I saw this video for the first time 13 years ago. Since then, I've been running barefoot or in minimal shoes or Luna Sandals. The work of Daniel Liebermann together with the book Born To Run by Chris McDougall changed everything for me. I am so grateful to have come across this ancient old wisdom. From sole to soul.
I've been watching a few barefoot runners explain this on youtube, but it is really nice to have a real scientific journal and professor explain it and show their research!
barefoot walking/running should be widely accepted by society, there are so many health benefits, and if you adopted to weather conditions right, you even can run barefoot in winter without problems, so, where is the point in shoes afterall other than comfort and yes, extreme conditions. Noone needs shoes in town, Noone needs shoes in a hike, not talking of extreme kind of alpinism, but just a hike, a run , go to the grocery store, all is comfortable and well, even feeling the ground is fun, and no the ground is not completely paved with pointy needles and sharp glass shards.. i would be totally fine barefoot. Also the feet toughen up so much that they're well adopted to the circumstances needed. Have fun.
awesome video! Love barefoot running. They SHOULD mention that you need to progress gradually from heel strike to mid foot strike to allow the foot/ankle to adapt! VERY IMPORTANT.
thank you yes i was thinking about this. i had seen videos where they seem to be telling yo to just go straight into it but it just doesnt seem possible.
Great point! I’ve heard this before. I really want to try barefoot running. My 17 year old son is a talented long distance runner but is dealing with an Achilles injury from last fall during XC season that he had to continually monitor for tightness. I wonder if his shoes were a contributing factor.
Wow. This is the best explanation of heel strike vs forefoot strike I've ever seen, and I'm a cross country runner so I've heard of all of this before, it's just never been explained so well with graphs and such
@@stuckonearth4967 why does that happen I’m from Uzbekistan and when why cousin used to work in an area with lots of water his feet got busted open and he had to get needless in his back because of kidney problems
I started running barefooted about 18 months ago. It is a great feeling, the longest distance running barefooted, for me, has been about five miles. Being in the US Army I am used to running long distances in combat boots, but when I decided to test evolution, the feeling of something new (or old) and great came to my old soul. My body knew exactly what to do and how to run. EVOLUTION is never wrong!!!! It is a lot easier to understand evolution than to believe in a talking snake!!!!
Okay I have been an avid runner since 2006. In 2009 I fractured me knee training for a marathon. I spent the next 2 years wearing knee braces, changing my running shoes every 6 months, and overall dealing with stress fractures. I switched to barefoot running in September 2011. I now can run the same distances with almost no knee or shin pain. Barefoot running is what your body was designed to do. Your hamstrings and calves act as shock absorbers for your body preventing injury!
It makes an AMAZING difference to run barefoot or with VERY limited padding or whatnot. It is something you have to work into, or I have had to anyway! You have to build the muscles back up that you were not using when you wore shoes. I feel an amazing difference through out my whole body since I started the POSE method and with going barefoot!
Truth! I forgot my shoes one day and had always wanted to get into barefoot running. I ran 20 minutes and felt good the whole way. My calves were in pain for days afterwards. Totally worth it though!
I swam competitively from the age of 6 thru high school and joined the military there after. Running has lately been foreign to me growing up. For over 15 years I fought aches pains and injury with all the running we do in the military. It wasn't until about two years ago I started running with 5 finger shoes. The body QUICKLY adjusts to avoid the painful act of running heel to toe. And I can for once say that I have been pain free since I made that transition.
@@CorinneMcbride i don’t run at all now. Back injury from the service makes it too painful. I don’t miss running on concrete but i do miss trail running in a pair of vibram 5 toe shoes.
John Peterson: Yes, you'll feel like there are knives in your calves at 1st! I could barely walk the first time I tried bf running. It feels so great when you're doing it, that you overdo it the 1st time. No matter how good a runner you are, you HAVE to increase barefoot mileage VERY gradually so that your calf muscles can lengthen. Good luck...don't quit trying...it is GREAT! I had a knee injury and thought I'd never run again.....Barefoot gave me back my favourite sport!
I agree. I love the idea of walking/running barefoot (and completely understand why it is best for your body), but I’m distracted by the risk of injury from something sharp. I would like to have a thin layer of something between my foot and the ground.
Take care of tetanus vaccine and learn to remove the glass shard if you get one, been there done that and it's not as bad as it sounds. Bigger glass etc can be seen easily, thus avoided, and smaller ones are easy to remove and don't do much actual damage. Small wounds heal quickly and they wont even hurt much if the foot has hardened even a little.
You can just get minimalist shoes (very low amount of padding). Also, make it a slow transition.. because you're now using that calf muscle properly for the first time, and in a new way.. along with a lot of other muscles.. so it's easy to overdo it. So take it easy.
I have almost been arrested multiple times for going around barefoot in town. For some reason it seems to frighten people. We are such well trained consumers, the sight of someone running around without corporate products on their bodies really freaks people out.
i dont know anything about you or where you live but I'm willing to net its because being "barefoot" is associated with being Brown, and poor, and 'homeless'. As someone in the latinx community I know the stereotype of many latinas is that they are "barefoot" and uncultured, hotheaded and loud, etc... And then i have also seen how society treats anyone homeless - or who they think might be homeless. If you dont have a 'proper' appearence people think something must be 'wrong' with you and they let themselves feel threatened by that. ^So all together I would say yeah. Its those same attitudes at play.
What he should have said was: "Last summer I was running one day and I just decided to take my shoes of and I found it was just incredibly fun. After a few mile though I got blisters and my calfs were destroyed from the diffrent type of stress on the muscle. It took months before i got completely comfortable with this new style."
No, your calves definitely don't get destroyed by running in a different style, especially if you've been running before. But since you're arguing for running on your heels, let me ask you: have you ever tried to jump, especially from a height of like 5-6 feet, right on your heels?
I am not argueing for running on your heels. I said: I found it was just incredibly fun but it took months before i got completely comfortable with this new style. In my personal experience landing on the front of my foot was harder on my calves and it took a lot a time to transition. But my knee problems has completely disapered and I am so happy that I went through blister-hell and sore calves. I now run better than ever. Then again this is just my experience and other people might have an easier time
+State Inkognito Hmmm okay, perhaps starting by landing on your toes while running in shoes would've been a good way to transition into this. I'm not surprised about blisters, everybody who never walked much barefoot would blister up.
I agree after running barefoot for a while now my body had adjusted to its natural form, upright and light but still after running with shoes for years the body cannot just fix itself to its supposed to be its natural state it needs a little bit of help and just leaning forward is one way of adjusting the angle of your legs so it makes it easy to land forefoot. After a while it becomes a second nature that you would not really have to make an effort for it.
Once I didn't have my shoes available and went out bare foot on a short walk. It was not pleasurable at all but rather painful. It was shocking to realize how dependent on shoes I was
Remember for people crossing over to barefoot, or a shoe with WAY less padding: Make it a slow transition.. because you're now using that calf muscle properly for the first time, and in a new way.. along with a lot of other muscles.. so it's easy to overdo it. So take it easy.
This may not always be the case for everyone. When I ditched my shoes that fateful day I immediately saw improvements in my run and I guess my CNS adapted to the new running style immediately
@@theshermantanker7043 - It can often be a case where they are fit enough to run way more than their newly used muscles are ready for. It's the weakest link that now needs to catch up. Or you risk injury or whatever. But yea that isn't the case for everyone, for whatever various reasons. I would at least caution people to take it easy at first, so they can test the waters a bit.
@@jonatanolsen37 - Like a child again lol. My feet would need a lot of toughening up for that. Unless I ran on grass. At least you can have beast calves now. Which will make your running improve even more. More spring to your step!
