rehabilitation, relax and long runs, due to their forgiveness. And I love my Asics Hyperspeed, too, as fast racing shoes.
Now I think that, probably, the best universal choice would be Feiyue Classics they look very much like Altra you’ve mentioned as “middle” or “intermediate” in terms of cushioning. But I still have to try them first:-))

Your body may be too full of inflammation to properly attune to minimalist shoe running. And gauging the whole shift in running technique simply by doing a few test runs is insufficient. Adjust your diet to what our ancestors ate for 100’s of thousands of years when they ran barefoot, walked barefooot, did pretty much everything barefoot: keto, or even carnivore diet. This dietary change was necessary for me to really adapt because I would have thrown in the towel with the amount of inflammation I had from my former, typical western diet (I do intermittent fasting as well). The foot dr in your video needed to look at the pt with stress fractures diet: were they insufficient in minerals and vitamins like calcium and magnesium (many people are deficient in magnesium). These are just two things of course, but overall, our modern shoes, imho, have disconnected us from the earth when we run or walk. Reconnect to it and I have, for one, felt amazing benefits. I can trail run in very minimal shoes for three hours at a time.

Bought my first barefoot shoes today. Going to try it out, already running on my toes with my regular trainers.

Just wondering, how can an activity she described as engaging (thereby strengthening?) the muscles in the feet cause fallen arches? Is there certainty nothing else was affecting that condition? Would love some thoughts on this ��✌️��️

I am not a runner but i am vegan and interested in wide toe box shoes, currently using Merrell Trail Glove 3 vegan shoes but over a year now i start noticing joint pain and i was wondering an iron problem, maybe is the fact of those shoes having no cushioning at all, i will get Altra’s, not sure if low ir high cushioning

NIHKE fuckin dying. You can’t tell me that the British pronounce that one right it’s an American FUCKIN company NIK-E fer fuks sake mate!

I’ve been running with minimalist shoes for over two years now and I’m always recommending people switch! Because it’s been amazing for my joints and knees!

I used to get inflamed shinbones, and my knees would always start hurting, but now that’s all in the past. Granted, you’ve got to be careful not to rush into toe striking, as it’s way more exhausting than landing on your heels, and yes, initially, you’re going to have some pretty sore calves, but after a while, you’ll be running the same distances you used to, and you’ll have some killer calves as well ��

Run barefoot to learn proper form then try to transfer that form to wearing shoes. The problem is shoes ruin your natural running form… (forefoot first)

Tried to listen to information…was distracted by arm path.

I had a very hard time getting through the first minutes of the video because of the mispronunciation of the globally dominant company name Nike. Has she never heard how to say Nike?

At 03:02, on the left one; he clearly strikes the ground with his heel.
If you follow any “How to run” video/article, the tip one wouldn’t miss is to never land the foot with a heel.

I’ve been running barefoot for about half a year now and will get those wibram shoes this Christmas ���� I think my forefoot running technique is pretty good already.

I ran 3 times barefoot and the running technic got better instantly, but I got some serious bruises and a lot of pain, the first time was horrible, then it got better, but I understood that there MUST be a transition because our foot are not prepared to touch the ground since they haven’t done that for the most of our lives. Now I run with fivefinger shoes, you can still feel all parts of your foot touching the ground at the same time like it should do. You totally avoid heel strike and you can feel your body working together to create a solid and fluid locomotion. IG: yourpersonalnoton

Maximalist all the way. I don’t give a damn about foot strength. I just don’t want injuries.

I run barefoot on treadmill (due to icy weather) but get blisters if over 30 minute run due to friction being completely different.
Outside I use football trainers that have barely any heel cushioning, much better than my running shoes.

Barefoot running fixed my shin splints instantly from which I suffered for years

The minimalist running ethos makes traditional podiatry redundant, of coarse she’s not going to be all for it.

Unless you are a competitive runner then running is a bad idea. If you are competitive then you have reason to do it so the consequences are bearable. If you are running just for fitness then i recommend you change it to a different exercise. Running WILL damage your knees. You may not notice it for a while but it will creep up on you. So if running is not important to you then I recommend replacing it with something low impact on joints.

