Excercise without SHOES???? Really???

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24

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  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    I have a really weird thought today ...

    Can you workout without shoes ie, just bare naked feet???

    I know a lot of people say its not good for your knees. What about Insanity? Can do even attempt to do Insanity with naked feet?

    I feel funny when I think of exercising without shoes really!! And I forgot to bring my sport shoes on my holiday - so please suggest what exercises I can do now??

    P.S - I love SHAUN T and CHALENE! ;)

    Go read the book "Born to Run" and then come back. Human feet are extremely complex machines. They evolved to allow us to jump and run miles without shoes. Even the advent of shoes "with support" is extremely recent compared to all of human history.

    Short answer: YES, you can exercise without shoes. Ultimately, it may actually be more beneficial for your body and feet to go without shoes entirely. (that doesn't mean you're doing anything WRONG by working out in shoes.)

    I agree with this. I lift weights without wearing shoes.

    Bear in mind though, that while the evolutionary argument is totally valid, i.e. we evolved to run etc without shoes.... there was no concrete or very hard surfaces back then. We evolved to run on natural terrain, which is softer and never completely level. Artificial surfaces like concrete which are very hard and perfectly flat, are not necessarily all that good for feet. So if you're running or doing high impact exercises on a very hard, artificial surface, then shoes that give adequate support are probably necessary.
  • thistimewillbedifferent
    thistimewillbedifferent Posts: 217 Member
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    I had always assumed it would be a bad idea to exercise without shoes, but right after I started working with a personal trainer in January, one of my toenails started to come off. It was too painful to wear even a sock over it, so I had to wear flip flops for several weeks. I didn't want to fall into old habits and use it as a reason to miss an exercise session, so I talked to my trainer and the instructor of my shadowboxing class, and they both were completely fine with my doing pretty much everything either in the flip-flops or full on barefoot. (I never use a treadmill, so that wasn't an issue.) And they were right -- I never had a problem and was able to do everything I would have done with shoes. I just washed my feet a lot more often. :-)
  • missjojo31
    missjojo31 Posts: 150
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    i never exercise at home with shoes on. they make me thud about more.
  • jessicae1aine
    jessicae1aine Posts: 885
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    If I'm at home, I usually don't wear shoes to work out.
  • BiscuitsNDavy
    BiscuitsNDavy Posts: 212 Member
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    I exercise in Uggs.
  • sarahsedai
    sarahsedai Posts: 273 Member
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    Funny, I was just thinking about this last night when I was doing a home workout without shoes. I prefer it that way. My body feels cooler and more limber or something. When I put my sneakers on this morning I felt like I was stomping around in big giant clown shoes, in comparison. Or maybe that's just cause I have giant feet to begin with. :)
  • Shelleben82
    Shelleben82 Posts: 483 Member
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    I actually bought a super pricey brand new pair of nike cross trainers for Insanity, AND i started to have knee pain during my recovery week, i finished month two barefoot and it definitely minimized the aches. i still have slight knee pain but anything that i do that is a high impact workout inside my home, im barefoot.
  • lillith1991
    lillith1991 Posts: 70
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    If avoidable I don't wear shoes even for exercise.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    I had knee problems with Insanity until I took my shoes off. Yes, you can do Insanity in bare feet. In fact, I recommend it.

    Of course, you have to make sure you have a good absorbent mat under you first, but yes, you definitely can do it.

    I now lift heavy with no shoes and love that.
  • pdiddy02
    pdiddy02 Posts: 33 Member
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    Flip flops are a good options. Thanks for the suggestion - I will def try it!:happy:
    I exercise at home without shoes, weight lifting. I use flip flops on my elliptical.
  • pdiddy02
    pdiddy02 Posts: 33 Member
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    Wow! Thanks for letting me know - I feel I shoud try it too!
    I have a really weird thought today ...

    Can you workout without shoes ie, just bare naked feet???

    I know a lot of people say its not good for your knees. What about Insanity? Can do even attempt to do Insanity with naked feet?

    I feel funny when I think of exercising without shoes really!! And I forgot to bring my sport shoes on my holiday - so please suggest what exercises I can do now??

