Does Anyone Else Exercise Barefoot?

bfrice1

I exercise without shoes on.

I started doing it because (and you'll just love this) I was too lazy to put my shoes and socks on; it just seemed like a lot of trouble to go through to go to the living room.

So I decided if Africans can run an Olympic marathon in their bare feet, maybe I can exercise for 45 minutes or so in mine. Plus, I do yoga barefoot, and I do free weights barefoot and then it occurred to me that humans were designed to walk barefoot, right? And I'm on the carpet anyway.

What a revelation - A) I actually workout now, my feet feel, I don't know, stronger and C) (Bonus!!) That's one less pair of socks to try and keep track of.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has done this.

foxyforce

just make sure you don't do a lot of impact on them

but i do the same, there are actually clubs that walk barefeet!

rodegghero

I do Too! But after I had a baby my feet hurt if I do it too much

nmoreland

It depends for me. If I am on my carpet and doing cardio then I am usually barefoot, but if I do my cardio on my hard floor then I wear shoes. It depends on what mood I am in, and what workout I am doing. If I need to have friction, then I wear my shoes.

Kate_UK

I do too, I'm also too lazy to put shoes and socks on!

lanie13

Only when I do the Yoga Meltdown. Otherwise I have on sneakers that have some kind of 'technology' to them

krisvtx8777

LOL I do as well. I do most workouts in my bedroom and when I wear shoes they hit into the bars of my bed. However, I noticed I am gonna need them for these plank positions doing the 30 day shred workout. My bare feet just slip and slide all over.

TopKat

I do too now. I did buy a pair of light weight for use at home but now I use Susan Fleetwoodthem in the gym.
It's just second nature to workout bearfoot, but then I also use a yoga mat and sure it saves time

ethel64

yep i do the same thing...actually i HATE socks lol i only wear them when i go out and have to wear certain shoes, other then that im barefoot..

Briacha

I do too!

BigBoneSista

Remember in certain African countries they don't were shoes period so their feet are like one huge callouse. lol

With that being said I use to not wear shoes when doing exercises and my feet were ok. This month I just started wearing them in my house when exercising and I can feel a difference. I like the added cushion more. My feet aren't as tired when I'm done now. So for now on its shoes for me.

trish70

I used to take a cardio kick class that was in bare feet, and I also would exercise at home barefooted most of the time. Unfortunately now I have something called plantar fasciitis (inflammation across the arch of your foot) which is caused by spending too much time without shoes on, also from not wearing supportive shoes. Now I have to walk around in sneakers when I'm just home hanging out - if I go more than a day barefoot the pain comes back :frown:

oysterboy

If I could go out running without shoes I would. I can't because of the broken glass and stuff. It is much more natural and good for strengthening your feet and joints (it's important to build up slow) rather than relying on trainers for cushioning. I saw a man running barefoot in the park last week. There are studies to suggest that high tech running shoes cause more injuries than they prevent by encouraging you to heel strike rather than landing on your mid foot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9itkEkcQ8WM

Dlibo1013

i do 50% of the time :-)

samwarrick

I hate wearing shoes anyway anytime. Most people think im weird but i love running outside or any excersices barefoot. i actually found that if i go running outside with no shoes on- im more likely to run longer than if i had them on.

ethel64

i suffered from the same thing ( plantar fasciitis ) and found that wearing shoes actually made the pain worse, i was on anti inflammatory meds for about a month and now everything is back to normal...

foreverjade

I worked out barefoot for years until very recently I started TurboFire and realized within a week that I NEEDED to wear shoes. Every morning when I got out of bed, my feet felt like they were broken! haha. I think someone said above that as long as you're not doing high impact, it's fine. I completely agree. I still go barefoot to lift weights or do any "easy" exercise.

costendorf

If you like to exercise barefoot, the best option is to use Vibram Five Finger shoes. I have a pair and use them when I play racquetball or run. Studies have shown that the best shock absorber is the human foot. Only recently have we made shoes that have trained us to land heal fist when we run. When you wear them, expect sore caves for a while, but you get used to it. I have sesamoiditis in my right foot and I either have to wear my Vibrams or tennis shoes with orthodics. Both methods work for me and were suggested by my podiatrist.

kacarter1017

I used to, but then had a stress fracture in my foot, and can no longer exercise barefoot. I would be very careful with higher impact exercise as that is how my stress fracture occurred.