I wear Nike Free during some short easy sessions…I agree barefoot running can be hard on the calves
Thanks much Heather

I transitioned to minimalist and barefoot a couple months ago. I was wanting to do this since high school and the opportunity came when I went into college and stopped competing cause of work and studies. It was easier to transition as I ran and did strength endurance workouts for a few years before this. What I did was I started in the minimalist. I ran a few days a week in them and when I was about 80% tired I’d stop then do my workouts after. I didn’t work out hard. I worked out to feel tired not super worked cause I didn’t want my body to feel tired for my next run. Especially my legs. I was careful and made sure they got tired not super worked.
I was able to run for an hour until I shifted to minimalist and barefoot which dropped me to about 15 minutes of safe running (I was adapting so I had to drop a lot).
Basically I’m super fit now and I’ve built up to running on a treadmill’s maximum incline for 15 mins with minimalist, I can do incline treadmill stride intervals in minimalist, I can do long runs in them, I can do 20 mins barefoot, sprint 100s barefoot, and even jump higher cause my calves, Achilles’ tendons, and arches are muscular more developed and bouncier. Old injuries I’ve had are eased a lot and my knees never hurt and my feet never hurt and my abs got more athletic and it’s all cause of the pure natural work of using more muscles. If you rush into it you’ll hurt yourself. But if you are super patient and take it easy and build up, it’ll work. Don’t forget to stretch and eat well and sleep LOTS. This training needs so much sleep. More than usual. Your feet need the sleep

This is taking the issue too literally. Of course barefoot is a bad idea on broken tarmac and stony ground. That’s not to say that running without cushioning is bad. I run in sandals and currently run in soles around 10mm thick when new. That’s enough to protect my feet from most small stones and rough ground. It feels amazing. I think the whole point is that raising the foot too much off the ground creates problems in those people, the majority, who pronate. Reducing cushioning reduces the amount of stress on the knees when rolling inwards during a stride. Sports shoe companies have spent millions, billions, solving the problems which they created. Then they charge you for it. Genius! Of course I still get charged for shoes, an acceptable amount for a good product which does the least possible to protect me and keep me comfortable when I run and walk.

Other marathon runners tell me they’re a gimmick, then go on to complain about their busted off toe nails, blisters, shin splits, back issues, knee problems etc.; all of which I have none after running 150 of them in a year. I used to get all the same injuries before I switched. Oh, but they look weird? So do your black bent toes and busted feet.

Oh, I did take time to adjust. Do that or it’ll hurt. You haven’t used those foot muscles in a long time, if ever.

a.) your suckables are getting dirty
b.) one tiny invisible piece of glass or a sharp rock would ruin your career, you’re extremely lucky to have not encountered one
c.) marathons take place on concrete, not on grass, concrete is covered in vehicle carcinogens and various debris that will hurt your lovelies unless you’ve already toughened them into hideous calluses

Recently transitioned to minimalist. Tried my first total barefoot run mid run recently. Felt surprisingly comfortable, I must be a forefoot runner naturally, but I’m blowing much quicker. Not sure if that’s because of the lockdown alcohol uptake ��‍♂️.Either way I’m persevering as best I can. Great vids

I do run barefoot,it give so much freedom to the body,you can run 5 k ascetically,however the more we run on trainers,the more load we give to our body,and the landing to the foot becomes a big trouble for our joints and hips.i guess earlier days the tribal people used to hunt food with barefoot and see how there physique…:)

I was a bit skeptical about using 5 finger shoes, but God damn, they are amazing. I run every day and it took me about 2 months to actually run my normal route again. My feet feel strong and my knees do not hurt at all! Just make sure to ease into it. I guess there were cases of plantar fasciitis. I felt sharp stabs when I tried to reach beyond my limits, so I’d switch between running styles. I’d go as far as I could with barefoot running and when I felt the pain, I’d switch to finish the workout. Slowly but surely I phased out switching and now I’m all set.

You didn’t skip leg day haha!!! ������ Subbed and great information

When I began running I wore traditional running shoes. They gave me a false sense of confidence. I felt like I could run high speed for miles on end which caused overuse injuries and stress fractures due to horrible form….I switched to vibrams and wear them as an everyday shoe and run in them…it’s taken months for my feet to adapt.
Today I’m faster and my feet stronger than they ever have been.
Can’t see myself running in shoes ever again…your channel is what brought about this change.
I’m grateful. Keep it up man!!
����

Ran my first half marathon barefoot yesterday
And all that you have said I did experience for sure.
It was a comfortable run especially after 8 weeks of no practice.

