Are shoes important for all exercising?

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Melinda77w
Melinda77w Posts: 96
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Everyone,

I'm fairly new here, just feeling my way around mfp atm....I;m wondering if it's vital to wear sneakers with every exercise you do.?..I have a mini stepper here at home & i often jump on it in socks or bare footed. Is that causing me damage?
thanks :smile:

Replies

  • srp2011
    srp2011 Posts: 1,829 Member
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    I do the same thing, so hopefully not :-) Seriously, I've done it for years with no ill effects. But, for running, I make sure I have properly fitted running shoes on.
  • fastbelly
    fastbelly Posts: 727 Member
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    If they were I'm sure you wouldn't have the Five Fingers from Vibram to simulate running barefoot. :wink:
  • Zipit57
    Zipit57 Posts: 9
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    I usually pull on shoes. The older I get, the more important my feet are!
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    If they were I'm sure you wouldn't have the Five Fingers from Vibram to simulate running barefoot. :wink:

    I was going to say that it's a hot new thing to stimulate bare-foot exercise. So no...I think it's fine. Cavemen didn't have fancy foot gear.
  • erylie
    erylie Posts: 34
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    For me... I do 30 day shred barefoot (It cools me down a LOT to not have sneakers on!)

    HOWEVER, as far as machines and running... I always wear sneakers now. I was doing some jogging inside barefoot for a while, and hurt my ankle. I couldn't figure out what had happened , and then a friend told me the same thing happened to her when she ran barefoot! I wore a brace for a couple days, and I was fine... but... I'd be careful if the exercising is something that could put stress on your ankle, or cause you to overcompensate for a flat arch or something else like that... Just my uneducated thoughts :-)
  • TTHdred
    TTHdred Posts: 380 Member
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    Depends on how much and how hard. Any type of running or plyo exercise, would benefit from shoes that offer proper support. Most strength training (outside of circuit training with often requires both) won’t need any special support in shoes. Just using a step machine may not call of anything special in shoes, but I personally would wear a little more than socks. It helps (I think) with the way you work your muscles.
  • icerose137
    icerose137 Posts: 318 Member
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    Listen to your body. It will happily tell you when you're doing something wrong.
  • Melinda77w
    Melinda77w Posts: 96
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    I think i'll go the shoes for things, just incase, lol....but i guess i shouldnt feel too bad now for the times i quickly jump on the stepper without shoes, lol. Sorry if it seemed like a silly question, it's just i get sore feet naturally alot, and i wasnt sure if i was doing more damage to them by using equipment bare footed.

    lamb shanking you very much for your opinions, lol :tongue: thanks again, have a great day.
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
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    I don't wear shoes at all when I'm exercising. I do mostly videos like ChaLEAN Xtreme, Jillian videos, and Insanity. I haaaate shoes!

    But for running or walking I wear shoes...just because I don't have anywhere that I can run barefoot (like soft grass).

    And if you're going to wear shoes...get GOOD shoes. Wrong shoes can wreck your feet and knees more than going without shoes. I know three sisters who did Insanity together and two didn't wear shoes but the one did (not the greatest quality shoes either) and she messed up her knees really badly. Granted, it was probably a combination of things, but the shoes didn't help any. So definitely put some money into getting a good pair if you do.
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
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    Nope! My trainer is a former gymnast, and we do a lot of my strength and cardio barefoot. Unless I'm on the treadmill or outside, I usually dont wear shoes....
  • Autumn1206
    Autumn1206 Posts: 126
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    I was having a debate with a buddy at work about running barefoot, and I used that exact same line about "cavemen never had shoes" and he retorted - "well cavemen also had a life expectancy of 35, so they probably didn't have to worry too much about tendonitis". I thought it was a good point. That said, how do the five fingers work for running on concrete trail? I don't really have access where I live to earth or track trails.
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
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    If they were I'm sure you wouldn't have the Five Fingers from Vibram to simulate running barefoot. :wink:


    Indeed. Wearing shoes makes our muscles weaker
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
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    If they were I'm sure you wouldn't have the Five Fingers from Vibram to simulate running barefoot. :wink:


    Indeed. Wearing shoes makes our muscles weaker

    Exactly. Going barefoot uses sooo many different muscles. When you wear shoes you don't have the need for those muscles anymore so they get weaker and weaker. And some people if they wear shoes their whole lives then start working out barefoot will injure themselves because they've weakened their feet so much but if you're used to being barefoot all the time then you should be fine.
  • rankailie
    rankailie Posts: 144
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    I was having a debate with a buddy at work about running barefoot, and I used that exact same line about "cavemen never had shoes" and he retorted - "well cavemen also had a life expectancy of 35, so they probably didn't have to worry too much about tendonitis". I thought it was a good point. That said, how do the five fingers work for running on concrete trail? I don't really have access where I live to earth or track trails.

    I run and walk on concrete all the time in my Vibrams I do occasionally get blisters but its nothing mole skin won't help with.

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