Out of curiosity the other day, I checked a slow motion recording of Bolt running (with shoes), and I noticed he was not landing on his heels, but on the front part, as if he was barefoot. Fastest person in the world, too!
great teaching !! it convinced me to go back to barefoot. i ran for months on high heel shoes and my knees hurt. i switch to five fingers vibram (i already had one pair but didnt run with it) and after one hour running i do not have any knee pain and it actually felt very fun, very pleasant running. The running was much FUN, felt better, probably because i had some feet massage as well. I had a 6 months period of staying near mountains and i would go for 20min run barefoot (no shoes) and i felt great, i never injured even if there were some rocks on the road. That is why i bought vibram 5 fingers some years later but still seeing only people running in high heels running shoes convinced me to buy same. After few months, even with top cushioning shoes my knees hurt every run after 50 mins. i saw some videos on barefoot running, why our feet arch is actually a spring and absorb shock. i thought hmmmm this is logical and when i ran barefoot i felt great indeed. So i grabbed my old barefoot shoes and after 60min of running NO PAIN in knees, no discomfort in kness. WOW! and barefoot runing felt amazing, it was a much much more pleasant feeling, it is a lot more FUN. thank you
Yes, minimalist shoes (very low amount of padding). Also, make it a slow transition.. because you're now using that calf muscle properly for the first time, and in a new way.. along with a lot of other muscles.. so it's easy to overdo it. So take it easy.
I have been running barefoot (no shoes) for more than 50 years (since I was a child old enough to start walking and running). I didn't know I was a pioneer, I just thought I didn't like wearing shoes. I even ran barefoot in the military when we did our annual physical fitness test. It was the only time I could get away with being barefoot while on duty. : - )
@BrookeNelson1 Try the vibrams five fingers. The guy even has them on the table next to him during the video. They offer just enough protection that you don't hurt yourself on rocks, twigs, glass, etc. while running while still maintaining the feeling of running barefoot.
I've been walking barefoot all my live, whenever possible. At home, in the garden, I'm known as the one who will at some point walk barefoot on partys in friend's backyards or walk home barefoot. So naturally whenever my pace is faster than walking speed my heels never touch the ground. No science needed to find out that landing on your heels while running is A uncomfortable and B less efficient. I'm far from being an experienced runner and think I went jogging like twice in my live, but still, whenever I see one of those heelstrikers panting around the neighborhood I can only wince. It's like watching a car trying to drive with square tires.
Thanks John; I'm an exSprinter, now running distance. I remember during Track workouts (in the 70's) we'd be training with the distance guys. I would not be quite recovered for the next 550; plus my shin splints were killing me. My body would want to run with less pain and I naturally started running with a lower profile and quicker turn over (like I did while sprinting). What relief that was. Growing up I ran more with shoes off than on. I think that instinct took over.
Has anyone ever experienced numbness between the balls of your feet and big toes from running? What did you do to treat it? How long does it take to heal? I think running too hard down inclines for a few days is what caused it for me. Thank you for any ideas.
I wonder about thicker calluses. I live on Guam (for the last 50 years anyways) and go barefoot most of the time. I grew up in Southern California and usually went barefoot or wore flip flops in the summer . Now the only time I wear real shoes on Guam (retired teacher) is at the gym, because it is required, and funerals when I'm a pal bearer. Anyways, walking on coral, sand, and rock trails has made my pads softer and spongier, better able to absorb sharp objects, not tougher. Ever wonder why one third of human bones are located in the feet? Upright walking? Anyways, our feet (unless strapped in casts, like shoes) respond to pressure and pain and almost instantly shift to better angles for less pain and better balance.
Unfortunately I live in a city where kids think it's hilarious to smash glass into tiny shards on the pavement. So original, where do they come up with this stuff. Nearly as funny as stealing roadsigns, or happy-slapping.
I think the idea is not necessarily to run barefoot all the time, but to at least be aware of your running form, and maybe, transition gradually to shoes with lower heel to toe drop and avoid traditional heavy cushioned shoes so that you can mimic the barefoot running style even when you're wearing shoes.
It's amazing, I can not hardly believe it myself. It doesn't make sense, and you can describe it all day, but when you run barefoot you feel it. It took a few months of trying but now, I run distance barefoot style. I wear Vibram Fivefingers because I don't want to get hurt, but now I run totally barefoot on wood or even on a track. I feel a paradigm shift has occuered for me.
Hi There, thanks for this great video. I have been walking bare feet for many years and now using shoes probably only 10% of the time. While I have managed to easily adopt landing on the front of the feet while running, I wondered if the same technique sould be applied to regular walking. I have tried it for the past week and I'm still a little confused or uncertain about it. What is your opinion? Shall we walk by touching with the front of the foot first? Thanks Daniele
As a barefoot runner I can explain... When you're running, your mind have to really focus on every strike you land on your foot, whether it's hitting to hard or landing on a pebble... Your feet gives response to you, you react accordingly. I think that's the "Awareness" Ramsey is speaking of...
I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where I don't need shoes, I've been living the barefoot life for over 18 years. Even though I have massive callouses, it's really weird to me to use sandals and not being able to feel the ground. I don't know about the benefits, but I sure don't suffer from any back pain or have flat feet.
This is exactly the information I gave in a speech I made trying to convince people to run barefoot. Very insightful, thank you for posting this video. I have had shin splints twice, plantar fasciitis in both feet, back problems, as well as tendonitis, all in the past year, from running with shoes, and heel striking! These injuries were severe enough to make me have to stop running for a month or two each. I am VERY glad my friend told me about barefooting. I now ONLY go bare and I love it!
My running partners and I have been exploring/analyzing barefoot running. Our number one concern, of course, is that we may injure ourselves. But we're willing to try it, and have done some short work on a football field. I noted your NYC Marathon shirt, and I wondered if you ran it in bare feet. I ran it in November, and I can't imagine running that route without protection.
@emerald7teen what you are ignoring in your analysis is that running shoes are designed with large heels to cushion from the shock of running but this actually forces a heel strike and which means more shock than running barefoot. As a sprinter in my youth my coach taught me to run on my 'toes'. This was easy to do in slim sprinters shoes but now I am running distance it is virtually impossible to do without feeling uncomfortable in standard running shoes. A pair of 5 fingers has fixed that.
Thank you, research on barefoot is not as easy to come by as I would like, I've been searching for how to strike as a barefoot runner and this was great!
Neutral shoes assume that you have a properly developed arch and hence can pronate normally. They typically provide cushioning against impact with hard surfaces (since we tend to run on concrete a lot) or for heavier runners. They sometimes also provide some support as this may be needed for x-country or trail running. If you are happy with your shoes and free from injury the general rule is not to change things. If you are unhappy it's best to visit a specialist (running) shoe shop for advice.
I wonder what this professor thinks of the vibram five finger shoes company having to settle and pay, i personally think that barefoot is the best but when you need a little extra protection then those type of minimalist shoes are the best, and its just another example of frivolous lawsuits paying off.
I haven't worn footwear outdoors since March, except for the days when the pavement is hot enough to cause injury. I love being able to feel what I'm stepping on, and I also love to feel my feet growing tougher and stronger all the time.
this comment is giving me hope. started running a lot lately, bought some minimalist type shoes (which in hindsight should of looked into before purchase), and my knees are killing me. gonna start trying this, hopefully it'll work out.
A shoe can easily change your running gait. If you have a high amount of heel to toe drop it can make it more difficult to land towards the fore foot. Also shod running tends to block a lot of the feeling you have with the ground making it more difficult to pin point where you are striking the ground. You are correct in saying that shoes aren't the cause of bad form but they can prevent a person from learning proper form. That why we now have thinner, zero drop shoes.
I think something that's not being mentioned is the impact force being applied on your foot when landing on the ground. Overtime bones have to be strained or stressed after being exposed to so much impact. I'm assuming improving your form is your best option.
