Excercise without SHOES???? Really???

I went through a period of wearing no shoes during workouts at home but ended up with plantar fascitis. My arches had problems from all the pounding. With PF, in order to heal, you have to wear shoes from the time you get out of bed until the time you get in bed. It was VERY painful! Needless to say, I have healed but I will no longer exercise without shoes...

this isn't because you wore no shoes. it's because you didn't get used to not wearing shoes properly. it takes time.

for years and years your foot has gone into atrophy because it was surrounded by a shell, and all of a sudden you think it'll be able to run and work perfectly without any thing surrounding it?

i also developed plantar fascitis, and was told to wear shoes with tons of support, and i got custom orthodics for my work boots, but it never really healed. until i started wearing more and more minimus shoes, and stretching, and walking barefoot, and working through the pain and developing foot strength.

I found reading all the replies to this very interesting- I have almost always had shoes on to workout (my feet are almost always cold) but our bodies were made to walk around without shoes.... I have tried just walking the treadmill without shoes but the bottoms of my feet are tenderfoot land that hurt but I would imagine given time and some callouses it would work just fine but I have to ask do any of you have high arches that workout without shoes??

I looked and actually found a few stores in northern mn that sell the Vibram five finger shoes wow blow me away lol I am going to stop friday on my way through town to see what they are all about! thanks you all for telling us about them!!

Reasons to wear shoes:
- Protection from sharp objects such as glass, thorns etc
- Better grip on slippery surfaces
- Hygine

Reason not to wear shoes:
- Better balance and posture
- Builds strength in your ankles
- There is research that says that cushioning in shoes actually means that you are more likely to get injuries in the long term - however be very careful if moving to barefoot running or minimalist shoes as it will take time to build strength and technique and in the short term you are susceptable to injury.
- FREE


Conclusion:
Own shoes, use them only when necessary. If you have teh cash, have a pair of minimalist as well as cushioned shoes.


Note: I have 5 pairs of sports shoes:

- Minimalist for gym work and short runs
- 2 x Running shoes with some cushioning and support for long runs (I phase in new shoes as it takes a bit of time to break them in)
- Off road shoes for cross country running - note these have minimal padding but are more rigid than minimalist shoes
- Cycling shoes for use with cleats

.

I only do insanity barefoot. Actually....I pretty much do everything barefoot now that I think about it - except at work....only because it's frowned upon for some reason.

I love lifting barefoot

Shoes should be illegal , im sure many foot fetishisists agree :laugh:

I always exercise indoors barefoot. I would outdoors too if I wasn't going to get weird looks! I used to do climbing in my early 20s, and I found it much easier barefoot. I completely hate athletic shoes- they feel so restrictive, so even on a long walk I wear flip flops that curve to the shape of my foot. I hate winter for the fact I HAVE to wear shoes/boots outdoors.
When I was a kid my mum used to encourage us to go barefoot whenever possible- its how she grew up too.

I can't even walk around the house barefoot. I have to wear my special insoles every minute I am on my feet or it becomes so painful for me.

I don't wear shoes to weight lift but wear them on my treadmill. I trie the treadmill without shoes and the runner on the treadmill was hard on me feet. Otherwise...I prefer no shoes.

Actually I have only one pair of shoes and I have just purchased Advent white sneakers online. But I never wear it when I am doing exercise.