Great video showing the form. However, showing running on a hard surface, even close up, might be helpful. Some people say we weren’t meant to run on concrete. Maybe, but our ancestors didn’t have the luxury to run on grass everywhere either. They probably ran on trails and areas that had roots and stones embedded in hard packed ground, for which by landing on our forefoot puts us higher off the ground and so better able to avoid them hurting our feet on these obstacles.

I just hate shoes! I ROLL MY NAKED EYES & LAUGH AT SHOES! I’m a gymnast & I’m ALWAYS BAREFOOT! Please check out my barefoot gymnastics videos & YOU’LL AGREE THAT BARE FEET IS BETTER!

Thank you for the tips old bean. I’ve been running barefoot for a year now and have no regrets.

I’m 53 now and plan to do keep doing this for a good while.

Brilliant video. I run 90% in vibrams and have had zero injuries. Love them too bits. My Altra paradigms are seriously cushioned and are great for 26 mile plus Ultras.

Its taken me over 12months to get the condition to run barefoot and in minimalist shoes all the time. It’s not that hard! People need to stop over thinking it, just start with short runs and let pain be your guide… if it starts hurting, just stop and recover for a few days, resume when it feels right again. As I said, its taken me over 1 year for my body to adapt to longer runs such as 20kms. I’m now training for a marathon, still adapting for that one, slowly getting there is the key to injury free.

I am plagued by proportionally short leg syndrome. My strides were already shorter than other people my height. But yeah I get how it’s more efficient.

How far must one to see results from this efficiency? Cause I’m interested but still kinda competitive.

2. Price… hehe, pretty much all minimalist shoe companies fail on this. I’m not sure if it’s because most of these company haven’t realized economies of scale yet or if they’re just ripping us off, but minimalist shoes sure are crazy expensive.

I ran a rough trail in merrell vapor gloves, a stone went up the ball of my foot and messed all my shit up. It didnt cut but left me swollen and in pain when walking, and it is taking forever to heal. Can’t wait to get back out there

There are 2 or 3 cons which belongs on this list. 1. The length of time it takes to adapt to barefoot running. It could take months or years depending on how strong your feet and legs are and other factors (being overweight, not having access to suitable areas to run barefoot, not being able to afford minimal shoes, they are cheaper but still generally expensive, etc). 2. The potential for injuries. Unless you’ve been doing weight training or lots of jump rope, your calf muscles and feet will be pretty weak. Most runners will be pretty impatient to transition so injuries will happen. I’ve been trying to transition for about 18 months now. I kept injuring my left calf. I’ve now decided to do barefoot intervals (2 min run, 2 min walk) in my house on tiled floors until my calves and feet are strong enough to run outside. 3. I am yet to find a transitioning training program. Everyone just says “take off your shoes and run. Take it slow.” and so on.

I’m not gonna run barefoot in a city with all the trash and glass on the road. Shoes are like our tyres.

I couldn’t run for more than about 10 minutes without knee pain until I changed to a zero drop shoe (no cushioning with Vivo and mild cushioning with Altra) and a forefoot strike. 45 minute 6 km runs are no problem now and I’m looking forward to running faster and further.

I have been doing barefoot light jogging on ceramin tiles for close to 3 months daily. Feels great and will continue to do so.

Hi, I am seven weeks into a stress fracture. After looking into causes etc, Bare foot running seems to be the way forward. What do you really think? Better or not?. Thank you.. Chris x������

nice but we aren’t evolved that would imply that the theory of evolution that a guy made up was real.

Sometimes they look like heel strikes but the balance of the foot is actually on the toes. I.e, you can’t tell from your view 10-20 feet away that there’s a gap under the heel in the split second of impact between foot and ground, or even the toe and heel hit simultaneously but muscle tension in the legs concentrates impact on the toes as the heel gives way. In all cases, if people are actually getting injured running they will know and adjust on their own, or stop running, so that’s how anyone learns how to run and why these unsolicited diagnoses and prescriptions aren’t that helpful. Likewise, everyone saying she’s swinging her arms too much, who asked you for energy conservation advice? Like, there’s a chance she’s not running an ultra marathon in these clips, you think?

Sorry GTN, but this video is quite rubbish. Talking with one “specialist” (hearing her, it’s quite obvious she is not as objective as should be) and you only did 2 short sessions barefoot? Grab yourself a pair of Vibram FiveFingers, like V-Run or V-Trail for some more cushion, of KSO Evo for a more minimalist experience, use them for a few months and see how it feels.

