Going Barefoot, Almost

Huaraches from InvisibleShoe.comI’ve always preferred being barefoot. Having relatively wide feet I could never find shoes that fit comfortably, and the ability to wear sandals, thongs and other less restrictive footwear year round is one of the things I like most about living in Florida. While more comfortable and less restrictive these aren’t quite the same as being completely barefoot, but are necessary for protection against things like hot asphalt and gravel, crushed seashells, and other sharp, pointy stuff. As much as I would rather not wear shoes at all, having stepped on nails and sliced the bottom of my left foot wide open playing in a field as a child I prefer to err on the side of caution.

Thanks to the rise in popularity of barefoot running a few companies and enterprising individuals have started producing “minimalist” footwear, designed to provide some protection for the foot while minimizing the material between the foot and the ground and allowing the foot to work and move the way it is supposed to when standing, walking, running, jumping, etc. While I don’t recommend you take up running for exercise since a proper strength training program can improve general functional ability to a much greater degree in a shorter period of time and with less time in the gym, or for fat loss since it is a relatively slow and inefficient way to eventually burn a very small number of calories, I do recommend switching to more minimalist footwear for the more general health and fitness benefits. If, however, you run for recreation or enjoy competition going barefoot, or almost, is best.

Two of the biggest problems with conventional shoes are the very things they claim as benefits; support and cushioning. The artificial support they provide has an effect similar to wearing a cast, causing the muscles and ligaments of the foot to become weaker over time. If you’ve ever broken a bone and been in a cast for a few weeks you know how quickly muscles can atrophy due to disuse. Restrictive shoes can do something very similar to your feet, and even if you don’t wear them continuously most of us are in some kind of footwear most of the time we’re awake from early childhood on. Whenever people ask about the shoes I wear and question the lack of support I tell them a healthy foot doesn’t require it — if they transition to minimalist footwear gradually their feet will become stronger and support themselves.

Despite the marketing claims of athletic shoe companies there is no evidence that conventional athletic shoe designs with all their air, gels, springs and other cushioning gimmicks do anything to reduce injuries. If anything, all the cushioning is more likely to increase injury. Your foot contains about 200,000 nerve endings which provide feedback necessary for balance, protection, etc., and cushioning dampens your feet’s sensitivity, tending to cause people to plant their feet even harder trying to compensate for lost feedback. Additionally, all the heel cushioning and unnatural stiffness encourages runners to run with a heel strike rather than planting the forefoot, resulting in an increase in impact forces which is greater than the reduction provided by the cushion and affects everything from your heels all the way up your spine. Running barefoot on your forefeet actually results in lower impact forces than running in cushioned shoes and planting your heels.

Pull-ups on the UXS-15, note the Vibram Five FingersShoes which raise the heels significantly can also result in shortened calf muscles and achilles tendons, which may also increase the risk of injury to these during running and jumping. When squatting or deadlifting heel elevation moves the knees further forward increasing the torque around them and can impair balance and reduce the lateral stability of the ankles. During leg presses the knee torque can be reduced by placing the feet higher on the pedal but thick heels still decrease lateral ankle stability. Elevated heels also tend to shift the balance forward which can be a problem during standing exercises. While anecdotal and subjective, I feel my balance and stability is noticeably better when wearing Vibrams or huaraches when squatting or deadlifting (and, contrary to nonsense claimed by “functional training” advocates, balance and stability improve exercise effectiveness).

Also, while anecdotal and subjective, since switching from regular tennis and dress shoes to Vibram Five Fingers in Spring of 2009 a persistent, nagging pain in my left hip (probably the result of lots of running from junior high til early in college) and occasional lower back discomfort from a deadlifting injury in 2004 have disappeared.

Recently, I’ve started wearing huaraches made by InvisibleShoe.com and prefer them to the VFF’s for general wear, as they’re more comfortable and not as weird looking. Wearing their huaraches feels more like being barefoot, and unlike the VFF’s they do not need to be washed every week to prevent them from smelling.

Depending on your feet (Vibrams will not fit correctly on people with longer second toes), intended usage and style preference there are a lot of options for minimalist footwear, ranging from the relatively inexpensive Invisible Shoe huaraches to the more expensive VFF’s and Terra Plana’s Vivo Barefoot. Ideally, whatever you get should be extremely lightweight and flexible with a very thin sole, allow unrestricted movement of the toes, and have minimal support or control elements.

If you need something dressier for work, the Vibram Trek’s with kangaroo leather uppers can pass for dress shoes if people don’t look too closely, and Terra Plana has some nicer looking minimalist footwear. VFF’s are probably the best option if you work out at a gym since most require closed toed shoes for insurance reasons (even though nothing short of steel-toed boots will help if you drop a forty five pound plate on your toes) and their Flow model is specifically designed for water sports. For general wear, working out, walking, hiking, etc.,  my preference is huaraches since they are the closest you can get to being barefoot while still having some protection against abrasion, cuts and hot surfaces and not getting kicked out of restaurants.