Jess21684

I do this too if im just working out in the living rm to my fitness dvds. we have carpet so there is no sense in putting my shoes on and i feel I like it best w no socks on. I feel it gives me more traction and stabilty & I feel i dont slide and slip around as much if I have no socks on. so yes at home I will do that but we got carpet. if we didnt have carpet, Itd prob be different

Altiv

I love working barefoot! My feet hates being encapsulated on little socks (plus, those get nasty after a hard workout =P) I was doing almost all my routine barefoot until I started the 30 day shred, doing all those jumps on my really old carpet hurt my feet so badly I had trouble walking for the next week, hehe, so after a wise advise from my mom ("How could you do all those jumps barefoot? It's obvious that hurt your legs") I had to use my shoes

amberleemoore

I only do yoga barefoot. Anything else I wear my shoes.

punkinbeanie

lol me too!!!

Ally_Clare

I love that you just couldn't be bothered wearing shoes xD

I can't bring myself to run barefoot unless i'm running on the beach.

might4

I used to take a cardio kick class that was in bare feet, and I also would exercise at home barefooted most of the time. Unfortunately now I have something called plantar fasciitis (inflammation across the arch of your foot) which is caused by spending too much time without shoes on, also from not wearing supportive shoes. Now I have to walk around in sneakers when I'm just home hanging out - if I go more than a day barefoot the pain comes back :frown:

I am with you...after spending $300 in physical therapy to get my plantar faciitis under control I wear shoes all the time. My feet need the support when working out or even just walking around the house. I have noticed that now that I am working out and sropping some weight my feet are improving even more!

Nigel99

I had been exercising barefoot until the last couple of days. I started wearing shoes for a couple of reasons, but I enjoy working out barefoot.

kwardklinck

Your funny lol. I never have shoes on when I exercise in my living room. It's probably not recommended but I haven't hurt my feet yet.

lavacava

I'm living in Japan right now, and when you go to the gym you need to wear seperate indoor tennis shoes. Unfortunately, I only brought one pair of tennis shoes with me and they are def outside.

So, I workout in bare feet. It sounds kind of gross, but it's the norm. When I go to dance practice, bare feet.

And, since I have tatami mats at home (and you can't wear shoes on them) I work out at home in bare feet.

At first, I thought it was really weird. But, I found I actually can last longer in workouts. THe other day I went to a zumba class where we had to wear shoes and THEN my feet hurt. Imagine that? Not wearing shoes makes it easier on my feet to work out.

Also, maybe I just have bad shoes?

bakerp90x

YES! I'm so glad that you started this topic. I hate working out with shoes. I'm doing P90X and I have to use shoes for plyo (lots of jumping around) but I do all the rest of the workouts barefoot. I've found that I work out better when I'm barefoot. I'm sure that's all mental, but hey, whatever works, right?

Serenitytoo

If I am working out at home I am barefoot. My livingroom is carpeted and I figure it causes less noise for the people living in the appartment below me :laugh: I ave relatvely flat feet and find it hard to find runners that fit properly that don't cause cramping in my feet or blisters. I do wear them when walking outside though.

mlb929

Count me in barefoot. I run in a Terra Plana Vivo Barefoot shoe too, I haven't bought the Vibrams because I'm too concerned about puncture vines. I'd love to run true barefoot, just haven't wanted to spend the time it will take to get my feet ready for that.

I love www.runbare.com

I even do P90X plyo barefoot. I started in a Nike Free, which I loved too.

I worked for a DPM for years and am super weird about shoes because of it. When I started running I gave up high heals now and wear an "Earth" shoe which is a reverse heal shoe to always lengthen my hamstrings.