True but the typical cushioned shoe now would force you to take a very aggressive forward angle which is not ideal for posture and makes it very difficult at lower speeds. Minimal shoes with zero drop are a very good compromise in that they enable you to take a natural running stance while offering some protection and grip.
I've been working on that. The traditional trainer makes it hard to know if you're doing it right or wrong, because heel striking feels fine and forefoot striking feels awkward. And people who aren't used to barefoot running can still screw themselves up in minimalist shoes because some of them are still not doing it right. But when you run truly barefoot it just happens. At the very least, I think it can be a useful training tool, or a learning tool.
If you notice in a barefoot runner the toes flair upwards. Feet confined in shoes can not flair. I think I know why people unknowingly take longer strides when wearing shoes. The weight of the shoe is like adding weight to the end of a pendulum. This added weight is harder to stop so the leg swings farther forward. The added weight also adds forward momentum because of the increase mass moving forward at the same speed as a leg with a barefoot at the end.
This seems to be sending mixed messages. In the heel strike video the max force is 2.43x body weight and in the forefoot strike video it is about 2.64x body weight.
There is still more force in the forefoot strike! It is more spread out, so there isn't a spike, but it is a force-time graph not a momentum-time graph so the time doesn't make a difference.
All these people running while hitting their heels make me wonder: how the hell do they jump? By landing on their heels? Man, that would not only hurt, but also leave a few bones cracked.....My guess is that they never jump......
Jumping is probably just a different activity for us? I’m a “normal” runner, I don’t even really know whether I’m a heel striker, but I have regular running shoes and have never had injuries. I probably make a different movement when jumping. And no, I don’t jump all the time. Only when I need to jump.
Daniel Lieberman really helped create a good trend. Even though he has not yet put forefoot step walking into his life ;)) Still a huge asset in getting people started ;) best wishes Dirk
In case you're not trolling: It's not an advertisement. That's a magazine from Nature, one of the most prestigious publishers of scientific journals in the World.
@36jcasa during a gait cycle, the heel strike on the calcaneous causes the impact and the generated forces to go straight up the kinetic chain, meaning it goes up the legs into the spine. Even though running with a forefoot strike first has more force, the foots arches are there to absorb and spread the impact across the foot, rather than the force just staying in that area. when we wear shoes, it limits the bones natural ability to move, spread, and adapt to the surface to minimize forces.
Why barefoot? Imagine you are born with a feet (Yay, some people are not tho..), then you put them into a splint/corset. So now your feet are shaped as your shoes. Congratulation, you now have crocked feet and chronic back-pain. Have you ever seen a foot that have never met a shoe? I have seen some pretty nasty deformed feet. Not to mention that your body disposes of waste by feces but also using the dead skin on your feet. Yet we let it rot in the shoes and wonder why we are so ill. When you travel barefoot your feet are smooth and soft. Plus you get free massage every time you go out.
Johonan andrew gomes Yes you can run pretty fast bare foot but not immediately after you get out of your shoes for the first time :D Have a nice day in Sri Lanka I bet it is great there.
I have been watching barefooting since it was a trend and since this video came out. I had just happened to buy an unintentional barefoot shoe in Feb 2010 from Power by Bata, India. I loved that and it lasted a year. Next year, I also applied for a PhD in exercise with an Australian professor who was researching this. Today, on Sep 3, 20204, I started running without shoes again. Loving it. Wonder where this prof stands now on this, given that the trend is long over. Also, this theory of us being "born to run"--what's the status of (pre)History research on that?
I had minimal exercise for the last few years. I started walking in the park with shoes to get something going. The 1st few days of walking for 1 hr I did not feel much tiredness. The day i walked without shoes all muscles of my body felt tired the entire day and i got the best sleep that night.
I made a BIG mistake in my reply to you. Please see my correction below. "Stability & Motion Control shoes are made for these problems." These shoes are designed to compensate for OVER pronation ONLY by supporting your foot so it doesn't roll inwards too much. If you UNDER pronate you want to encourage your foot to roll more but as you don't absorb the impact properly you need extra cushioning so you also want a NEUTRAL shoe (same as for a normal pronator) but one with plenty of cushioning.
As a kid I was taught to only run on my forefoot when sprinting but over the years I found it more comfortable and less painful to jsut walk and run on my forefoot as well as when I sprint. My joints feel amazing, they don't crack nearly as much and my warmup exercises aren't as long I feel because my legs have already been activated all day.
No, actually, shoes cushion your heel which encourages heel striking and shifts your posture so that more braking happens and your hips and knees absorb more pressure, thus causing injury (i.e. the impact transient referred to in the vid). Its been found that ~90% of running injuries come from using athletic shoes. You can however use thin-soled minimalist shoes to get the benefits of barefoot without the need for toughening the feet. Google huaraches or vibrams
I find that a bent knee directly underneath the pelvis on impact is the best way to reduce impact problems. I notice the doc locks his knee in the barefoot examples.
I watched "David Attenborough - African Kalahari Desert Kudu Persistence Hunt" after reading your comments. Thanks. That bushmen runner who tracked the kudu to the end, wore shoes!
When he said he enjoyed it when he took off his shoes to run, I could relate to that . That was what I felt when I took my shoes of to run with my fore foot. Only those people who actually do that will understand what that enjoyment is.
In response to 36jcasa. I think what they are saying is the initial "impact" forces are much smaller in a forefoot strike, not the overall forces, which are pretty equal. By landing on the forefoot you do not have that initial "strike" force and immediate loss of kinetic energy. The initial spike in force for the heel strike looks like it hits about 1.85 x body weight, where as a forefoot strike has a slight bump of about 0.25 x body weight and then gradually increases. Listen at 4:00.
I couldn't help but notice in spite of the fact there is no initial sharp impact, the peak impact force is higher for forefoot strike (2.63xBW) vs heel strike (2.42xBW). So how can they claim the shock is less? I do train barefoot occasionally and run in minimalist shoes. But barefoot running does not magically make you a good runner or have good form, you have to work on it consciously during every run. Also, I do know barefoot runners who still get injured.
Amazing 13yrs ago this was something that should have had even way more people now utilizing barefoot shoes when “necessary” as opposed to the stiff, thick, and heavy shoes we’ve been giving as an only option for the past 150 years. It is best to jog bare feet, but clutter outside is not ideal, so one can at least run bare feet in the house ideally on a surface without carpet. It feels awesome, and of course walk around & do everything you can bare feet, and make your shoes if you don’t have access at the moment to barefoot shoes. Take out the lining, and also even before that make sure there is zero drop in the shoe, so you are when completed 2mm from the ground.
Just the act of putting shoes on decreases running efficiency by as much as 30%. Britek footwear has been independent laboratory tested while running at 10 mph on a treadmill. We demonstrated an amazing 15 - 20% reduction of oxygen consumption. Tests are internationally published in our utility footwear patents. Barefoot running was key to the development. A negative pressure shoe with no foam mid-sole.
@Col2109 It is possible to use a barefoot running style while in shoes. The only problem is that most running shoes have a very thick heel for cushioning. When you stand up straight in running shoes your foot is already slanted slightly downward and this makes it difficult to run with the proper foot strike (without landing the heel first). If you need some type of shoe but want to use a barefoot style (for terrain or weather reasons) then try racing flats without any insoles.
@oommen BTW, I seem to have missed mentioning that shoes deform our feet. Most notably, it crushes our toes together (mainly the big toe and pinky toe), but also the whole foot. Shoes are not moulded after our feet, they mould our feet after themselves. ...and wearing shoes as a child, means the changes are largely permanent and irreversible, without surgery. Unlike the reversible fact, that they make our muscles, tendons and ligaments atrophy and even weaken our bones.
