Vibram Five Fingers

kaylacollinscna

I love my Vibrams! I got mine on Saturday, and on Monday I started wearing them all day. It took me until today to master running in them. They say you should take it slow to adjust in order to prevent injury. Many will probably want to take it slower than I have, lol.
In the first couple of days I was wearing them with no socks, but when I first tried to run in them my shoes had already been very moist from sweating and the back of my right foot chafed. That issue has been resolved after wearing socks.
Now i'm not looking forward to going to work and wearing my regular shoes. Can't wear them where I work.

heybales

Thanks for starting this thread. I too have been wanting to get some, but I'm nervous b/c they aren't cheap and I'd hate to hate them. Saying that, I'm mostly a bare-footer anyway, I hate socks, and only wear flip-flops and ballet flats. Something about putting a gigantic shoe on to work out in totally feels wrong to me. My concern is that I'm not in the best shape (yet) and I'm worried about running/walking on hard surfaces. Wouldn't that be painful on one's heels/toes?

If you get them, up-date the thread and let us (me) know what you think!

They aren't painful on heels because one heel strike jogging and you won't do that again.
You will have to land mid-foot, taking the shock with the muscles, not joints.
No problem with toes, since those can't exactly be strong enough to push off with anyway.

I prefer the Merrill Trail and Road Gloves. Same Vibram sole, wide toe box to stretch toes out, 1-2 mm neoprene layer for some protection, and much quicker to put on, and better toe protection when actually on trails.

You can start right now landing mid-foot, not on the heel. Have to do faster turnover or foot landings, about 90 cycles, or 180 footsteps per minute. So shorter strides since you can't get foot out in front of you.
Starting now with current shoes will help get calves stronger since they help absorb shock with quads, and get technique down.
When you switch, not so bad.

darylewb

I would wear mine everywhere if I could. If you decide to run in them, as mentioned above, start out with only a fraction of your normal distance. I didn't. I pulled them out of the box, put them on my feet and ran six miles. My calf muscles were NOT happy.

After running in them for a few years, I can go any distance in them without no problems. On the other hand if I wear traditional running shoes, my knees and back kill me after a long run.


They would be great for yoga or any other kind of exercising. Your toes can get a grip on stuff while you wear them.

jennifer_417

I don't like stuff between my toes, so I don't think I would like them. I've also heard that they are bad for your feet.

upsidedownjelly

Vibrams are the only shoes I can run in now. I had Plantar Fasciitis and once I got it under control I found that vibrams are the only running shoes that don't aggravate it. I did a lot of walking in mine before running in them, just to get used to them.

They are a little weird at first, and each style fits a little different... I can wear the Bikila LS no problems but I put the Komodo Sport LS on and can't stand it. So try a few til you get the right fit.

I have very bad PF and was wondering about this. Thanks for the insight. Did it change the way you run? I don't mind the way they look, but I always wondered if losing the protective feel of regular or PF stabilized sneakers would freak me out.

Off topic, cute dog!

You do have to run more on the ball of your foot in Vibrams, if you are a big heel striker it kills... I never really focused on how I ran before, so I can't say if my gait changed at all, but I seem to be running properly in them now.

I feel they help with my PF because they are so minimal. My foot muscles are being stretched in ways that a normal running shoe prohibits.

I will be honest, I hadn't had a flare up in about a year before I used Vibrams, but every other running shoe I had tried up to that point gave me that achey-oh-crap feeling in my heel. I also had a significant ankle injury that changed my gait a little, and caused shoes that were fine before to kill my feet.

I also swear by Keens and since I started wearing them, I can work 15 hour days on my feet with no problems whatsoever... No insoles necessary!

And thank you, my dog appreciates the complement too

Bardane

Buy the newbalance minimus still vibram sole but not weird looking. I love them so much I bought two pairs.

Me too. Hated the 5 fingers, I have very short, slightly arthritic toes - wasn't going to happen :ohwell: The minimus though work well for me. I find them great for weights, kettlebells, and general walking. Saving up for a second pair.

Cobnut

I love my VFFs! I've had my Spyridons for about 3 months now and I can feel how much stronger my lower legs and feet have got. The only thing with them is that it's very important to start slowly in them, even if you're already fit (or think you are!), as they work muscles that aren't used if wearing ordinary shoes; people get injured trying to do too much too soon. I started by going walking in them over progressively longer distances and over rougher and rougher terrain before even considering running in them. But I still nearly came a cropper when I got a little too keen when starting running and got what I thought was the beginning of a medial shin splint. So I had to rein it in, stop running until I'd built up more strength in my calves. I've been running a bit when out walking and it's OK now, and I'm starting a couch to 5k plan tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get as fit as when I ran 10k races (in normal running shoes) 17 years ago, but this time in my beloved VFFs :happy: