Barefoot Running tips PLEASE!!

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  • SunnyFitt
    SunnyFitt Posts: 34 Member
    Interesting thread! A question: I have, and have always had, a very loose ankle and I easily flip and hirt myself. Is it then good or bad for me to try out these barefoot-shoes?

    Also - I have had to quit running for a while because of an inflammation in my hip due to my running style (one hip seems to be much stronger than the other causing this). I have been working out in the gym instead. I would like to start easing into running again since I really miss it. Do you think these shoes might be good for fighting my hip problem?
  • LessJos
    LessJos Posts: 113 Member
    check out http://beginningbarefoot.com
    Dawsy is the man!
  • LessJos
    LessJos Posts: 113 Member
    Interesting thread! A question: I have, and have always had, a very loose ankle and I easily flip and hirt myself. Is it then good or bad for me to try out these barefoot-shoes?

    Also - I have had to quit running for a while because of an inflammation in my hip due to my running style (one hip seems to be much stronger than the other causing this). I have been working out in the gym instead. I would like to start easing into running again since I really miss it. Do you think these shoes might be good for fighting my hip problem?

    I broke my ankle once really badly and am scared of rolling and hurting my ankles ever since. That's one reason why I love my Vibram Five Fingers so much. There is no sole with an edge! And you can feel then uneven ground underneath your feet. I read a comment once saying "with the VFF it feels like I can see with my feet" That totally describes what it feels like!

    I don't know about your hip problem but why don't you try it? Make sure you EASE into running with VFF though. You might be fine walking around with them but running will definitely get you sore in the beginning.
  • tappae
    tappae Posts: 568 Member
    but I cannot see how one could run that way on pavement, at least how you could run fast.

    Actually it's a lot comfier than you'd think! I'm a Vibram girl, not quite barefoot, but I find that when I run on pavement it forces me to remember to be light on my feet, and focus on lifting my feet as opposed to pounding the ground. I find it more painful to walk than jog on pavement, actually. :-)

    I haven't had any trouble with the Vibrams on the pavement, either. It still hurts if I step on a rock or something, but I can't feel the texture of the tarmac. Before getting them, I tried to run totally barefoot on pavement and that was a terrible idea. At least, it was bad to go from always wearing shoes to that. If you walk around all the time barefoot (including on pavement) then it would probably work out. As it was, the roughness of the street really hurt my feet. I only managed a very slow mile and then I got terribly ill (weakened my resistance?). The Vibrams have been great in that regard, but I'm not sure they're made for my type of foot (very wide). I'm not getting blisters anymore, but I'm still happy to take them off. Also, mine aren't waterproof at all so if you run through a puddle or mud you're going to feel that. I'm about to strap them on for an easy 5 miles.
  • tappae
    tappae Posts: 568 Member
    but I cannot see how one could run that way on pavement, at least how you could run fast.

    I actually lost less speed than I expected (maybe :30 per mile). Now that I'm training for a marathon, though, I'm doing most of my runs very slow and the Vibrams are helping to keep me in check.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    but I cannot see how one could run that way on pavement, at least how you could run fast.

    I actually lost less speed than I expected (maybe :30 per mile). Now that I'm training for a marathon, though, I'm doing most of my runs very slow and the Vibrams are helping to keep me in check.

    Right, simply running on pavement I see no issues with, but as you move faster the forces in your feet increase, especially running downrill. Going downhill really fast can be rough on the legs even with shoes on. Same applies any time you'd break into a sprint or near sprint. The amount of force you apply (or have to apply in the case of going downhill) to the pavement is directly related to how fast you are going

    Obviously if you aren't trying to run fast this isn't an issue at all. When not on pavement though you have that little extra softness that shoes give you on pavement that allow you to speed up a good bit.