Emma and Luke wearing the women's and kid's huaraches from InvisibleShoe.comI have two pairs from InvisibleShoe.com, one 6mm and one 4mm. The 6mm’s give a little more protection when walking “off-road” in areas with lots of rocks, branches, etc. but I prefer the 4mm’s the rest of the time. I ordered the 6mm’s custom made (you send them a tracing of your foot following the video instructions on their site) and the kit for the 4mm’s, which includes the soles and cord and instructions for trimming if necessary and punching the hole where the cord starts between the toes, which was pretty straight forward. There are numerous videos on their web site demonstrating the different tying methods, and I chose the “slip-on” method, which was easy to tie, and I can put mine on and take them off without constantly having to tie and untie them.

My wife and son liked mine and wanted their own so I bought kits and made each of them a pair, using purple cord and a more decorative tying style for hers (also shown on their web site). If you don’t want to make them yourself they’ll make a custom pair for you using a tracing of your feet for a little extra, but I enjoyed making them and while I prefer simplicity and utility if you want to add a personal touch you can incorporate beads, pendants or other decorative elements into the cords, which you can get through their site or your local art supply or crafts store. We’ve been putting a few miles on ours each week walking the dogs and are really liking them.

If you get VFF’s I recommend the Sprints but not the KSO’s. I’ve had a few pairs each of the Classics, Sprints and KSO’s and while I haven’t had any problems with the Classics or Sprints the straps on both pairs of KSO’s have worn through quickly where they pass through the medial eyelet, and I’m not pulling them tight. Contrary to their name, which is an acronym for “Keep Stuff Out” the KSO’s don’t do a very good job of preventing sand from getting inside them and when it does it’s more of a hassle to take them off and put them back on to get it out than with the Classics or Sprints. I have not had structural problems with the other VFF’s and considering how much I wore them before getting my huaraches they were surprisingly durable. The only downside is you have to wash them very frequently to prevent them from smelling, especially if you are working out or running in them, which is a problem a lot of people have been reporting. I can’t comment on Terra Plana or any of the other brands since I don’t own any, but I have tried the Vivo Barefoot on at the store and for the very short time I had them on they were comfortable. If you do try any of the other brands, just remember to look for the qualities mentioned above; lightweight, flexible, very thin sole, unrestricted toe movement, minimal support or control elements.

When making the transition you might want to start slow, a few hours a day at first then gradually increase the time, since some people’s feet take a few weeks to get used to them. Once you get used to them and your feet strengthen a bit you won’t want to go back.

Join the discussion or ask questions about this post in the HIT List forum

Like it? Share it!

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Danny Sep 22, 2011 @ 16:04

    Since I’ve started going barefoot most of the time, my left hip pain has mostly disappeared. I’m pretty sure that was due to the hundreds, possibly thousands, of lunges on my left side when doing a roundoff, handspring, aerial, vault, or mount on P-bars and pommels. Also, it seems like a whole new data-set of information comes through the soles of your feet. And, my feet never get ‘tired’ or achy anymore either. Waiting for my huaraches to come!

  • jeff Sep 22, 2011 @ 19:56

    Hey Drew,

    I made my own huaraches from the invisible shoe kit a few weeks ago and I love them. Whenever I am not at work they are my go to shoe. While I like the VFFs, they make my feet sweat( and therefore stink) and they lead to many conversations I would rather avoid. No such problem with the huaraches as the open air ventilates and they look enough like sandals that few take a second look.

    jef

  • Richard Sep 22, 2011 @ 20:33

    Drew, i would like to buy a pair of Invisible Shoes but my only reservation is that they look a bit feminine – judging by the pictures i’ve seen online. I think its the thin laces?? What is your opinion on this? Thanks

    • Drew Baye Sep 22, 2011 @ 20:56

      Hey Richard,

      I just think they’re “utilitarian” looking. Unless you get them with pink or purple laces I don’t think anyone is going to get the wrong idea.

  • Vartan Sep 23, 2011 @ 13:06

    I actually love my KSO’s, they’re the only shoe I would ever dead lift in. Even my Converse are too padded for the job. I have a sad little story about this whole thing though, which just demonstrates how little general knowledge people have about fitness. Just last night I was working out with a friend of mine and I’m psuedo-training her actually, so I make her work out barefoot. In fact when we first started she came to the gym with a Puma equivalent of those stupid toning shoes that Sketchers started, and I told her “take those off when we leg press”.

    So last night, front desk chick comes up to us and says that she needs to be wearing shoes unless there’s a reason why we’re performing the exercise barefoot, and that barefoot training isn’t allowed due to liability. So I basically told her that it’s far safer to leg press without cushioning and it’s also far more stabilizing. I also muttered under my breathe “liability my ass, only steel toed boots would save you if you dropped anything heavier than a 5 pound plate”….

