Grumble

Anyone else tried it?

Started about 6 months ago and after getting over the initial pains of my feet/calves relearning how the body is SUPPOSED to move, I have to say it's changed my whole work out routine. I'm doing 4-5 miles routinely, and I have no more knee/hip/shin/back pains I used to. What I thought were old sports unjuries that never healed, are totally gone. It's unreal. Take the shoe engineers out of the drivers seat and let your body move the way we've evolved. I've tried jumping back into my New Balance 998's, and after 1/2 mile it's like running with weights on my feet. I use Vibrams for road and treadmills.

Anyone else?

mmaviator

I don't believe in running but here is a shoe that would benefit those that don't want to go to the extreme.


Vibram FiveFingers Shoes Information

Flying Low

interesting data point, had kind of written it off as a fad but still open minded.

thanks.

N9373M

USMCFLYR

You make me think of that survivalist on the TV show Dual Survival. He hasn't worn shoes in over 20 years - in all climes!
Cody Lundin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

USMCFLYR

kc135driver

Where would you run?

I can see trying this on trails and other natural environments but what about asphalt/concrete, ie really hard man-made stuff our feet were never designed to run on?

I have a friend that just bought one of those pairs of shoes. He's not a runner but loves them.

KC

SkyHigh

The Tarahumara people of central Mexico commonly run 100 miles at a time while barefoot. Personally I hate to go without shoes for long.

Skyhigh

rickair7777

Supposedly you can run on pavement barefoot, after a lot of acclimatization. You natural stride (toe first vice heel-first) absorbs the impact so it just comes down to wear and tear on the soles of your feet. Shoes cause us to land heel-first when running, so it takes a while to get used to doing it the other way.

I used to walk barefoot several blocks to surfing every day and my feet toughened up pretty good. I think they are supposed to be able to do that...but all of our shoe-wearing keeps them tender.

I don't know if they get tough enough to protect against glass or nails, but those five-finger shoes would take care of that issue.

I'd probably try it if I had a long enough stretch of grass, sand, or dirt trail but I don't, so I may just stick with shoes. I'm not sure what the navy would think of barefoot fitness tests.

Grumble

Exactly right. I run on the road, sidewalks, treadmills, trails... everywhere. Someone posted the Vibrams Five Fingers above, which is exactly what I wear. Have three pairs for different places. Running on pavement is a complete non-issue. Once you relearn how to run on the balls of your feet, and the feet strengthen up (because they're lazy running in shoes) it feels completely natural.

Rick I've run the PFA in my five fingers several times. Which is hilarious when you beat most of the people, essentially barefoot. I can't run on shoes anymore... I hate it. The Vibrams are basically just tread to protect your skin, and the best part is they never wear out like shoes. Until you run far enough to wear through the rubber.

chuckyt1

Been looking at Vibrams for a while now, might be time to invest in a pair.