I've run 20,000 miles barefoot inside a 100,000 total. I am currently running twice a day-w no shoes ever ,the last 200 workouts. Several things happened.My feet became very strong & bulletproof. I won a lot of races using that strength to parlay into speed.I love reconnecting w Nature & the Earth.Not missing thd concrete jungle @ all. I've had a total of ZERO injuries. It's different for everyone. You must be intelligent enough to dose the amount so as not to progress past the point of yr bodies adaptive abilities.You should comprehend the kinetic chain & how to function optimally for your personal criteria. I save about 4-500. a month NOT buying shoes of any type-even so called " barefoot shoes"( oxymoron). As Christopher McDougall says in his best selling book Born to Run - " we've been lied to & brainwashed; shoes being " a nessesity is a myth."
@xcracer321 Shoes were made as a protection against the environment, and most ancient shoes had thin, flexible soles. If anything, they were most likely to keep the foot warm in cold environments (which is why many of the most ancient shoes found have been stuffed with grass as insulation) or to protect them from sharp rocks or very hot ground. Also, some earthen surfaces in Africa can be as hard as cement, particularly in the dry season. Shoes were not made because of roads.
i can also say that if you were all life heel striking-first runner, it's not recommended to change radically your running style. This is gonna cause more problems and injuries. Just try to be as close as it can be to a midfoot strike.
Shock is dispersed, not a sharp impact. It is not the landing but how you land that makes the shock less. It is over a longer period. And you are right about barefoot running :)
FWIW, last summer my son got me running barefoot, and I did so until it got cold enough that I could no longer feel my forefeet :-) I was impressed at Lieberman running next to snow banks.
Could you point to scientific papers finding that barefoot running reduces overall running stress injuries? I could only find studies showing that barefoot running strengthened feet similar to explicit foot strengthening exercises, but as for injuries, the findings seemed inconclusive and seemed to suggest that they would only shift the likely point of injury from hips or knees to the lower foot.
@oommen "shoe runners can forefoot strike to avoid rapid increase in RFD." It helps, IF the shoe allows for you to do so properly. The cushioning still gives a slight increase and the lack of ground feeling, means you can't properly adjust your movements to maximally decrease impact, imbalance, injury from stepping on something ETC. "since you will have 2 be scanning the ground regularly" That's not really an issue, once you get used to it. Also, the sole gets tougher and thicker, not harder.
Amen, many people who compare Human running speed to other species seem to forget this vital point. Wearing shoes provides useful cushioning but also removes the advantages your natural foot structure grants
@BabmerChan It's just an expression for shoes with a fine sole (2 or 3 millimeters) no arch support nor cushion at the heel, to differentiate them from ordinary shoes with thick cushioned heel and arch support.
I agree totally with this thesis about running, it seems natural, but we really can't apply same technique for walking right? Do we need that initial heel contact while walking?
Great video. But i have a question- if u look at the values of the peak force compared to body weight shown in the graphs for heel strike Vs fore foot strike, the value is lower (2.4x) for heel strike compared to fore foot strike (2.6x). Why is that so? My understanding is that fore foot strike is better because the rise and fall of force exerted is gradual (like a sine wave) and not sudden (like a square wave)..but the persons in the video say that forces are less in fore foot strike which is not what their graph values show.
@ripz0r That's what foot gloves are for. The most common example would be the product line of Vibram Fivefinger shoes. It's way more awesome to find a clean road to run on though.
Don't think of the foot as a flat surface, think of it as a lever, with the ball of the foot as the fulcrum. The weight of the body "slides" over the front of the foot, and you push up with the muscles in the foot to take the next step. The force of impact is dispersed over many structures (which are designed to handle the force) rather than landing on a single point like heel-runners do. The ball of the foot is a pivot point, and your center of gravity is designed to rotate around it.
What the researchers aren't understanding is transfer of motion. The faster you are running, the more momentum you keep, by landing more on the ball of the foot and pushing forward. Most of the force is never absorbed by the foot at all. You don't realy "land" on the foot as much as you use the foot as a tool to counter the effects of gravity.
@OKDANTE as a child, this kind of research wasn't around. so what they were telling you was very true. We tell runners all the time to run on tracks, or grass and avoid asphalt because of the forces generated to the knees and spine. but as dr.s are discovering is our gait changes when we're barefoot. sneakers actually add to the forces because it constricts our arches and doesn't allow the bones to move to absorb the shock.
@toono21 according to Christopher McDougall, Nike running shoes were designed specifically to allow runners to land on their heels. Even if not landing on the heels were common sense, thick running soles circumvent the body's built-in feedback loop that prevents runners from injuring their feet by running too hard on their heels or any other part of the foot.
great vid. It would be nice to get some info on how you land when walking barefoot (vs. for instance sneakers). Are there any difference here, and would barefoot runners benefit from walking in barefoot shoes? (yes, I am running in barefoot shoes!)
I have been running the Chi method,forward landing not heel striking for 4 years,the probelm is the shoes,they don't let you land easily on the ball of the foot.New Balance model 800 and 801 allow this and the Newton running shoe also do .They are a pleasure,I am running my 1st marathon this May,I just post a new blog arthurrobidoux,( 1/20/2010), may, not be up yet,it could take up to a month to access,but I discuss many running concepts and other ideas
I'm just back from a trail run (barefoot) over rock, gravel, and a section covered in broken glass... no cuts, no bruises, nothing. Then again, I didn't start running on gravel until it became comfortable about half a year into going barefoot.
I used to get one running injury every year. The last 12 months I've been running in Vibrams and no injuries. I feel great.
9 years later what's your experience now?
I saw this video for the first time 13 years ago. Since then, I've been running barefoot or in minimal shoes or Luna Sandals. The work of Daniel Liebermann together with the book Born To Run by Chris McDougall changed everything for me. I am so grateful to have come across this ancient old wisdom. From sole to soul.
I've been watching a few barefoot runners explain this on youtube, but it is really nice to have a real scientific journal and professor explain it and show their research!
watching people heel strike hurts my eyes to watch, ouch
+Michael Myers Even when I wear shoes I try not to heal strike. But I wear minimalist shoes.
Maybe you should stop hurting your eyes and start educating heel strikers
So, you are now a Vegan-of-the-feet.So many sub-cultures in the world nowadays.
Never belonged to any, just like to search for the root of the many health problems human race experiences now.
barefoot walking/running should be widely accepted by society, there are so many health benefits, and if you adopted to weather conditions right, you even can run barefoot in winter without problems, so, where is the point in shoes afterall other than comfort and yes, extreme conditions. Noone needs shoes in town, Noone needs shoes in a hike, not talking of extreme kind of alpinism, but just a hike, a run , go to the grocery store, all is comfortable and well, even feeling the ground is fun, and no the ground is not completely paved with pointy needles and sharp glass shards.. i would be totally fine barefoot. Also the feet toughen up so much that they're well adopted to the circumstances needed. Have fun.
awesome video! Love barefoot running. They SHOULD mention that you need to progress gradually from heel strike to mid foot strike to allow the foot/ankle to adapt! VERY IMPORTANT.
thank you yes i was thinking about this. i had seen videos where they seem to be telling yo to just go straight into it but it just doesnt seem possible.
Great point! I’ve heard this before. I really want to try barefoot running. My 17 year old son is a talented long distance runner but is dealing with an Achilles injury from last fall during XC season that he had to continually monitor for tightness. I wonder if his shoes were a contributing factor.
Wow. This is the best explanation of heel strike vs forefoot strike I've ever seen, and I'm a cross country runner so I've heard of all of this before, it's just never been explained so well with graphs and such
I grew up running and walking barefoot on all kinds of surfaces. I still do and never had a problem.
