What’s with all the flood of running barefoot articles and research and Nike shoes? There’s some cool info coming out about running barefoot and how your foot is designed for no shoes. And then in David’s article there’s Arnold squatting barefoot. Does anyone workout barefoot or do the chuck taylor’s do the same thing? Has anyone run barefoot?
I’m curious about this also. I train at home so I can go barefoot whenever I want to.
J
I train at home. Because I have shitty calves, wearing shoes seemed to restrict the stretch of calf work, and I kept shredding sneakers, I started lifting barefoot about a year ago. Helped my calf development a little bit, reduced the wear and tear on sneaks, but that’s about it.
I used to run barefoot when I was in high school, but haven’t since.
i got flat foot and a knee problem that was caused by it as well as other factors, so i wear special shoes everyday that are supposed to mimic the foot and leg movments if you’re barefoot or walking on soft surfaces like sand. MBT is the brand name. But i dont think its a good idea for me to train with them because they depend on the constant change in pressure from back to front of foot and i dont think i wanna squat and push straight down the middle on it… hard to explain… but anyway when squatting i use running shoes that have a stabilizer or roll guard to keep my foot from pronating cause of the flat foot.
there’s also another brand that makes shoes , something called negative heel technologies or something… supposedly when you walk barefoot in sand the heel sinks deeper than the front of the foot, which is the opposite of what modern day shoes do to you… so these shoes have a lower heel to mimic walking on a beach… haven’t tried them tho, im happy with my MBT’s cause they keep all my leg muscles working all the time and give me a nice calf workout when i walk (because of which i always skip calf raises in my programs)
I train bare fott except I will throw sandle/slippers on when doing calf raise on a rasied board.
I LIKE IT
Like the others though I work out at home.
Shoes are a good idea if you plan on running on hard surfaces like asphalt. Or if you run a lot (whatever that is).
Otherwise, I’ve gotten yelled at plenty of times for not wearing shoes in the weight room.
I love squatting and deadlifting barefoot. It is the best. You feel rocksolid and the pushoff is direct and powerful. You can really dig your heels in and push through your whole foot, really using the power in the arch of your foot. You can really get your foot flat and wide. If you squat or deadlift in your running shoes or athletic shoes you wear around, check for wear patterns in the sole and inside.
With shoes on I found myself pushing through the outside of my foot and not feeling able to push through my big toe. I also found my knees tracking differently through the lift with shoes on. Squatting and deadlifting barefoot consistently now for awhile has resulted in definite str. gains for me. I loved running barefoot in deep sand at the beach years ago in college. Great for sprinting cardio and calf soreness!
I train barefoot or with the Chuck Taylors.
[quote]outlawkayak wrote:
What’s with all the flood of running barefoot articles and research and Nike shoes? There’s some cool info coming out about running barefoot and how your foot is designed for no shoes. And then in David’s article there’s Arnold squatting barefoot. Does anyone workout barefoot or do the chuck taylor’s do the same thing? Has anyone run barefoot?
[/quote]
Dude, get outta my head! I was thinking the same thing - between the Nike Free shoes and the pictures of Arnold in the barefoot squats (I’ve seen a bunch of photos of him training barefoot). Has anyone actually tried on a pair of these new Nikes? I am pretty intrigued.
[quote]outlawkayak wrote:
What’s with all the flood of running barefoot articles and research and Nike shoes? There’s some cool info coming out about running barefoot and how your foot is designed for no shoes. And then in David’s article there’s Arnold squatting barefoot. Does anyone workout barefoot or do the chuck taylor’s do the same thing? Has anyone run barefoot?
[/quote]
I run (jog) barefoot on the beach (fairly hard sand) and it really works the muscles inside your feet - between the bones and in the arches. I’m not sure what that’s good for, other than the ability to run barefoot.
[quote]silencer wrote:
i got flat foot and a knee problem that was caused by it as well as other factors, so i wear special shoes everyday that are supposed to mimic the foot and leg movments if you’re barefoot or walking on soft surfaces like sand.
