"Barefoot" shoes?

[false_aesthetic]

Been wearing em lately. Just around work, etc. Every other day or so.
Seems like my calves are tightening up a lot after wearing them.
Anyone else experience something like this?

[d.wilson]

yup. running in them is great too.. but not something you just jump in and do, 'cause you WILL probably hurt yourself.

i use a pair of new balance minimus trails at the gym and just putz in them. love the things-- but running, i went back to a little more support to keep from busting up my achilles.

they do make your calves feel pretty monster after a while, and let your feet get good and strong too.

[funcrusher]

yes...you are walking flat so your muscles are adjusting...takes a little bit to get used to it

i went on a 5 mile run the day after i bot mine...bad idea

[robin3mj]

I bought a pr of the New Balance ones to throw in my overnight bag for business trips. They definitely cause me to have tight calves if I run in them every 10 days or so. Not sure if it's a 'good' hurt or a 'bad' hurt, but still beats sitting watching TV.

[David Tollefson]

I'm now 3 years into the transition to low-drop shoes, and have completely made the switch. Can't STAND anything with a heel on them now.

I run in a variety of shoes that have 4mm or less drop from heel to forefoot -- Merrell Trail Glove, New Balance Minimus Road, Altra Instinct (now retired, but I really like the Superior -- on my short list), Skechers Go Run, Go Bionic, and several other developmental shoes from Skechers (all low drop -- I'm on their wear-test team). For casual wear, I've got some New Balance Minimus trainers, or just go barefoot.

DEFINITELY make the transition to running in low-drop shoes slowly. Another thing -- when running in them, keep your entire lower leg RELAXED on the planting part of the gait. Don't try to ease the foot down, don't try to land on your toes or forefoot, just relax. Let your foot contact as it will naturally based on where it's landing relative to your CG, and let it transition to a full-contact naturally. DON'T try to stay up on your forefoot -- that's just begging for achilles issues.

But I've also found that what you wear when you're NOT running makes a huge difference in how long it takes to adapt to running in them.

[Bobqzz]

I converted over to this type of shoe. I had to do some calf work in the gym or I would injure myself on (for me) longer runs. All good now and i do think they reduce the pounding on the knees which is why I went to them in the first place. As others have said, start slow.

[rec head]

I've been wearing the NB trail shoes since they came out as well as a couple different versions. I like them a lot. Having wide toes I think these fit me like regular shoes fit regular people. Overall I'm really happy with them for day to day wear. I have almost no foot pain or discomfort anymore. I wear them running but don't run a lot so I can't speak to that as much.

[David Tollefson]

I've been wearing the NB trail shoes since they came out as well as a couple different versions. I like them a lot. Having wide toes I think these fit me like regular shoes fit regular people. Overall I'm really happy with them for day to day wear. I have almost no foot pain or discomfort anymore. I wear them running but don't run a lot so I can't speak to that as much.

You should give the Altra's a try. I think you'd like them.

[false_aesthetic]

i've been wearing them at work since Jan 5th but no major walking or anything else. I've been having a sensation in my right calf like its in a blood-pressure band pumped up and its all tingly. Only thing I can attribute it to is having a long long day at work (7:30-10:00) and spending the last 3 hours of it on my feet.

[Jaq]

Interesting discussion a few months back about benefits and dangers. The Science of Sport: Vibram shoes named in lawsuit: The danger of barefoot running. Mostly, it suggests that barefoot running (or running in "barefoot" shoes) is something to be approached carefully, and takes no small amount of training & adaptation. In short, people who jumped on the bandwagon got hurt, while conscientious athletes did well. Go figure.

[rmplum]

I started running in FiveFingers 3+ years ago. Previously I had to guzzle 3-4 ibuprofen to get through a few miles in regular running shoes. It seemed really counterintuitive that going from super cushioned shoes to no padding would work, but it did.

I started slow. Very slow, but all my back pain from running has been nonexistent in them. I don't do a ton of miles, maybe 20/week, but all is good.

At first wearing them a few hours a day was all I could stand. It was a process, but well worth it for me.

YMMV.

RP

[Mabouya]

I use them (FiveFinger) when doing the C2 rower and for lifting and "Power Tower" stuff, but not for any significant walking. Haven't had any issues. One of these days I'll wear them to work just for kicks, to see if anyone notices.