@@stuckonearth4967 why does that happen I’m from Uzbekistan and when why cousin used to work in an area with lots of water his feet got busted open and he had to get needless in his back because of kidney problems
I started running barefooted about 18 months ago. It is a great feeling, the longest distance running barefooted, for me, has been about five miles. Being in the US Army I am used to running long distances in combat boots, but when I decided to test evolution, the feeling of something new (or old) and great came to my old soul. My body knew exactly what to do and how to run. EVOLUTION is never wrong!!!!
It is a lot easier to understand evolution than to believe in a talking snake!!!!
Okay I have been an avid runner since 2006. In 2009 I fractured me knee training for a marathon. I spent the next 2 years wearing knee braces, changing my running shoes every 6 months, and overall dealing with stress fractures. I switched to barefoot running in September 2011. I now can run the same distances with almost no knee or shin pain. Barefoot running is what your body was designed to do. Your hamstrings and calves act as shock absorbers for your body preventing injury!
i run like a barefoot runner because landing on my heel first feels awkward for me. this also lets me like spring forward very comfortably
Same.
It makes an AMAZING difference to run barefoot or with VERY limited padding or whatnot. It is something you have to work into, or I have had to anyway! You have to build the muscles back up that you were not using when you wore shoes. I feel an amazing difference through out my whole body since I started the POSE method and with going barefoot!
Truth! I forgot my shoes one day and had always wanted to get into barefoot running. I ran 20 minutes and felt good the whole way. My calves were in pain for days afterwards. Totally worth it though!
Stay blessed dear brother 😊🌎✌️
I swam competitively from the age of 6 thru high school and joined the military there after. Running has lately been foreign to me growing up. For over 15 years I fought aches pains and injury with all the running we do in the military. It wasn't until about two years ago I started running with 5 finger shoes. The body QUICKLY adjusts to avoid the painful act of running heel to toe. And I can for once say that I have been pain free since I made that transition.
what's your experience now?
@@CorinneMcbride i don’t run at all now. Back injury from the service makes it too painful. I don’t miss running on concrete but i do miss trail running in a pair of vibram 5 toe shoes.
John Peterson: Yes, you'll feel like there are knives in your calves at 1st! I could barely walk the first time I tried bf running. It feels so great when you're doing it, that you overdo it the 1st time. No matter how good a runner you are, you HAVE to increase barefoot mileage VERY gradually so that your calf muscles can lengthen. Good luck...don't quit trying...it is GREAT! I had a knee injury and thought I'd never run again.....Barefoot gave me back my favourite sport!
what's your experience now?
Running barefoot is more fun and I feel like I am going faster... I am just afraid that I will step on some broken glass in my neighborhood.
samuel bekele same
I agree. I love the idea of walking/running barefoot (and completely understand why it is best for your body), but I’m distracted by the risk of injury from something sharp. I would like to have a thin layer of something between my foot and the ground.
Take care of tetanus vaccine and learn to remove the glass shard if you get one, been there done that and it's not as bad as it sounds. Bigger glass etc can be seen easily, thus avoided, and smaller ones are easy to remove and don't do much actual damage. Small wounds heal quickly and they wont even hurt much if the foot has hardened even a little.
ANd you might but so what???
You can just get minimalist shoes (very low amount of padding).
Also, make it a slow transition.. because you're now using that calf muscle properly for the first time, and in a new way.. along with a lot of other muscles.. so it's easy to overdo it. So take it easy.
I have almost been arrested multiple times for going around barefoot in town. For some reason it seems to frighten people. We are such well trained consumers, the sight of someone running around without corporate products on their bodies really freaks people out.
i dont know anything about you or where you live but I'm willing to net its because being "barefoot" is associated with being Brown, and poor, and 'homeless'.
As someone in the latinx community I know the stereotype of many latinas is that they are "barefoot" and uncultured, hotheaded and loud, etc...
And then i have also seen how society treats anyone homeless - or who they think might be homeless.
If you dont have a 'proper' appearence people think something must be 'wrong' with you and they let themselves feel threatened by that.
^So all together I would say yeah. Its those same attitudes at play.
What he should have said was: "Last summer I was running one day and I just decided to take my shoes of and I found it was just incredibly fun. After a few mile though I got blisters and my calfs were destroyed from the diffrent type of stress on the muscle. It took months before i got completely comfortable with this new style."
No, your calves definitely don't get destroyed by running in a different style, especially if you've been running before. But since you're arguing for running on your heels, let me ask you: have you ever tried to jump, especially from a height of like 5-6 feet, right on your heels?
I am not argueing for running on your heels. I said: I found it was just incredibly fun but it took months before i got completely comfortable with this new style. In my personal experience landing on the front of my foot was harder on my calves and it took a lot a time to transition. But my knee problems has completely disapered and I am so happy that I went through blister-hell and sore calves. I now run better than ever.
Then again this is just my experience and other people might have an easier time
+State Inkognito Hmmm okay, perhaps starting by landing on your toes while running in shoes would've been a good way to transition into this. I'm not surprised about blisters, everybody who never walked much barefoot would blister up.
The reason why your calves will hurt landing on your forefoot is because you are not leaning forward enough letting gravity do much of the work.
I agree after running barefoot for a while now my body had adjusted to its natural form, upright and light but still after running with shoes for years the body cannot just fix itself to its supposed to be its natural state it needs a little bit of help and just leaning forward is one way of adjusting the angle of your legs so it makes it easy to land forefoot. After a while it becomes a second nature that you would not really have to make an effort for it.
Once I didn't have my shoes available and went out bare foot on a short walk. It was not pleasurable at all but rather painful. It was shocking to realize how dependent on shoes I was
Remember for people crossing over to barefoot, or a shoe with WAY less padding: Make it a slow transition.. because you're now using that calf muscle properly for the first time, and in a new way.. along with a lot of other muscles.. so it's easy to overdo it. So take it easy.
This may not always be the case for everyone. When I ditched my shoes that fateful day I immediately saw improvements in my run and I guess my CNS adapted to the new running style immediately
@@theshermantanker7043 - It can often be a case where they are fit enough to run way more than their newly used muscles are ready for. It's the weakest link that now needs to catch up. Or you risk injury or whatever.
But yea that isn't the case for everyone, for whatever various reasons.
I would at least caution people to take it easy at first, so they can test the waters a bit.
Yes, i run without padding with a forefoot strike now. Its way more fun, but my calfs get really sore.
@@jonatanolsen37 - Like a child again lol.
My feet would need a lot of toughening up for that. Unless I ran on grass.
At least you can have beast calves now. Which will make your running improve even more. More spring to your step!
Out of curiosity the other day, I checked a slow motion recording of Bolt running (with shoes), and I noticed he was not landing on his heels, but on the front part, as if he was barefoot. Fastest person in the world, too!
great teaching !! it convinced me to go back to barefoot.
i ran for months on high heel shoes and my knees hurt. i switch to five fingers vibram (i already had one pair but didnt run with it) and after one hour running i do not have any knee pain and it actually felt very fun, very pleasant running. The running was much FUN, felt better, probably because i had some feet massage as well.
I had a 6 months period of staying near mountains and i would go for 20min run barefoot (no shoes) and i felt great, i never injured even if there were some rocks on the road. That is why i bought vibram 5 fingers some years later but still seeing only people running in high heels running shoes convinced me to buy same. After few months, even with top cushioning shoes my knees hurt every run after 50 mins.
i saw some videos on barefoot running, why our feet arch is actually a spring and absorb shock. i thought hmmmm this is logical and when i ran barefoot i felt great indeed. So i grabbed my old barefoot shoes and after 60min of running NO PAIN in knees, no discomfort in kness. WOW! and barefoot runing felt amazing, it was a much much more pleasant feeling, it is a lot more FUN.
thank you
i want to become a barefoot runner but im also afraid of becoming a poop stomper!
minimal shoes. Vibram, Newton, Vivo, Innov8, Merrel and even Nike make some. Probably others too.