    P.S - I love SHAUN T and CHALENE! ;)

    I strictly work out WITHOUT shoes. I even do Insanity, which I have just started (finished my first week!) and run in the elliptical without shoes. When I wear shoes, my feet start to cramp within a minute or two and it actually becomes more painful to workout so I just don't wear shoes.
  • pdiddy02
    pdiddy02 Posts: 33 Member
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    I have a really weird thought today ...

    Can you workout without shoes ie, just bare naked feet???

    I know a lot of people say its not good for your knees. What about Insanity? Can do even attempt to do Insanity with naked feet?

    I feel funny when I think of exercising without shoes really!! And I forgot to bring my sport shoes on my holiday - so please suggest what exercises I can do now??

    P.S - I love SHAUN T and CHALENE! ;)

    Go read the book "Born to Run" and then come back. Human feet are extremely complex machines. They evolved to allow us to jump and run miles without shoes. Even the advent of shoes "with support" is extremely recent compared to all of human history.

    Short answer: YES, you can exercise without shoes. Ultimately, it may actually be more beneficial for your body and feet to go without shoes entirely. (that doesn't mean you're doing anything WRONG by working out in shoes.)

    That's new to me. I didn't know that! I will surely read the book - thanks for the recommendation :happy:
  • kelly101386
    kelly101386 Posts: 389 Member
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    I use shows for planks and push ups and stuff because they give me traction, everything else I go shoeless for x
  • Maidofmer
    Maidofmer Posts: 908 Member
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    I work out at home in bare feet. doesn't matter if I wear shoes, the carpet slides no matter what.
  • Keenasgettingfitnhealthy
    Keenasgettingfitnhealthy Posts: 169
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    I rarely wear shoes at home. So I've done zumba and 30DS without shoes. Also I've got a set of dumbells and a home gym machine which I also don't use shoes with. Only time I wear shoes exercising is outside haha
  • PrimalGirl
    PrimalGirl Posts: 148 Member
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    I wear 'barefoot' shoes in the gym, because you have to wear something, and to run, and the rest of the time, working out in the house or the garden, i'm totally barefoot.

    My feet, ankles and calves are much, MUCH stronger because of it. I have lots of flexibility in my toes, soles of my feet and ankles now which I never used to have. I also rarely twist my ankle these days when moving over uneven surfaces because my feet are more used to adjusting.

    I also have better posture and better balance.

    Go naked!!

    PrimalGirl
  • AnguishLanguish
    AnguishLanguish Posts: 149 Member
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    I have started doing my insanity workouts without shoes because I feel I have better control over my landing, feet and ankles this way. If after a week or so I notice any issues I will try again with shoes to see how I feel.
  • pdiddy02
    pdiddy02 Posts: 33 Member
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    I work out without shoes on all the time. I do Turbofire, P90X, Firm workouts and Walk Away the Pounds all in bare feet. I used to do Taekwondo at a studio and we were required to workout barefoot. Since I love being barefoot it was only natural that I ended up without shoes at home too. I should mention that I have foam tiles on the floor where I workout so it's not like I'm directly on a hard floor but it's not super cushy or springy either.

    I totally hear ya! Its a new thing I learned today - to workout barefoot, and so happy today!
  • SleeplessinBerlin
    SleeplessinBerlin Posts: 513 Member
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    I do Insanity without shoes. I also did all my other workouts at home (30 day shred, Ripped in 30) without them.I do however get shin splints easily if I work out on the floor (or thin carpet). For that reason I use a workout mat.
  • maisid
    maisid Posts: 69 Member
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    I have a love / hate relationship with shoes!! The shoes I walk in around and use for a daily usage have to be at least a size larger than what I would normally wear, I need to be able to move my toes at any time.

    When it comes to exercising I tend to start out with shoes, especially in Zumba class, but after 5 minutes my feet hurt so much I take them off.
    Insanity I tried for 3 days with shoes and it was terrible, I haven't done Insanity with shoes ever since.
    Kickboxing without shoes as well.
    The only workout I do with shoes is actually boxing, but probably because I do not move that much while boxing ;) , so my feet do not hurt.

    Because of my weird shoe-feet relationship, I have been looking at shoes that give a somewhat barefoot feeling as the Nike free tr fit 3 does. So I will probably end up buying those shoes to get the barefoot feeling my feet are craving.

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