    Great minds huh?

    I actually won out though, but what really surprised me is that they actually needed an explanation as to why a barefoot leg press would be beneficial.

  • Jason Sep 23, 2011 @ 14:58

    Good article. I recently stopped lifting in olympic weightlifting shoes after years of wearing them for squats, pulls, cleans, etc. My knees and patella were constantly sore. I’m pretty sure they also messed up my back from having my balance thrown so far forward when pulling. Since switching to rudimentary slip-on flat sole shoes I no longer have any problems, but I may have to give the huaraches or Vibrams a look.

  • karthik Sep 23, 2011 @ 23:50

    I’ve been working out these days bare foot. Since most of training is ground-up, I notice a considerable change in my calves. They look more longer now. Also, the balance that I get while doing any of the exercises, specifically the hip belt squats and trap bar dead lifts has been great. If I need to sprint, I do it in a pair of very thin soled canvas- the ones that I used to wear to my school as part of the uniform during days that we had PT(Physical Training).

    In India, we get “Kholapuri chappals”, which are made out of nothing but camel leather. They are very thin at the soles and most of them come with absolutely no heels. I wear them with my jeans and they look real cool and can suit any casual attire. U also get slip on types. The best part is, they are really inexpensive. For about 200 rupees(4$) you can get a pair. Goes to show, how we’ve been exploited by several industries that supply our day to day stuff. But, the most intriguing part is that the complications caused by all these directly contribute towards increasing income for the medical industry. So much for the sake of HEALTH.

    Karthik

  • SPC Nathaniel Coleman USArmy Oct 2, 2011 @ 0:29

    Drew,

    Great article, being in the army, us soldiers have no choice but to wear athletic running shoes, since it is part of army regulations. It is a sad thing that the 5toe running shoes are banned, in army Physical fitness uniform. I personally have not experienced the 5toe shoe yet, but whenever i have the oportunity, i wear flipflops, or no shoes at all, since the army combat boot tends to increase the chance of ankle injuries. Ive rolled my ankle many times wearing the combat boots, specially when in the gym, and in 2009 i tore a few ligaments in my right ankle, luckily i didnt break it. Running barefoot does feel more natural and less restrictive, it also greatly reduces the impact on the heal, and lessens pain in knees and lower back. These day when i run long distances in shoes, i get this feeling like my lower back and spine is forcefully compressed, and it is very painful. I wish to thank you for writing this article, now i have something to refer people to when they tell me flipflops screw up the natural arch in one’s feet.

    • Drew Baye Oct 2, 2011 @ 12:00

      Hey Nathaniel,

      While I understand the need for boots in combat it’s unfortunate the military does not allow soldiers more choice in footwear for PT as the Vibram Five Fingers and other minimalist footwear would be healthier.

      One of the reasons boots and shoes which elevate the heels increase the likelihood and severity of ankle injuries is because they lengthen the lever against the ankle during inversion or eversion. This bigger lever means it is harder to correct your position and recover if you take a bad step or start to invert or evert the foot due to uneven terrain and if you can’t recover more force is applied to the ligaments and other tissues and a more severe injury results than if you were wearing something with a shorter heel.

  • Joe A Oct 5, 2011 @ 11:30

    Drew- nice VFF tan line in the first photo! LOL

    Been wearing minimalist for three years…had same problem with my KSOs (although the Treks definitely held up better).

    I was considering buying some Merrell’s barefoot shoes…anyone tried them? Opinions?

  • PTB Oct 31, 2011 @ 18:22

    Hey Drew, I’ve been looking into barefoot shoes for some time and I just picked up a pair of Merrell Sonic Glove Barefoot shoes. I tried the Vibrams, but my 2 smallest toes do not go into those last 2 slots well.

    I wore them in the office today, just to get used to them. They feel good, but I actually find the running motion easier than walking because in running, I’m a bit more forward and I have a bounce going into the next step, whereas walking, I’m still landing heel first. It seems to land on ball/midfoot first walking, I basically have to be on my toes, which doesn’t look or feel natural, and rather looks a bit awkward and juvenile. It’s also funny that my 8 year old is always walking on her toes and we always tell her “HEELS DOWN!!” – mostly because that’s what our parents told us.

    I’m starting to rethink whether she’s doing what is more natural for her feet and maybe we’re wrong.

    Any suggestions on how to WALK better barefoot without looking like an 4 year old?

    • Drew Baye Nov 3, 2011 @ 13:37

      PTB,

      I didn’t do anything specific during the transition, but if I pay attention to my gait I notice I still have a heel-toe gait when walking, but I don’t think this is as much of a problem during walking as during running when the impact would be much greater. This is something I plan on looking into more for future articles, though, and will write about when I know more.