Shoes or bare feet?

age_is_just_a_number
age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
edited March 2021 in Fitness and Exercise
Workout/exercise at home question:
Do you exercise wearing shoes or bare feet?
Any reasons why you make that choice?
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Replies

  • nookicky
    nookicky Posts: 16 Member
    I gag at the thought of outdoor shoes being worn in my house, and I don't own any indoor only sport shoes, so it's barefoot all the way for me. Plus, I feel like I connect better to my body when I'm barefoot. Another plus, I dance and do aerial arts, and pointed toes are a huuuuge thing in that, so I always like to be able to work on my foot flexibility as well, which only really works when not wearing shoes.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Bare foot at home. Never even considered putting on shoes. I workout in my LR on top of a lovely area rug. For yoga I spread a small quilt on it.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    Shoes, always. I wear flexible barefoot-type shoes but I can't abide working out in bare, sweaty feet. I use heavy weights a lot and although my shoes would obviously not withstand a weight dropped on them they do protect my feet if I scrape a weight against them.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I workout indoors/bare feet - even lifting weights I'm bare footed, not a fan of wearing any shoes in the house in general.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited March 2021
    I wear shoes for the spin bike (because it would hurt barefoot) and for weights (basement cement floor). I always have had a pair of indoor light weight running shoes that I don’t wear outside ever since I got my treadmill like 10 years ago. I wouldn’t do any of those things barefoot - but my shoes are minimalist shoes so idk maybe I could. If I am doing yoga it is barefoot. I never wear shoes in my house other than to workout in.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,027 Member
    If I'm indoors in my home, it's always bare foot. I don't wear shoes in house. In my garage, shoes. In the gym, on leg day I wear either a minimalist shoe or my Otomix when I do legs.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Bare feet indoors, except for my bike trainer, where I where my bike shoes.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,885 Member
    Treadmill -> running shoes
    Rowing -> a pair of old running shoes (barefoot/just socks would be painful)
    Strength training -> sneakers with a thin sole (protection for my feet, and my garage doesn't have the cleanest floor :D and the thin sole helps me keep my stability, as opposed to springy soles)

    For the rare time I do other exercise (calisthenics for example), I do that in my living room, so usually just socks then.
  • PapillonNoire
    PapillonNoire Posts: 76 Member
    I used to always exercise barefoot indoors until I developed a terrible bout of plantar fasciitis last year. Now I pretty much have to wear supportive sneakers all time. It's a bummer because I love the feeling of being barefoot.
  • shawnfxp
    shawnfxp Posts: 39 Member
    I work out in the garage, so when I'm lifting I wear shoes. When kickboxing I wear socks. Hate the way the garage floor feels on my feet.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    Shoes...I like the support.
    I have a pair that are only for my indoor workouts, so they stay clean and never go outside.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,192 Member
    I am never barefoot, except at the beach. I have lots of tile in the house (carpet in the bedrooms only) and my feet hurt if I have to give more than few steps without shoes, and I don't like the feel of any kind of flooring on my feet. I do wear indoor slip-on shoes in the house.

    I do some yoga and calisthenics in one of the carpeted rooms (gym is closed) but I use my yoga mat on top of the carpet; so yes, I am barefoot when I do these indoors exercises. At the gym, I always wear athletic shoes. Nothing else is allowed anyway, and I like the support and protection.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The only thing I do in my house is Zwift on my indoor bike trainer, so I wear my road riding shoes. In general, we have a no shoes in the house rule so I'm either in my socks or have my indoor slipper shoes on walking around the house. I go to the gym to lift.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Anything but treadmill is barefoot...
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,617 Member
    In my main sport, there are normally shoes attached to the equipment (rowing shell), so shoes, usually much too large because multiple people use the same shells. A few shells have something we call clogs (kind of a shaped, strap-in foot plate) instead of shoes, so one usually wears water shoes in those, but socks are OK if not too slippery.

    Spinning or biking, shoes. (Hurts without.)
    Machine rowing, socks (too much abrasion barefoot), but most people wear shoes IME. When I did in-person machine races, I was the only one there racing without shoes.
    Anything with impact, shoes (bad knees; cushioning helps).
    Yoga, lifting, floor exercises at my house, barefoot or socks, depending on how warm I feel.

    I hate shoes. I only wear them when I have a good reason. There are lots of muscles and joints in feet; why do I want to immobilize them unnecessarily?
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,371 Member
    Indoors I wear moccasins. I have dogs and I don't want to know what those 8 little furry feet are tracking into the house. Barefoot isn't an option anyway as I have to wear compression stockings and with the price of those things I'm better off protecting them.

    I workout in the basement and usually wear a different pair of thin leather moccasins, some things I'm barefoot. I get better traction with moccasins than bare skin and it's a lot warmer. The floor is laminate over concrete and it's pretty cold.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    Bare. I’m a runner, trail and pavement. It just feels more fun, free and natural for me, but I realize I am not “normal” :D:D:D
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,145 Member
    I prefer not having shoes on at all especially for meditation and yoga. Obviously anything outdoor sports or on the stationary bike I wear shoes. I hate wearing shoes at all because I have nerve damage in my feet so it hurts more but I don't have any sensory feeling as far as being able to tell when I cut myself so I need to wear them more often.
  • jennloella1
    jennloella1 Posts: 4 Member
    cardio like elliptical or running in running shoes, for lifting I like Chucks. I cannot stand not having shoes on.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    I prefer to be barefoot indoors (and if it were more socially acceptable I would probably not wear shoes outdoors in warm weather, to be quite honest) so I'm encouraged to see so many people say they work out without shoes unless the floor is dirty or hard (like in a garage). The YouTubers I have been following all wear shoes and it just seems so unnatural to me, especially since I'm mostly doing calisthenics and don't have to worry about things like dropping a dumbbell on my foot.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I was barefoot a lot more before developing knee issues. Now I like the support. Still barefoot for yoga.

    I have indoor-only shoes.

    When I lived in Okinawa my landlord was adamant about no shoes in the house, and I liked that policy, and wish I could convince family members to do the same, or at least have indoor-only shoes.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    After 2 broken toes, ripping ligaments in both ankles, and wearing out my plant plate on one foot, it's shoes. Always. Even in the shower.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Socks for dancing, bare feet for everything else.
  • siobhanaoife
    siobhanaoife Posts: 151 Member
    Shoes for elliptical because the treads hurt my feet otherwise.

    Shoes for weight bearing exercise in general because I need the support to prevent knee injuries and accommodate some foot problems.
  • Arralethe
    Arralethe Posts: 222 Member
    Yoga is barefoot, on my mat. Lifting or aerobics is in trainers, for foot and ankle support.
  • netitheyeti
    netitheyeti Posts: 539 Member
    I have socks that have rubber on the soles, I use those when I'm at my apartment... if I'm visiting my parents I have a pair of shoes I only use inside the house
  • tapwaters
    tapwaters Posts: 428 Member
    edited March 2021
    Shoes, I have flat feet and doing any home gym equipment barefooted would risk injury. Plus, having proper arch support helps proper form and efficiency.
  • Whatsthemotive
    Whatsthemotive Posts: 145 Member
    I wear some sort of supportive shoe all the time. I even have slippers from an orthopedic shoe store. I have unusual foot and ankle issues though.
  • cyfehr76
    cyfehr76 Posts: 45 Member
    Non-weight workouts especially kickboxing...barefoot. It helps with balance. Anything else...shoes.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    I use a pair of crocs for my elliptical trainer but barefoot for weight training, stretching and yoga.

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