Ok I think a con of running barefoot is heat. This is only my first year of doing this but last summer when it was 83 degrees Fahrenheit and above It would be too hot but I started to run at night which was better but Im curious if you see this as a con or if your calluses are way harder then mine or something.

I have run barefoot for 3 years. Now I coud say: I will never use cushion or drop again.

Good job on the video. The pros outweigh the cons if you ask me.

Yeah, running with shoes made my knees hurt, transitioning to being completely barefoot ended that, I now feel better than before

It’s so good to have someone still talking about barefoot running. I Live in Guernsey, a small island in the English Channel. I’m a member of a couple of running clubs here and don’t know anyone else going completely BF. I get the strangest reactions. Mainly giggling. I’ve had a lorry driver shouting for me to “put some bloody shoes on”. I’ve replaced my knee, arch and shin split pain with a lovely tingly hum in the pads of my feet after a long run. It’s been about 18 months and I’ve been upping my BF mileage. 33% on grass and and the rest on man made surfaces. I use my Xero’s or traditional trainers only once or maybe twice a week now, just to give my feet time to recover. I can comfortably do 7 miles on tarmac at the moment and have signed up to a 10k fun run which I absolutely intend to do completely BF. Wish me luck. Keep it rolling mate.

Well explained especially with cadence and posture/force through the body. Thanks

I live in Hawaii and I’m almost always barefoot. Every hike I do I’m barefoot, I ride my skateboard downhills barefoot. Your feet get stronger the more you exercise them.

One thing I oddly really like when running or walking barefoot is the reactions from children. Adults usually don’t care or pretend not to, but children will almost always say something like ‘mommy, he has no shoes on!’ when I’m still just within hearing distance.

So the way track spikes are built is that like the same as minimalist cuz i been a heel striker for most my life but I’m trying to switch for speed in the mile and 2 mile and I can’t see heel my current technique taking me far with running, all the greats run forefoot I wear flats even at track meets should I wear minimalists shoes or are track spikes good?

Running barefoot makes me feel morally superior to others too.

So you slow down and step on the mid foot to reduce injury
So this does not disprove the value of a cushioned shoe for sprinting
Do the top sprinters wear flat shoes?

“…can make some minor adjustments to their form and reap some of the same benefits”, well…yes, although their conventional footwear will resist to these adjustments, otherwise they wouldn’t need to make them in the first place… Instead of struggling with your footwear about whose form will prevail, why don’t you choose one that will “direct” you or “agree” to the proper form?..

Wait is no one gonna acknowledge the fact that she called the vaporfly (vapor-fly) 4% “viperfly 4%”

Ok, I’m not even going to finish this video. I’ll start with a comment. We were born barefoot……we ain’t supposed to be wearing any shoes….or clothes for that matter but that’s off topic. No matter what any one person tries to tell you with statistics or data, we were born barefoot

The comments from the podiatrist seems quite strange about people having issues with the arch of their feet. I have been running with minimalistic shoes for 2 years now. I’ve done almost 3500km in Vibram five fingers in this period. The transition was done slowly with short 2-3k runs, gradually progressing to longer runs. A few major changes I noticed. First thing was that my calf muscles got much better definition and strength. The hamstring pain which used to accompany some longer runs vanished. My feet are a lot stronger and more flexible than before.. Fast forward to today and I feel much better balanced, a lot stronger and a lot happier while running. The important thing which I feel I did right was starting with short slow runs and progressively running longer and harder

Just looked at my Merrells. My heels are pretty worn out. Ugh….I’m heel striking in these aren’t I

I’m Flat footed and it’s so painful for me to run using trainers but When I run barefoot it’s Not that Painful Or no pain at all. Am I the only one?

I bought minimalist zero drop shoes a few weeks ago. I use them for short runs max 5K. I found that wearing them for these short runs not only improved my posture but also improves my ankle mobility and makes me stronger when squatting (crossfit). Would recommend it to everyone, good shoes are very cheap, I have Merrell Vapor Gloves for 65 euros.

Great video. I’ve been running fully barefoot since 2012 and I completely agree with you. It’s way better, way healthier and I can run way faster, undoubtedly. And to be honest, I don’t really care about what other people may think or not, I’m following my path in life and that’s the best feeling someone can have, without any doubts. 😉

Asking podiatrists about barefoot running is one of the most predictable things you can watch. It is always the same.

so 80% land with non heel strike. 60% land prominent forefoot, and half heel strike. is it 190% reason to remember the name?

That the first thing I was thought when I started running…you run with your forefoot not your heel. Infact you gain more speed and leap when you run with your forefoot.

I don’t have arc support, would running barefoot cause greater injury?

One problem is that so many people are overweight. Its much harder to land on the ball of your foot and spring off if you’re too heavy. Its all about your power to weight ratio. Barefoot/minimalist is the only way to run you feel like a kid again. But you have to be quite lean or have some terrific calf muscles. But these muscles need to be gradually trained. For most runners it takes months to adjust well. So be patient and ease into it. Start with as little as 1/4 block. Whatever it takes to job or sprint barefoot. To toughen up your foot find some very smooth, rockless, pebbleless concrete you can practice on, bit by bit. It takes many months to really toughen your feet.

I’ve been a runner for many years. When I get old my knees started to hurt. More expensive shoe, orthotic, physiotherapy does not appear to help. One therapist said that some of her patients reported that their knees pain goes away after slowly moving to minimalist shoe. I thought it was worth a try. My knees pain got worse for the first few weeks, I almost gave up on it until the knees pain started to go away. As long as a run on zero drop minimalist shoe, I don’t feel much knees pain. However as soon as I started to increase cushion or heel-to-toe drop, I started to feel knees pain coming back. I would be happy to help any researcher find out why if they’re interested.

I don’t run. I clicked on this because the gal in the thumbnail had pretty legs. Shallow, I know.

I came here for the thumbnail, and couldn’t have been less disappointed

I am running barefoot since 2014, 2015, no injuries but it did took a while to adjust.
At the begining from what I remember, bones in the leg were hurting littlebit. That was enough of warning not to push it to hard. I think it took me few months to go up 10k with no problem. After that I run several 21k and under. If I have or had time to train could go longer.
Trail running barefoot is blessing.

“When you run with the earth on the earth you can run forever”

I like running in minimalist shoes or so to say barefoot running. Even running about 195 pounds I lost a lot of pound by changing my shoes and minimal comfort it offered. I don’t have a Vibram 5 Fingers or Merrell trail gloves, I mostly conditioned myself with using water shoes. But I love the fact its light weight, cheap, and my recommended workout shoes OTG (on the go). My calf and my quads are becoming toned from running with water shoes.

I am running barefoot on my treadmill, in order to get used running forefoot, because my knees are so ruined I dont have any other choice, (being 48yrs old). I wish I would have known earlier about this issue would have saved me from a lot of pain.

Barefoot girl’s got half of what it takes to be my perfect wife: she just need to be pregnant now.

I just came here to look at your feet and touch myself.. Is that ok? I promise to not disturb you

Where did you get this
Video? This is at Senca Park on 55th in Chicago and Solorio HS. My old running grounds! The only hill in the area: )

Great video. Check out these minimalist shoes: http://haloeffectrevealed.com

I am 40 years old and more of a swimmer. I haven’t ran for years and aimimg to run again (for sprint triathlon may be olympic at some stage, so distance of 5k primarily and may be 10 one day). I am walking in barefoot shoes for 2 years and so I am well adapted to walk barefoot. Now for running, how gradual should I be? Any advice would be welcome. I started with 1 min walk 30 sec run, adding 5 secs of run every workout, so 15 secs everyweek. Plan is to do that up to 3mins run 1min walk and then I will start to reduce the walk part. Is this a good approach? Any advice welcome thanks!

I walk barefoot on beach every second day and run with trainers the other second day.
Works well for me

great video!
I came to this conclusion as well and rotate between minimalist shoes (Merrell Vapor Glove 3 and VivoB. Primus Lite) and something with a little bit more cushion (Altra Instinct 3.5 and Saucony Freedom ISO2) but still with a low drop since I prefer that.
It all depends on how the body feels. If I feel like a more quick and responsive run/feel or if it’s more of a slow relaxed run.
Been looking at the Bondi 6 and Paradigm 4, thinking about trying the other end of the extreme as well.
Let me know if you try the Paradigm 4 and se how it is compared to the Bondi:-)
Blessings

