Barefoot Running Benefits

I thought I would look at the barefoot running benefits. plus the potential areas to avoid.

Now, before I start, I want to say that I’ve got no skin in the game here. I’ve done barefoot running. And I’ve done lots of running in traditional trainers. And this isn’t going to be like, some sort, Guru thing where I say, Oh, you’ve got to do barefoot running all the time.

I’m just going to look my experience with barefoot running, particularly looking at it from a perspective of an older runner that may have run for long periods in time what you could deem normal shoes.

When I say normal, I mean kind of very foam-based, protective, and corrective shoes that a lot of runners, particularly older runners use.

Is Barefoot Running Good For You?

Well, what you got to remember is that your body is a very, clever bit of mechanics. So when you look at running form, generally, there’s a lot written about improving your running form, which is another kind of another subject, but it’s attached to barefoot running in the respect that barefoot running, often will be said to correct those problems.

But running form you have in effect is your body adapting to your weaknesses if you like.
So that’s why you’ll see all these different types of running forms. And also, you’ll see quite often your running form, change over time, because, for instance, if you become tight in the hips, as lots of runners do, as they get older, then your running style will adapt to that reality.

So your body is intuitively very clever. So barefoot running in a way teaches you via pain/discomfort initially because the response you get from the ground to your body is instant.

This of course if done to an extreme is when injuries can occur

And barefoot running gets a bad rep…

Whats The Barefoot Running Benefits?

Well, if you go out in a pair of barefoot type shoe shoes, and you run normally as you do in cushioned running shoes, your body is going to take all the shock into your calves into your tendons all the way up your legs. And the likelihood is it’s not going to feel great.

It just isn’t you’re gonna end up injured and hurt and thinking this is a waste of time.

So How Do You Ease Into Barefoot Running?

Well, I can only tell you the way I’ve done it. And the way that I’ve done it is I have a hairdressing salon.
So what I do is I wear barefoot type shoes. In my whole day, while I’m walking around now, my wife thinks I look ridiculous.
Some of my clients think they’re great.
Some of our clients probably think I look stupid,
but that’s what I wear all day.
So my body’s getting used to those kinds of barefoot movements. Because where the Barefoot benefits come in, is you do start to use all your muscles in your foot the way that it should be.

Think of this for a moment there are 26 bones, 30 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments in your feet.
So the foot is an amazing piece of technology. And what we tend to do is encase it in shoes that don’t allow them to move and even shoes that we wear day to day.
And particularly ladies if you’re reading this, particularly you but men as well.

So our feet haven’t been used for properly for sometimes decades.

So by utilising a more barefoot type of shoe in your day to day you start to move better, but by doing it mainly only walking you ease yourself into it.

Get used to walking around your home barefoot too… No slippers or socks.

Now if you want to take potential Barefoot benefits that a stage further.

I’ve done barefoot running on a beach.

I went out very easy pace along the beach, with short walks every 5 mins just to loosen the calves.

So the bottom line is barefoot running benefits, it starts to get the communication between your body, your foot and up from your foot to from the ground, it’s a much more communicative way of running.

The downside is, if you’ve been used to running or even living in shoes that protect you from that ground, then it’s going to be a bit of a shock to the system.

I think the other thing to be aware of is that you’ve got to start building up the muscles that are going to be taking that shock.

So are you utilising strength training for your legs, your feet?

So it’s a very, very slow process.
But I think the real benefits for older runners are really in perhaps having barefoot shoes in your day to day life.
And then moving on to something with a bit of protection when you run.

Now, the way I’ve done this, and it’s worked well for me. And I’m not saying this brand is the brand. But I’ve utilised ON running shoes.

Now why I’ve used ON is, that their website has a lot of talk about running on the cloud, what I tend to find is that there are a fairly responsive shoe in the respect that you don’t feel it’s too spongy but there is protection from impact.

So you do feel depending on which shoes you get, and I’ll do a review of the one that I’m using on another video. But it is it’s much firmer ride if you like then you would get say, on some of the softer types of shoes, but it’s not as firm as a barefoot shoe.
So I find that a nice balance for somebody of my age.

Whereas I can’t see myself running all the time in barefoot, and I’m not sure I want to but I want some of that responsiveness that you get from barefoot running.

Conclusion Of Benefits Of Barefoot Running.

But if you have been thinking about going barefoot, then I think as a recommendation to you, perhaps having that barefoot day to day footwear, getting your foot moving your body moving and building up strength.

Then running with something that’s got a little bit of cushioning too because most of us are running on concrete seems to me to make a lot more sense long term for particularly older runners that may have been running in supported shoes, maybe for many, many years, even decades.

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