Practicing fitness from the ground up

By Lisa Zeigel

Previously I wrote about the trend in “Shape-up” shoes — that is, shoes with odd-looking soles that claim to help the wearer burn more calories by forcing the leg muscles to work harder. Since then, these have become even more popular, with nearly every major fitness shoe manufacturer creating their take on the concept. Sadly for them, the next trend in running involves no shoe at all, since all you need are your own two feet!

Wearing shoes is a relatively new thing to humankind (we’re talking in terms of epochal time here, in which material evidence comprises just a small segment of human history). The first archeological findings of human footwear were discovered in the United States, carbon-dated at more than 10,000 years old!

Today we wear shoes for many reasons: To protect our feet (probably the number-one reason our ancestors wore them), to aid us in work or in sporting activities, to correct foot abnormalities, and for vanity reasons (simply because they look “cool”)! It seems, however, that for all the high-tech design that goes into sport and fitness shoes, orthopedic doctors are still seeing a very high incidence of runners and athletes complaining of knee pain, hip and low back problems, and foot pain (I know because I recently had to visit one for my own recent knee pain). Enter the idea that running barefoot may be the answer to prevent all this! Barefoot running has been popular for a long time among beach runners who find that the sand has a pleasant texture and feeling on the soles, as well as adding a resistance challenge. Popular running books have extolled the virtues of shoeless running, with one author proclaiming that the foot pain that almost ended his running career disappeared after he ditched his shoes. Is this a radical idea, or does it make good foot-sense?

A simple overview of the foot and how it functions may reveal a bit about the rationale for switching to bare-foot training. The foot is a very complex structure made up of many bones (more than 26) and surrounded by many muscles that affect its movement, along with tendons and ligaments to hold all of these together. Its curved arch, with toes and heel fixed on the ground surface, form an intricate work of architecture to support our body height and weight as we stand upright. At the ankle joint are several small bones that can move side to side and up and down, and this joint can pivot all around if necessary. The mid-foot is what gives the foot power leading to the push-off when we walk, the toes finish off this movement, and then the heel of the opposite leg moving forward strikes the ground surface and starts the entire sequence again.

You may have noticed that when a toddler learns to walk, he or she spends a lot of time on their tip-toes. This may seem counter-intuitive to our normal way of walking or running, which starts with a heel strike to the ground. Most athletic shoes are designed with a very thick, cushioned heel bed to help protect us from the stress of hitting the ground. Other shoes are designed to correct stride abnormalities, such as over-pronation, in which the foot turns out as too much of the arch hits the ground and flattens the foot, which is not only an inefficient way to run, but may lead to ankle/knee/hip/low back injuries. However, from my personal observation and from expert sources, it is also known that the shoes themselves may be worsening or even causing more problems, as they hold the foot in an un-natural rigidity, in addition to taking away some of the sensory input that the feet provide to the rest of the body.

With all of this footgear on, it is easy to forget that the feet are a huge source of sensation — even the tiniest pebble in your shoe can cause enough pain and discomfort to make you stop whatever you are doing and remove a sneaker to shake it out. We can also gain a great deal of pleasure from simple acts like walking or running barefoot in the sand (as mentioned above with the beach-runners) or my personal favorite, walking in cool, soft grass on a hot day! Not only do these activities feel good, they are also very good for the muscles in your feet, which in turn can “wake up” under-used lower leg muscles, specifically the tibialis (front of the shins) and the glutes. Aficionados of barefoot running claim that aches and pains normally felt when running in shoes virtually disappear, perhaps because of this improved strengthening and total-body communication coming from the feet. They also claim they feel like they are “light on their feet” and gain more running efficiency from running on their bare toes, much like the toddlers I mentioned (this came from a barefoot runner I know).

Even if you feel that barefoot running is not for you, you can do exercises and stretches to strengthen your feet that will improve your workouts or your daily activities. Consider starting your day by rolling a golf ball under the bottom of each foot. Conversely, you can end your day by stretching the bottom of your feet by pulling back on the toes as they point toward you. Then gently pull and stretch your toes apart, especially your big toe.

Whether you have aches and pains or just want to improve your running or walking gait, starting with short bouts of barefoot running on reliably smooth, soft surfaces (the inside of running tracks are good because they are not as well-traversed as the grass in parks). Augment your regular fitness program with 1-2 days of running/walking with no shoes, and then do the rest with shoes. If you still feel good after that, you can add more time or frequency. Maybe you don’t have to aim for an all-barefoot ultra-marathon (yes, that does exist), but you might find you enjoy and will benefit from using the high-tech equipment you were born with — your feet!