    Running on pavement isn't all that different than kicking a brick wall. Obviously getting the form right to really minimize the foces in your leg is ideal, but the fact remains that you are more or less spending a half hour, hour, or more essentially kicking a brick wall. You can kick real soft (run slow) and do it without shoes, but if you want to kick it hard, shoes help.
  • super_soprano13
    super_soprano13 Posts: 7
    I have lax joints in general (I can press my thumb completely flush to the wrist right underneath) my ankles would constantly roll, my knees locked, hips would pop out of joint like crazy. I thought it was fixed with a good pair of running shoes and a pair of nice orthotics. It did help start me on the right path. I no longer tripped over flat ground in flat shoes, I could walk in heels without falling over or hurting myself, but I was still limping, I was still in pain and I was still having problems. So I started wearing toms classics daily to teach. It didn't do much for my limp, but I could stand all day and my legs didn't get tired. My knees didn't lock while conducting. I could demonstrate proper singing posture for the kids. That's part of my weight loss journey is to improve myself as a singer. See, the way I figure, my posture will improve if I'm not carrying around all this extra stuff on my body. My breathing will improve if my posture improves. My tone improves if my breathing improves. My vocal model being better means my choirs get better. And my vocal control improving means I can use a lighter head voice to demonstrate and not scare the living day lights out of younger kids. High school kids LOVE to hear you sing like you sing. Elementary and middle schoolers are still suffering with that "only talented people sing" thing that we beat into people in the US (god it's awful. Singing and dancing are two of the first things kids just...do for the hell of it. Then we beat it out of them. We just steal their creativity. Just like we teach them not to run. And we wonder why we have anger, violence, obesity and depression issues in most of the countries in the world) so yeah. Anyways, back to the subject at hand, with the vibrams, sure at first I felt a little wary, but I realized the stabilizer muscles were relearning their job, and that's the point! :) It'll take a little time, but I promise you, be patient, go slow, read everything you can about it and it will help. We start off barefoot. We should stay that way (or as close as we can.) I stick to toms and vibrams as much as I can. The toms stretch so much that it's like not wearing shoes.
  • awheewall
    awheewall Posts: 3
    You should try doing the 100-Up exercise. This will teach you the correct form. It's not just about removing the padded trainers, although that's how everyone starts. Check out my blog to see the various mistakes I've made along the way to becoming a barefoot runner. http://barefoot.wheewall.com/archive
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    I'm a big girl, very early in on my running journey, but I did a 5k race for life the other day. I didn't run it all, only about half of it (which for me is miraculous at the moment), but I was wearing vivo barefoot shoes, and I've got to say it was the most comfortable run. While I saw and heard other people tripping over when the surface would change, I could feel far more, and never felt close to tripping up. I broke my ankle exactly a year ago, in fact today i would have been having x-rays. My ankle is weak, and I notice if I work it the wrong way, but even after the run on sunday, it was fine.
    So I'm a barefoot convert. Just need to get out there and learn how to run a full 5k for starters! xx
  • DrJamesStoxenDC
    DrJamesStoxenDC Posts: 11
    Dr James Stoxen DC, President, Team Doctors The Barefoot Running Doctor

    Doctors don't seem to know how to restore but many know how to put more braces like motion control shoes, orthotics, arch inserts, canes, walkers, wheelchairs until you are bedridden.

    If you want to be a barefoot runner, the key is to strengthen the muscles that resist the impacts which I call the landing muscles, the spring suspension system muscles or the pronation supination cuff muscles

    Here are my last three articles you might find helpful:

    How Does The Body Spring Back Safely From Impacts Of Running and Walking?

    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/06/13/video-tutorial-12-is-running-bad-for-knees-how-the-body-springs-back-safely-from-impacts-of-running/

    Self-Tests & Exercises To Reduce Over Pronation and Over Supination From Impacts During Walking and Running

    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/06/18/video-tutorial-28-the-impact-absorbing-landing-muscles-of-the-human-spring-mechanism-testing-and-training-the-spring-suspension-muscles/

    Video Tutorial #174 Barefoot Running? What If I Step On Something?
    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/04/30/video-tutorial-174-what-if-i-step-on-something-part-1/

    Stress Fracture Of the Second Metatarsal – Self Help Tips to Treatment and Prevention from The Barefoot Running Doctor
    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/05/25/stress-fracture-mid-shaft2nd-metatarsal-is-it-healed/

    Cracking Achy Knee Pain or Chondromalacia Patella – Treatment and Prevention Tips from The Barefoot Running Doctor
    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/05/25/cracking-achy-knee-pain-or-chondromalacia-patella-treatment-and-prevention-tips-from-the-barefoot-running-doctor/

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