Hi,I have just decided lunch time to take my shoes off and run back to work barefoot, not a long run but I suppose it is better to start short at first no? Well the result is I can feel my carf and the tip of my feet are burning, quite a nice sensation. I was wondering because I did not feel any extra pressure on my knees in fact I thing it is quite the contrary, is barefoot running better for the kenees as well! I am looking forward to my next run, I just love running but this is a new thing and I love changes in my life, I do not care about what other people think, I switch to a raw plant based diet 3 years ago so I know all about what people and familly think of you. http://www.sens-en-eveil.fr my website I may include barefoot running to the activities if I really get on with it.Thank you for your advices, as far as I am concern the cons are not cons to me. Love and light

It’s hard in my city as it has become infected with heroin….

I can’t run barefoot in my country (India). There’s shit everywhere!

Hi, I just transitioned into barefoot running in february 2019 and I absolutely love it. I just ran 5 kilometers for the first time. It still hurts when I run on bad asphalt, and I do not see any progression the skin under my feet is still soft. Any ideas on how long it taskes for the skin to toughen up and form calasses?

Nicely covered; encapsulating a lot of critical aspects in such a short video. It’s helped me move closer to deciding on the type of shoes I want. As I saw in this and some other videos as well, it is important to know what one wants. Not wanting to wear high drop shoes doesn’t need to imply minimalist or barefoot shoes. That’s a huge leap and may have negative consequences. I think I am looking at low drop or zero drop shoes with adequate cushioning; with more mindfulness towards foot strike and running form. The ‘pose method’ so to speak. As a corollary, my limited experience has been that when I wear low drop shoes or shoes with limited cushioning, I am more aware of my running form and tend to pay more attention to technique. When I wear elevated ones with lots of fancy foam, I don’t do so and tend to just let myself go, especially so when running on a treadmill. The combination of the two is probably a major factor that has affected knee pain in my case. I have now come to believe that it is easier to get injuries on a treadmill as compared to running on Mother Earth. It’s easy to push oneself beyond one’s limits of speed on a treadmill. On the road or track, it’s way more difficult to do so. In future, I plan to restrict treadmill speed to what I achieve during road running and go beyond only in a planned manner for short durations, with specific objectives like improving stride length.
All in all, a nice video. It got me thinking on the right track. Pun intended!

Lawns are unnatural. you should be running barefoot on rocks, twigs, torns, bones, seashells, and animal feces ��

The interesting thing is that all 4 cons are solved by wearing shoes that have very little padding. Not that they’re big problems anyway, but yea.
And all 4 pros stay in tact too. Or just for extra benefits one could have barefoot locations and then when they go to places that are not so great for bare feet, wear super thin shoes for those occasions.

One note on the opinions of podiatrists. I heard one on a podcast the other day claim that in podiatry school they were not taught much of anything regarding causation or prevention of injuries. What they WERE taught was diagnosis and treatment.

I don’t want to sound like “conspiracy brother,” but it’s interesting that those happen to be the two things that produce revenue, whereas prevention does not.

6:39 she is over striding therefore breaking resistance and therefor not running asefficiently as she can:-)

It takes adaptation before just doing all of your running barefoot. But one way to start is cheap and simple.

Just get a pair of those watersocks at Walmart for $5 and wear those as much as possible when out and about and go barefoot otherwise. Or, they have a wide toebox version for $10.

Continue training in shoes for the most part while incorporating more time barefoot though.

dat ass doe… would hunt down barefoot even if the floor was lava!:P

Hi, I agree with everything you say regarding running barefoot. Ive been running barefoot for 2 years now. I wear VFF when it’s really cold and have zero sandles for when it gets really tough underfoot. But mostly I just carry them now as my feet are really tough and strong. I’d add that running totally barefoot does tend to focus your attention on where you’ re placing your foot. Yes, there is nasty and sharp stuff about but you look out for it and avoid it. Running on grass is the most risky as you can’t see all that’s hidden there. And since taking up barefoot running I’ve not had any injuries at all. One more thing, I couldn’t care less what others thing about me running without shoes, I know I’m doing the right thing. Keep up the great work. Best wishes.

Collage campus..she must be running away from a “straight white male that’s about to RAPE her.

who cares about ankle pain as a caveman when your life expectancy is 30 amirite

Humans evolved barefoot. Shoes are unnatural. My only issue with being barefoot these days is in urban areas. Stepping on a dirty needle or glass.

