Does Anyone Else Exercise Barefoot?

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bfrice1
bfrice1 Posts: 62
in Health and Weight Loss
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, B) 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.
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Replies

  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
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    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
    rodegghero Posts: 212 Member
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    I do Too! But after I had a baby my feet hurt if I do it too much
  • nmoreland
    nmoreland Posts: 183 Member
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    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
    Kate_UK Posts: 1,299 Member
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    I do too, I'm also too lazy to put shoes and socks on!
  • lanie13
    lanie13 Posts: 55
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    Only when I do the Yoga Meltdown. Otherwise I have on sneakers that have some kind of 'technology' to them :)
  • krisvtx8777
    krisvtx8777 Posts: 163
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    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
    TopKat Posts: 13 Member
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    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
    ethel64 Posts: 91
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    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
    Briacha Posts: 160 Member
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    I do too!
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    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
    trish70 Posts: 3
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    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
    oysterboy Posts: 31 Member
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    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
    Dlibo1013 Posts: 883 Member
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    i do 50% of the time :-)
  • samwarrick
    samwarrick Posts: 7
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    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
    ethel64 Posts: 91
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    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
    foreverjade Posts: 213 Member
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    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
    costendorf Posts: 3
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    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
    kacarter1017 Posts: 651 Member
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    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
    Jess21684 Posts: 202 Member
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    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
    Altiv Posts: 174 Member
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    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 :(

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