[/quote]
I had flat feet when I was young. My ankles rolled inward and the ankle bones really jutted out on the inside. A podiatrist had me wearing those special shoes. That was a long time ago, so I don’t know how the profession has progressed, but I will now say that he was an idiot. I wore those shoes for years and they did almost no good. Then I started playing basketball (in regular shoes). Several months later I noticed that my ankles could no longer roll inward. In fact they were, and still are, very tight. I also went down half a shoe size, as my feet got higher and shorter. I was active in other sports before basketball, but I think it made the difference because of playing defense on my toes. I used to wear holes in my shoes from the inside under the big toes.
[quote]jms wrote:
I love squatting and deadlifting barefoot. It is the best. You feel rocksolid and the pushoff is direct and powerful. You can really dig your heels in and push through your whole foot, really using the power in the arch of your foot. [/quote]
I (used to ) exercise barefoot.
Thsta cause a lot of gyms in India dont allow shoes.
About what you said about using the arch of your foot to power up- In my case the arch has been completely screwed up.
Its kindda made me flat footed.
also on my R leg my ankle rolls inward because of it.
Of course-it could be also because of lifting form.If I had kept my body tighter it wouldnt have happened…
But I guess if I had used shoes my feet would have been much better of.
[quote]larryb wrote:
silencer wrote:
i got flat foot and a knee problem that was caused by it as well as other factors, so i wear special shoes everyday that are supposed to mimic the foot and leg movments if you’re barefoot or walking on soft surfaces like sand.
I had flat feet when I was young. My ankles rolled inward and the ankle bones really jutted out on the inside. A podiatrist had me wearing those special shoes. That was a long time ago, so I don’t know how the profession has progressed, but I will now say that he was an idiot. I wore those shoes for years and they did almost no good. Then I started playing basketball (in regular shoes). Several months later I noticed that my ankles could no longer roll inward. In fact they were, and still are, very tight. I also went down half a shoe size, as my feet got higher and shorter. I was active in other sports before basketball, but I think it made the difference because of playing defense on my toes. I used to wear holes in my shoes from the inside under the big toes.[/quote]
You mean to say that one of the ways to remedy inward rollling ankles is to do a lot of work on your toes?
Im have this problem…
I`m going to try it out.
I dont have time for basket ball.
what about lots of body-wt calf raises?As it is I dont work my legs at all-(cause of an injury)
I started lifting bare foot a while ago to get my heels planted better. It turns out I realy like it though. Just don’t do any metal work in your basement. Those little shards hurt like hell.
my flat foot and knee problems started when i spent my first year of university living by myself without many friends… just sitting most of the day on the computer desk is what i’m almost sure caused the muscle imbalances and the knee problems… that’s why doing sports regularly will probably help, but i need to strengthen the knees a bit before that i think, or maybe i can just go ahead and start lightly , afterall it did work for you.,
Someone should go buy a pair of the Nike Frees just to see how they are and report back to us 
I will probably end up buying a pair within a month or so because I REALLY need some new shoes and I can’t find a decent pair. I’m going with the Frees or a New Balance shoe next time.
[quote]Azrael wrote:
You mean to say that one of the ways to remedy inward rollling ankles is to do a lot of work on your toes?
[/quote]
I can only say that it seemed to work for me. It could also have been the side-to-side work that basketball provides, but I had played a lot of tennis earlier in my life and it did not help. I guess all the jumping would also be a possibility, since that is fairly unique to basketball. I also got some sprained ankles from basketball, but those were always outward rolls.
[quote]Im have this problem…
I`m going to try it out.
I dont have time for basket ball.
what about lots of body-wt calf raises?As it is I dont work my legs at all-(cause of an injury)
[/quote]
I doubt that calf raises would have the same effect, but shuffling around with your weight on your toes might - not walking on your toes but just lifting the heel a bit off the ground and placing your weight on the pads of the big toes. I’d be interested to know if it does work. A quick web search on flat feet turns up a lot of information on footwear but very little on specific exercises that may help.
I bought a pair last weekend and they are extremely light. I haven’t worn them to lift, I bought mine for work. The after the first two days my arches were sore but they are cool now. Of course I have high arches, so this is why. Other than that, they are very comfortable. They did feel pretty good friday though, no real soreness at all.