Being barefoot, you become more mindful of the ground, what’s on it, and what to avoid. Also if you do stomp on do-do, it washes off.😏
Yes, minimalist shoes (very low amount of padding).
Also, make it a slow transition.. because you're now using that calf muscle properly for the first time, and in a new way.. along with a lot of other muscles.. so it's easy to overdo it. So take it easy.
It spreads evenly between your toes.
Harder to wash it from the creases in shoes than off your foot.
I have been running barefoot (no shoes) for more than 50 years (since I was a child old enough to start walking and running). I didn't know I was a pioneer, I just thought I didn't like wearing shoes. I even ran barefoot in the military when we did our annual physical fitness test. It was the only time I could get away with being barefoot while on duty. : - )
what's your experience now?
@CorinneMcbride More than 50 years.
@BrookeNelson1 Try the vibrams five fingers. The guy even has them on the table next to him during the video. They offer just enough protection that you don't hurt yourself on rocks, twigs, glass, etc. while running while still maintaining the feeling of running barefoot.
I've been walking barefoot all my live, whenever possible. At home, in the garden, I'm known as the one who will at some point walk barefoot on partys in friend's backyards or walk home barefoot. So naturally whenever my pace is faster than walking speed my heels never touch the ground. No science needed to find out that landing on your heels while running is A uncomfortable and B less efficient. I'm far from being an experienced runner and think I went jogging like twice in my live, but still, whenever I see one of those heelstrikers panting around the neighborhood I can only wince. It's like watching a car trying to drive with square tires.
Thanks John; I'm an exSprinter, now running distance. I remember during Track workouts (in the 70's) we'd be training with the distance guys. I would not be quite recovered for the next 550; plus my shin splints were killing me. My body would want to run with less pain and I naturally started running with a lower profile and quicker turn over (like I did while sprinting). What relief that was. Growing up I ran more with shoes off than on. I think that instinct took over.
Has anyone ever experienced numbness between the balls of your feet and big toes from running?
What did you do to treat it? How long does it take to heal?
I think running too hard down inclines for a few days is what caused it for me. Thank you for any ideas.
I wonder about thicker calluses. I live on Guam (for the last 50 years anyways) and go barefoot most of the time. I grew up in Southern California and usually went barefoot or wore flip flops in the summer . Now the only time I wear real shoes on Guam (retired teacher) is at the gym, because it is required, and funerals when I'm a pal bearer.
Anyways, walking on coral, sand, and rock trails has made my pads softer and spongier, better able to absorb sharp objects, not tougher.
Ever wonder why one third of human bones are located in the feet? Upright walking? Anyways, our feet (unless strapped in casts, like shoes) respond to pressure and pain and almost instantly shift to better angles for less pain and better balance.
Unfortunately I live in a city where kids think it's hilarious to smash glass into tiny shards on the pavement. So original, where do they come up with this stuff. Nearly as funny as stealing roadsigns, or happy-slapping.
I think the idea is not necessarily to run barefoot all the time, but to at least be aware of your running form, and maybe, transition gradually to shoes with lower heel to toe drop and avoid traditional heavy cushioned shoes so that you can mimic the barefoot running style even when you're wearing shoes.
It's amazing, I can not hardly believe it myself. It doesn't make sense, and you can describe it all day, but when you run barefoot you feel it. It took a few months of trying but now, I run distance barefoot style. I wear Vibram Fivefingers because I don't want to get hurt, but now I run totally barefoot on wood or even on a track. I feel a paradigm shift has occuered for me.
Hi There, thanks for this great video. I have been walking bare feet for many years and now using shoes probably only 10% of the time.
While I have managed to easily adopt landing on the front of the feet while running, I wondered if the same technique sould be applied to regular walking. I have tried it for the past week and I'm still a little confused or uncertain about it. What is your opinion? Shall we walk by touching with the front of the foot first?
Thanks
Daniele
Barefoot walking/running = Total Awareness
Awareness of what?
of life/the world/reality.
As a barefoot runner I can explain...
When you're running, your mind have to really focus on every strike you land on your foot, whether it's hitting to hard or landing on a pebble...
Your feet gives response to you, you react accordingly.
I think that's the "Awareness" Ramsey is speaking of...
good answer my friend
I've had the vibrams for a week now and I love them. Can't see wearing any other shoe at this point.
I think you meant Viagra!
I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where I don't need shoes, I've been living the barefoot life for over 18 years.
Even though I have massive callouses, it's really weird to me to use sandals and not being able to feel the ground.
I don't know about the benefits, but I sure don't suffer from any back pain or have flat feet.
May I ask where do you live? I'm curious 😄
@@eagleone08 no
@@eagleone08 but "it's a jungla in here"
great video, i am barefoot now
This is exactly the information I gave in a speech I made trying to convince people to run barefoot. Very insightful, thank you for posting this video. I have had shin splints twice, plantar fasciitis in both feet, back problems, as well as tendonitis, all in the past year, from running with shoes, and heel striking! These injuries were severe enough to make me have to stop running for a month or two each. I am VERY glad my friend told me about barefooting. I now ONLY go bare and I love it!
My running partners and I have been exploring/analyzing barefoot running. Our number one concern, of course, is that we may injure ourselves. But we're willing to try it, and have done some short work on a football field.
I noted your NYC Marathon shirt, and I wondered if you ran it in bare feet. I ran it in November, and I can't imagine running that route without protection.
@emerald7teen what you are ignoring in your analysis is that running shoes are designed with large heels to cushion from the shock of running but this actually forces a heel strike and which means more shock than running barefoot. As a sprinter in my youth my coach taught me to run on my 'toes'. This was easy to do in slim sprinters shoes but now I am running distance it is virtually impossible to do without feeling uncomfortable in standard running shoes. A pair of 5 fingers has fixed that.
Have had the opportunity to meet the Barefoot Professor. Great guy. Very easy to talk to. Thanks for sharing this knowledge.
Thank you, research on barefoot is not as easy to come by as I would like, I've been searching for how to strike as a barefoot runner and this was great!
You're not going to step on stuff if you look with your eyeballs.
So running requires feet AND eyeballs...
@@michalvalta5231 Nah, but running safely and cleanly does. Idk, stepping on wet sand or mud feels great, just don't kick it on other people nearby.
Lol you cant constantly look down at the ground while running to avoid and jump around stuff lol
@@Dbeststuff I can and I do
Zoe Smith ya, and you ran right into me last week you blind fuck! 😂
Neutral shoes assume that you have a properly developed arch and hence can pronate normally. They typically provide cushioning against impact with hard surfaces (since we tend to run on concrete a lot) or for heavier runners. They sometimes also provide some support as this may be needed for x-country or trail running.
If you are happy with your shoes and free from injury the general rule is not to change things. If you are unhappy it's best to visit a specialist (running) shoe shop for advice.
I wonder what this professor thinks of the vibram five finger shoes company having to settle and pay, i personally think that barefoot is the best but when you need a little extra protection then those type of minimalist shoes are the best, and its just another example of frivolous lawsuits paying off.
I haven't worn footwear outdoors since March, except for the days when the pavement is hot enough to cause injury. I love being able to feel what I'm stepping on, and I also love to feel my feet growing tougher and stronger all the time.
Yeah, I'm always having to remove sharp screws from my shoes.
RJay Hansen nails and broken glass, too.
These 2 comments are 9 years apart....lol
this comment is giving me hope. started running a lot lately, bought some minimalist type shoes (which in hindsight should of looked into before purchase), and my knees are killing me. gonna start trying this, hopefully it'll work out.
I don't even touch my heels on the floor.... Only the forefoot.