I am from a different time, so I don’t understand why women in this time period run wearing a bikini and without shoes?

So when I switched, it shocked me how hard it was to reprogram my brain to switch running styles. Heel strike, with a long forward reach, was what I was brought up on.
What I did was run on sidewalks with grass medians, or next to parks etc… and I would run on uneven grass, where it’s natural to run forefoot to protect the ankle. Then I’d go back to pavement, and every time I’d heel strike, I’d go back to uneven ground. I’d go back and forth until i retrained myself.
Now I don’t even like shoes with heels for walking.

Love the video. But okay what’s going on with the bananas? What are you doing with all those bananas???

Agreed. Always good to have varieties. I use the Bondi 6 three times a week and once or twice on the VFF. Thank you for sharing the video.

It’s all about $. Of course thick expensive sneakers are recommended by doctors, cause they’re being paid to. Sneakers are meant to be protective and flexible. I injured my left knee with Nikes. Now I wear cheap canvas shoes. No problems

I believe that the most important thing is zero drop. The thickness of the sole isn’t the main issue. I have been runing in zero drop very thin shoes….and now I feel that i need some cushioning….now i’m running 21km.

Excellent video, makes a lot of sense. I’ve been watching a lot of videos for an answer and this video gave the most convincing explanation. Thank you!!

Nice analysis, I would like if you can analize or tell us about their durability under stress, that’ll be awesome, thanks for the review, I also follow your other channel called Sweet Natural Living, or Unnatural living as you said haha, your last video about that you are still experimenting and trying new ways to improve your food have changed my concepts in many ways, my food nowadays is combined, I eat everything, but I tried living only with bananas and eggs for 1 month and let me tell you that I found the perfect nutritional combination eating both, eggs and bananas, eggs contains “all” the aminoacids that your body needs, and bananas were my favorite and most complete carbohydrate, during that month my health stayed awesome, I ate 2kg of bananas daily and 8 eggs, but later I missed all the other flavors of other foods so nowadays I eat everything I must say, I live in Peru South America and weather here is mostly cold in my city, cheers dudes!!!!

I’ve heard that running naked is best. Please do a video on that.

My concern is because I’m 67 active and I have high arches!! Any comments? Thanks

Its true that we wernt designed to run with shoes but we also wernt designed to run on concrete

I have Hookas but after 35 years of use of Nike and Asics runnings shoes and then later Hookas I developed Bunion as a 50 year old Male. used running shoes maybe 12 hours a day, at work, on the bike, walking, running, at the gym etc. Then I looked at my hookas and my asics they are pointed (just a fashion thing, a foot does not look like that) and squeezes the toes together. At the store the told me I pronated, but that was probaly becuse my bunion and weak arch I understand now, but they sold me Asics kayano with pronation thing. Also the Hookas and Asics have Toespring, so all this narrow toebox, elevated heel, Toespring will make my natural foot to a unatural foot, so after many years people could get alot of foot, knee, back problems. So for now I use Altra and fivefingers and I train my feet alot and using toe spreaders, and I have much less pain. I dont use my Hookas anymore because they will squeeze my toes togeheter and they have a toespring, not god for anyone, they will alter Your foot in a bad way. One can read more here https://www.correcttoes.com/foot-help/its-a-shoe-problem/?fbclid=IwAR1npDdPxWdhDzK025GPjRbIP90Z7UsZxvrFPY-Ygi3Wk6Og2EmFNQxbIOc

So good!!!, thank you,….I only have barefoot shoes,. Play basketball in them but don’t run long distances, max few k

As a quick, power athlete I’ve never been a heel striker but noticed it when running lazily or during any running that wasn’t sprinting. Heel striking seems so counter intuitive to fast twitch muscle fiber related activities, especially jumping. No shock absorption what so ever.

minimalist running is just so enjoyable! my own minimal running career was sadly put to an end by several feet injuries and finally a stress fracture. even though I was fully aware of the risks and got into it really slowly, building it up over months and years. even though I´m still in love with the minimalist idea I needed to draw a conclusion from this experience. my current strategy flips things around: now I´m using minimalist shoes almost all the time in everyday life to train and strengthen the feet. BUT Im using cushioned shoes when the impact on the feet is at a peak = while training/running (especially, since I live in a big concrete jungle). after all the body adapts to what you do most of the time and not just on occasion (a few hours a week). great video, keep it up!