[TomW]

DEFINITELY make the transition to running in low-drop shoes slowly. Another thing -- when running in them, keep your entire lower leg RELAXED on the planting part of the gait. Don't try to ease the foot down, don't try to land on your toes or forefoot, just relax. Let your foot contact as it will naturally based on where it's landing relative to your CG, and let it transition to a full-contact naturally. DON'T try to stay up on your forefoot -- that's just begging for achilles issues.

As I am in the market for a light pair of shoes to take on business trips I just order a pair of NB Minimus road thanks to recommendations here. They were also on sale at NB England which is no bad thing.

I've been doing a bit of reading about starting using them and there seems to be a lot out there about slowly ramping up. Your suggestions to just try relaxing your lower leg rather than purposely avoiding heel planting is interesting. I think this is going to cause a mind melt the first few times I do it...

I'm curious but now you run with this lower leg relaxed gait does it mean that you lightly toe plant because that is posturally correct rather than forcing it down?

Sorry for the questions, as a lapsed Alexander Tech devotee I find the habit/ relaxation and fighting to be 'conscious' when you do things very interesting.

[David Tollefson]

As I am in the market for a light pair of shoes to take on business trips I just order a pair of NB Minimus road thanks to recommendations here. They were also on sale at NB England which is no bad thing.

I've been doing a bit of reading about starting using them and there seems to be a lot out there about slowly ramping up. Your suggestions to just try relaxing your lower leg rather than purposely avoiding heel planting is interesting. I think this is going to cause a mind melt the first few times I do it...

I'm curious but now you run with this lower leg relaxed gait does it mean that you lightly toe plant because that is posturally correct rather than forcing it down?

Sorry for the questions, as a lapsed Alexander Tech devotee I find the habit/ relaxation and fighting to be 'conscious' when you do things very interesting.

For me, it was paying attention to stride length and cadence, not reaching forward with the leg to land, keeping my footfall close under my center of gravity. Yes, my forefoot lands first (if you took some high-speed film of it, you'd see it hitting near the forward head of the 5th metatarsal), but that's just a result of it landing under me, and relaxed.

[rmplum]

Just run normal like DT says above. If you try to overstress planting your forefoot first your calves will be killing you even more than normal. Short, quick strides, keep your core engaged and run "light".

I wouldn't say I "enjoy" running now, but I can do it without killing myself and it's a really freaking efficient way to get a workout in when you only 45-60 minutes.

rp

[vertical_doug]

I think after the Nike Boston shoe from the 70's and the Tailwind in the early 80's it was all down hill. To a certain extent, I think we over think everything.

So many running shoes just became a fashion statement/jogger shoe. I will basically run in anything as long as it isn't clunky.

[Mabouya]

and it's a really freaking efficient way to get a workout in when you only 45-60 minutes.

Along with having to deal with cars, which is far and away #1, this is my next biggest issue with cycling - it's so efficient that it becomes inefficient time-wise. Maybe I should build up a 50 lb bike with a drogue chute to address that too...

[Jason Musgrave]

NB Minimus here. Love 'em, though I'm not much of a runner. I'm still trying to figure out how to land on the forefoot without landing on my toes. Did a ~7 mile trail run the other day and absolutely killed my calves. Taking short strides isn't natural for someone with such long legs...

[vertical_doug]

Foot strike Patterns of Men and Women at the US Olympic 10K Trials | Runblogger

Foot strikes from the 10k OT this summer for men and women. You see a variety of foot strikes and probably heel-toe is most common. I think we can all safely stop worrying about foot strike and just run in a way which feels good. All of our bio-mechanics are going to differ with our own inherent geometry.

http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/cr...ning-analysis/

Here is a video of Crowie over taking Chris Lieto in 2009 Ironman race. Crowie is supposedly a mid-foot striker , but you see him engaging his heel a bit more. The biggest difference is just his up right posture and faster cadence. Lieto looks to be close to the same foot strike and really struggling.

I basically think you can buy what it is the sale bin and be fine.

[rmplum]

NB Minimus here. Love 'em, though I'm not much of a runner. I'm still trying to figure out how to land on the forefoot without landing on my toes. Did a ~7 mile trail run the other day and absolutely killed my calves. Taking short strides isn't natural for someone with such long legs...

I really want to be able try those, but after 3 years of pseudo-barefooting they are just too damn narrow for me. The Merrell Trail Gloves were also supposed to be wide but I had the same issue - had to go three sizes up go get something that wasn't too narrow and then they were clownishly long. The VFFs fit my feet the best, but there's the looks...

I ran the slickrock trail in Moab two or so years ago in my FiveFingers. They worked really well there.