BAREFOOT RUNNING SHOE

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nubreeze33
nubreeze33 Posts: 270
in Fitness and Exercise
I am thinking about getting a pair even though they are some of the funniest shoes i've ever seen. They look so super comfy. I on occasion have some circulation problems with my toes........only during my work outs if i'm longer than half an hour. I would just like any feed back available. And I apologize in advance if this isn't posted in the correct place. Have a great week ahead.

http://barefootrunningshoes.org/vibram-fivefingers/women/fivefingers-bikila-women/

Replies

  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    :laugh: I don't even know what to say about these.

    But I can say that I have a couple of pairs of "toe socks." They look comfy, and for the first few minutes they are. But the material between the toes irritates them after a while because my toes prefer just air inbetween them. Also, because the toes aren't rubbing against each other, they tend to get very cold very quickly since it is the body heat from other nearby toes that greatly helps to warm them up.

    But, that's just socks that looks like these shoes...I've never tried the shoes so I can't say for sure if the problems would be the same.
  • jim0822
    jim0822 Posts: 19
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    My son has a pair of these and uses them during his strength training routines - they give you more grip with each of your toes for better balance. He loves them. I have used them during yoga for the same reason. They take awhile to get used to - I might suggest wearing them around the house. Neither of us has tried them for running but the philosophy is the same - supposed to be like running barefoot but I don't know anyone who runs barefoot. The sizes are way different from regular shoes (at least the Vibram Five Fingers brand) so I would not suggest mail order - try them on.
  • Amcantar
    Amcantar Posts: 43 Member
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    When I was going to a physical therapist, I brought these up and she told me they were a commitment. Idealy, you are supposed to wean yourself into these shoes and then use them, and only them, all the time. She said you shouldn't go back and forth between toe shoes and regular sneakers for extended periods because they balance your weight and stride differently and until you adjust to their you will be doing yourself more harm than good over correcting each time your body re-adjusts to the other type of shoe.
  • AdventureVia
    AdventureVia Posts: 84 Member
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    yup! I am a barefoot runner and I still only do like one day a week with my VFF's. I love them though. I also bought toe socks to wear with them to keep my feet warm and to keep the VFF"s from getting too smelly.

    There is loads of information out there about barefoot running. Check out www.birthdayshoes.com and their forums. Loads of super helpful folks over there, all who are in love with the shoes. Take the part about working into them seriously though, our feet and calves aren't used to what should be natural and it's easy to over do it at the start, I did.
  • Cytherea
    Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
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    I've never worn them myself, but I interviewed a girl once who was wearing them (not sure if they were the running kind though!). I asked her about them because I'd never seen anything like it before. She swore by them; said that they were the best shoes she's ever worn. I really like the idea myself, because I prefer being barefoot, but they were just wayyyy to expensive for me.
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    I wear compression toe socks - and a barefoot shoe called a Terra Plana based upon the recommendation of my podiatrist. I live in an area of numerous goat heads or puncture vine and no one can tell me if the Vibrams are safe when running with this type of thing - even email to company I was told they didn't know.

    That said - YES, break them in slowly. I was running about 15 miles per long run and decided to run a short 4 mile run my first time out - I was too sore to run for 2 days. I was running in a Nike Free and after my marathon switched to the Terra Plana totally after that.

    I'm a non-shoe person tho - I'm never in shoes when given the opportunity.
    Check out runebare.com
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I absolutely love my Vibrams! I can go up to 4 miiles in them now. Hoping to continue to build on that.
  • utamore
    utamore Posts: 53
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    I tried on Vibrams and did not like them because the sizing was not "just right" for my feet (not to mention my left foot is a half-inch bigger than my right). I use Newton shoes instead and absolutely love them--similar concept, which is to say, they are built for people who run on the balls of their feet (the "natural" way) rather than the evil heel-strikers, but they are more like a normal shoe than Vibrams and they also have posting for if you pronate (like most people do). For that last reason alone, I'd recommend Newton over Vibram even if Vibrams feel good to you--if you pronate when you run, you'll want to have some arch support.

    http://www.newtonrunning.com/

    (I do not work for Newton or anything like that)
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member
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    I tried on Vibrams and did not like them because the sizing was not "just right" for my feet (not to mention my left foot is a half-inch bigger than my right). I use Newton shoes instead and absolutely love them--similar concept, which is to say, they are built for people who run on the balls of their feet (the "natural" way) rather than the evil heel-strikers, but they are more like a normal shoe than Vibrams and they also have posting for if you pronate (like most people do). For that last reason alone, I'd recommend Newton over Vibram even if Vibrams feel good to you--if you pronate when you run, you'll want to have some arch support.

    http://www.newtonrunning.com/

    (I do not work for Newton or anything like that)

    Looked up the Link for Newton. Thanks. Can't justify the price, though.

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