Barefoot shoes

People saying they need some support…. You need support because you’ve been walking around for years in “traditional” shoes that don’t allow your foot to move naturally and build up the necessary muscles.

People saying they need some support…. You need support because you’ve been walking around for years in “traditional” shoes that don’t allow your foot to move naturally and build up the necessary muscles

That may well be true, but it doesn’t alter the fact that they need support.

but it doesn’t alter the fact that they need support

It could if they gave it time.

Issue with most runners who have been doing it since their teens is they try to go at the same speed and volume as they do in their cushioned shoes and end up with all sorts of ailments.

It could if they gave it time

Maybe, maybe not. If other parts of you aren’t working well; knees, hips, or you have other significant issues; weight for instance. No amount of time spent in barefoot soles is going to help, in fact it may even make things worse.

If barefoot or flat shoes work for you, great, if they don’t then thankfully, there’s infinite numbers of others that may help.

It depends, a lot of the problems you mention can be aided by strengthening the right muscles to support those joints. That is what wearing barefoot shoes does, it allows the muscles in the foot to strengten and support the proper movement patterns. Also the foot is the platform for supporting all those joints in movement, strengthening the foot and letting the toes spread naturally also helps with problems as it goes up the chain of movement, aiding all those problems, and preventing them.

A lot of people also seem to be talking about negative experiences from trying barefoot running, I would suggest the starting point should just be day to day wear, start just going barefoot in the home, then start including some short stuff, going shopping ect, once you are used to that then add in some work days, if you are a runner add that in months later.

How much time are you spending barefoot or in slippers now? Personally I can wear them, and do go barefoot several hours a day (socks or slippers in the winter) but I have never managed to be able to run properly in them, and I dont heel strike so start in a better place than many. They take some time to get used to, months rather than weeks.

My feet haven’y really got any wider.

A lot of the gait stuff on youtube is just nonsense.

They take some time to get used to, months rather than weeks.

They’re no magic bullet that’s for sure. I think perhaps measuring the time frame in months may be optimistic. Consider our feet could have been constricted by traditional shoes for decades, it would likely be more realistic to give them a couple of years to adapt.

Depends what shoes I wear. I’m largely barefoot at home,as in no socks barefoot. My Lems Prinals are a very soft sole and I can’t run (even a bit( in then without them being sore. My Vivos are a thin but flexy sole an I can jog a bit.

I have some Altras I wear and theye comfy but a more built up shoe.
I run in altra Lone peaks…. But not enough.

I’ve been hillwalks in my Vivos and Altras and notice no ill effects.

I love barefoot shoes, especially in the heat.

However, I started doing really long dog walks in very lightweight barefoot shoes and it’s shown up how weak my feet are. I started getting a sharp pain in one calf which was a bit worrying. I went to a physio who gave me foot exercises  to strengthen my arches and this seems to have had a positive effect pretty quickly.

Before this I wore a ‘barefoot’ walking boot for dog walking for a couple of years with no ill effects so these issues might just be a particular combination of hard ground, thin soles and walking several miles every couple of days.

So yes, I still really like wearing barefoot shoes but I would advise people to just be aware of little niggles and check them out. Every muscle in our bodies seems to want to compensate for every other and that’s not always a good thing…

Zero drop – Achievable with cushioning and support, Altra and Innov-8 both do shoes that give this.
Minimal/barefoot shoes – minimal shoes with just enough sole to offer a tiny bit of protection from the ground, but no cushion or padding
Foot shaped shoes – Again, can be zero drop and minimal, but can also be neither.

most barefoot shoes are all three of the above. Vivo’s are any way. I agree that they aren’t for everyone and running in them or running barefoot needs to be approached slowly and carefully. I used to do both when in my twenties and thirties but no longer run at all.

I wear them because I love being barefoot and in the colder months, at work etc I have to wear something. I’ve never had the pain treading on sharp stuff that some mention. Walked over all kinds of surfaces. I step quite lightly so imagine that’s the reason why.

What’s the sizing like on the Lens primal zens? I’m a UK 10.5 in Nike sb’s.

It’s a bit hard finding barefoot shoes that look “normal”.

It’s a bit hard finding barefoot shoes that look “normal”.

That is because it isn’t obvious with normal shoes the bit of your feet that the toes stick out from is wider than the rest of your foot.

But yeah, I totally agree, which is why I tend to wear apparel with loose bottoms when wearing my Xero shoes – elasticated/zipped cuffs simply accentuate how weird they look.

Got wildlings and they look like elf shoes, my go to are my xero ones, I wear them to work and it’s like having out door slippers on, great things.