SemFronterias that’s the trick
A shoe can easily change your running gait. If you have a high amount of heel to toe drop it can make it more difficult to land towards the fore foot. Also shod running tends to block a lot of the feeling you have with the ground making it more difficult to pin point where you are striking the ground. You are correct in saying that shoes aren't the cause of bad form but they can prevent a person from learning proper form. That why we now have thinner, zero drop shoes.
Why heel strike make 2.4x body weight ,but fore-foot strike make 2.6x body weight ?
Better spring effect...
the muscles of the foot aid in deceleration of mass before impact.
like a suspension system for your car
I think something that's not being mentioned is the impact force being applied on your foot when landing on the ground. Overtime bones have to be strained or stressed after being exposed to so much impact. I'm assuming improving your form is your best option.
You don't need to be barefoot to run forefooted though.
+zippo lighter (zippy) please don't use logic and intelligence to undermine research. It's very discourteous and true.
True but the typical cushioned shoe now would force you to take a very aggressive forward angle which is not ideal for posture and makes it very difficult at lower speeds. Minimal shoes with zero drop are a very good compromise in that they enable you to take a natural running stance while offering some protection and grip.
I've been working on that. The traditional trainer makes it hard to know if you're doing it right or wrong, because heel striking feels fine and forefoot striking feels awkward. And people who aren't used to barefoot running can still screw themselves up in minimalist shoes because some of them are still not doing it right. But when you run truly barefoot it just happens. At the very least, I think it can be a useful training tool, or a learning tool.
Yeah but its a lot harder to run properly with shoes than bare foot.
Very true. They make cushioned zero drop shoes that make it easier.
If you notice in a barefoot runner the toes flair upwards. Feet confined in shoes can not flair. I think I know why people unknowingly take longer strides when wearing shoes. The weight of the shoe is like adding weight to the end of a pendulum. This added weight is harder to stop so the leg swings farther forward. The added weight also adds forward momentum because of the increase mass moving forward at the same speed as a leg with a barefoot at the end.
Does this also account for walking?
only if you wish to reduce knee, hip, back and foot discomfort in your life.
If barefoot running is good then certainty walking should also be good.
I love Vibrams! Although expensive, they give you the feel of running barefoot with the protection of shoes. I'm barefoot running in Provo, Utah!
This seems to be sending mixed messages. In the heel strike video the max force is 2.43x body weight and in the forefoot strike video it is about 2.64x body weight.
It's not about how much weight is being carried. It's about the impact force differences.
The scale is multiples of body weight so the force is proportional to that.
Again. its about impact.
There is still more force in the forefoot strike! It is more spread out, so there isn't a spike, but it is a force-time graph not a momentum-time graph so the time doesn't make a difference.
+Iggý Iggulden Didn't they use two different people? Maybe one person just lands harder than the other.
Great analysis of barefoot running. Thanks a lot! 🙏🏻 I run myself a few times on barefoot and feel this joy!
All these people running while hitting their heels make me wonder: how the hell do they jump? By landing on their heels? Man, that would not only hurt, but also leave a few bones cracked.....My guess is that they never jump......
Jumping is probably just a different activity for us? I’m a “normal” runner, I don’t even really know whether I’m a heel striker, but I have regular running shoes and have never had injuries. I probably make a different movement when jumping. And no, I don’t jump all the time. Only when I need to jump.
Daniel Lieberman really helped create a good trend. Even though he has not yet put forefoot step walking into his life ;)) Still a huge asset in getting people started ;)
best wishes
Dirk
walking is diferent
Its fun to see that at the end of the video , an advertisement pops up selling shoes!!
In case you're not trolling: It's not an advertisement. That's a magazine from Nature, one of the most prestigious publishers of scientific journals in the World.
@36jcasa during a gait cycle, the heel strike on the calcaneous causes the impact and the generated forces to go straight up the kinetic chain, meaning it goes up the legs into the spine. Even though running with a forefoot strike first has more force, the foots arches are there to absorb and spread the impact across the foot, rather than the force just staying in that area. when we wear shoes, it limits the bones natural ability to move, spread, and adapt to the surface to minimize forces.
Why barefoot? Imagine you are born with a feet (Yay, some people are not tho..), then you put them into a splint/corset. So now your feet are shaped as your shoes. Congratulation, you now have crocked feet and chronic back-pain. Have you ever seen a foot that have never met a shoe? I have seen some pretty nasty deformed feet. Not to mention that your body disposes of waste by feces but also using the dead skin on your feet. Yet we let it rot in the shoes and wonder why we are so ill. When you travel barefoot your feet are smooth and soft. Plus you get free massage every time you go out.
I lived in Sri Lanka and I ran bare foot and I was faster bare foot than running with shoes
Johonan andrew gomes
Yes you can run pretty fast bare foot but not immediately after you get out of your shoes for the first time :D Have a nice day in Sri Lanka I bet it is great there.
+Tomasmoravia now I live in canada
Yeah tru
I have been watching barefooting since it was a trend and since this video came out. I had just happened to buy an unintentional barefoot shoe in Feb 2010 from Power by Bata, India. I loved that and it lasted a year. Next year, I also applied for a PhD in exercise with an Australian professor who was researching this. Today, on Sep 3, 20204, I started running without shoes again. Loving it. Wonder where this prof stands now on this, given that the trend is long over. Also, this theory of us being "born to run"--what's the status of (pre)History research on that?
I had minimal exercise for the last few years. I started walking in the park with shoes to get something going. The 1st few days of walking for 1 hr I did not feel much tiredness. The day i walked without shoes all muscles of my body felt tired the entire day and i got the best sleep that night.
Awesome. I've been contemplating buying the VFF recently. I'll have to give this a try!
I made a BIG mistake in my reply to you. Please see my correction below.
"Stability & Motion Control shoes are made for these problems." These shoes are designed to compensate for OVER pronation ONLY by supporting your foot so it doesn't roll inwards too much.
If you UNDER pronate you want to encourage your foot to roll more but as you don't absorb the impact properly you need extra cushioning so you also want a NEUTRAL shoe (same as for a normal pronator) but one with plenty of cushioning.
As a kid I was taught to only run on my forefoot when sprinting but over the years I found it more comfortable and less painful to jsut walk and run on my forefoot as well as when I sprint. My joints feel amazing, they don't crack nearly as much and my warmup exercises aren't as long I feel because my legs have already been activated all day.
No, actually, shoes cushion your heel which encourages heel striking and shifts your posture so that more braking happens and your hips and knees absorb more pressure, thus causing injury (i.e. the impact transient referred to in the vid). Its been found that ~90% of running injuries come from using athletic shoes.
You can however use thin-soled minimalist shoes to get the benefits of barefoot without the need for toughening the feet. Google huaraches or vibrams
I find that a bent knee directly underneath the pelvis on impact is the best way to reduce impact problems. I notice the doc locks his knee in the barefoot examples.
I ran barefoot on unmade roads all my child hood and loved it. I am definitely going to go back to barefoot running. Thanks.
I watched "David Attenborough - African Kalahari Desert Kudu Persistence Hunt" after reading your comments. Thanks.
That bushmen runner who tracked the kudu to the end, wore shoes!
When he said he enjoyed it when he took off his shoes to run, I could relate to that . That was what I felt when I took my shoes of to run with my fore foot. Only those people who actually do that will understand what that enjoyment is.
It’s so good to have the music playing all the time and the people mumbling low and quickly.
In response to 36jcasa. I think what they are saying is the initial "impact" forces are much smaller in a forefoot strike, not the overall forces, which are pretty equal. By landing on the forefoot you do not have that initial "strike" force and immediate loss of kinetic energy. The initial spike in force for the heel strike looks like it hits about 1.85 x body weight, where as a forefoot strike has a slight bump of about 0.25 x body weight and then gradually increases. Listen at 4:00.
I couldn't help but notice in spite of the fact there is no initial sharp impact, the peak impact force is higher for forefoot strike (2.63xBW) vs heel strike (2.42xBW). So how can they claim the shock is less? I do train barefoot occasionally and run in minimalist shoes. But barefoot running does not magically make you a good runner or have good form, you have to work on it consciously during every run. Also, I do know barefoot runners who still get injured.
I had the same experience but as you gradually work up your calvemuscles things get a lot more interesting
Amazing 13yrs ago this was something that should have had even way more people now utilizing barefoot shoes when “necessary” as opposed to the stiff, thick, and heavy shoes we’ve been giving as an only option for the past 150 years. It is best to jog bare feet, but clutter outside is not ideal, so one can at least run bare feet in the house ideally on a surface without carpet. It feels awesome, and of course walk around & do everything you can bare feet, and make your shoes if you don’t have access at the moment to barefoot shoes. Take out the lining, and also even before that make sure there is zero drop in the shoe, so you are when completed 2mm from the ground.
I wish I had figured this out by 8th grade track... Thanks for all the heat and time graphs and slo mos! =o)
Just the act of putting shoes on decreases running efficiency by as much as 30%.
Britek footwear has been independent laboratory tested while running at 10 mph on a treadmill. We demonstrated an amazing 15 - 20% reduction of oxygen consumption. Tests are internationally published in our utility footwear patents. Barefoot running was key to the development. A negative pressure shoe with no foam mid-sole.
@Col2109 It is possible to use a barefoot running style while in shoes. The only problem is that most running shoes have a very thick heel for cushioning. When you stand up straight in running shoes your foot is already slanted slightly downward and this makes it difficult to run with the proper foot strike (without landing the heel first). If you need some type of shoe but want to use a barefoot style (for terrain or weather reasons) then try racing flats without any insoles.
@oommen BTW, I seem to have missed mentioning that shoes deform our feet.
Most notably, it crushes our toes together (mainly the big toe and pinky toe), but also the whole foot.
Shoes are not moulded after our feet, they mould our feet after themselves.
...and wearing shoes as a child, means the changes are largely permanent and irreversible, without surgery.
Unlike the reversible fact, that they make our muscles, tendons and ligaments atrophy and even weaken our bones.
I've run 20,000 miles barefoot inside a 100,000 total.
I am currently running twice a day-w no shoes ever ,the last 200 workouts.
Several things happened.My feet became very strong & bulletproof. I won a lot of races using that strength to parlay into speed.I love reconnecting w Nature & the Earth.Not missing thd concrete jungle @ all.
I've had a total of ZERO injuries.
It's different for everyone. You must be intelligent enough to dose the amount so as not to progress past the point of yr bodies adaptive abilities.You should comprehend the kinetic chain & how to function optimally for your personal criteria.
I save about 4-500. a month NOT buying shoes of any type-even so called " barefoot shoes"( oxymoron).
As Christopher McDougall says in his best selling book Born to Run - " we've been lied to & brainwashed; shoes being " a nessesity is a myth."
@xcracer321 Shoes were made as a protection against the environment, and most ancient shoes had thin, flexible soles. If anything, they were most likely to keep the foot warm in cold environments (which is why many of the most ancient shoes found have been stuffed with grass as insulation) or to protect them from sharp rocks or very hot ground. Also, some earthen surfaces in Africa can be as hard as cement, particularly in the dry season. Shoes were not made because of roads.
i can also say that if you were all life heel striking-first runner, it's not recommended to change radically your running style. This is gonna cause more problems and injuries. Just try to be as close as it can be to a midfoot strike.
Shock is dispersed, not a sharp impact. It is not the landing but how you land that makes the shock less. It is over a longer period. And you are right about barefoot running :)
running with fore front impact allows muscles in the foot to absorb the impact vs bone on bone column loading all the way to the spine.
FWIW, last summer my son got me running barefoot, and I did so until it got cold enough that I could no longer feel my forefeet :-) I was impressed at Lieberman running next to snow banks.
Could you point to scientific papers finding that barefoot running reduces overall running stress injuries? I could only find studies showing that barefoot running strengthened feet similar to explicit foot strengthening exercises, but as for injuries, the findings seemed inconclusive and seemed to suggest that they would only shift the likely point of injury from hips or knees to the lower foot.
@oommen "shoe runners can forefoot strike to avoid rapid increase in RFD."
It helps, IF the shoe allows for you to do so properly.
The cushioning still gives a slight increase and the lack of ground feeling, means you can't properly adjust your movements to maximally decrease impact, imbalance, injury from stepping on something ETC.
"since you will have 2 be scanning the ground regularly"
That's not really an issue, once you get used to it.
Also, the sole gets tougher and thicker, not harder.
Amen, many people who compare Human running speed to other species seem to forget this vital point. Wearing shoes provides useful cushioning but also removes the advantages your natural foot structure grants
@BabmerChan
It's just an expression for shoes with a fine sole (2 or 3 millimeters) no arch support nor cushion at the heel, to differentiate them from ordinary shoes with thick cushioned heel and arch support.
I agree totally with this thesis about running, it seems natural, but we really can't apply same technique for walking right?
Do we need that initial heel contact while walking?
Great video. But i have a question- if u look at the values of the peak force compared to body weight shown in the graphs for heel strike Vs fore foot strike, the value is lower (2.4x) for heel strike compared to fore foot strike (2.6x). Why is that so? My understanding is that fore foot strike is better because the rise and fall of force exerted is gradual (like a sine wave) and not sudden (like a square wave)..but the persons in the video say that forces are less in fore foot strike which is not what their graph values show.
@ripz0r
That's what foot gloves are for. The most common example would be the product line of Vibram Fivefinger shoes.
It's way more awesome to find a clean road to run on though.
Don't think of the foot as a flat surface, think of it as a lever, with the ball of the foot as the fulcrum. The weight of the body "slides" over the front of the foot, and you push up with the muscles in the foot to take the next step. The force of impact is dispersed over many structures (which are designed to handle the force) rather than landing on a single point like heel-runners do.
The ball of the foot is a pivot point, and your center of gravity is designed to rotate around it.
What the researchers aren't understanding is transfer of motion. The faster you are running, the more momentum you keep, by landing more on the ball of the foot and pushing forward. Most of the force is never absorbed by the foot at all. You don't realy "land" on the foot as much as you use the foot as a tool to counter the effects of gravity.
@OKDANTE as a child, this kind of research wasn't around. so what they were telling you was very true. We tell runners all the time to run on tracks, or grass and avoid asphalt because of the forces generated to the knees and spine. but as dr.s are discovering is our gait changes when we're barefoot. sneakers actually add to the forces because it constricts our arches and doesn't allow the bones to move to absorb the shock.
@toono21 according to Christopher McDougall, Nike running shoes were designed specifically to allow runners to land on their heels. Even if not landing on the heels were common sense, thick running soles circumvent the body's built-in feedback loop that prevents runners from injuring their feet by running too hard on their heels or any other part of the foot.
Michael Schumacher brake pedal chart looks like a barefoot runner. Really smooth and fluid
great vid. It would be nice to get some info on how you land when walking barefoot (vs. for instance sneakers). Are there any difference here, and would barefoot runners benefit from walking in barefoot shoes? (yes, I am running in barefoot shoes!)
I have been running the Chi method,forward landing not heel striking for 4 years,the probelm is the shoes,they don't let you land easily on the ball of the foot.New Balance model 800 and 801 allow this and the Newton running shoe also do .They are a pleasure,I am running my 1st marathon this May,I just post a new blog arthurrobidoux,( 1/20/2010), may, not be up yet,it could take up to a month to access,but I discuss many running concepts and other ideas
I'm just back from a trail run (barefoot) over rock, gravel, and a section covered in broken glass... no cuts, no bruises, nothing. Then again, I didn't start running on gravel until it became comfortable about half a year into going barefoot.