Barefoot: The What, When, Where, Why, and How

      As stated in my last article, barefoot running or the minimalist movement is a world of questions.  I hope to answer some of, and encourage you to play devil’s advocate/ask more questions/seek other opinions as there is NO single correct answer. I will try to think of as many variables as I can, and there are many I will miss or straight up not know the best answer for.  NO one knows the best answer for this, as every individual as far as I’m concerned is an individual basis with minimalist and which option within minimalist works best. 
          What: To me, minimalist is defined as a shoe having a 0mm (or extremely low) heal to toe drop, a flexible sole, and good transfer of “feel” for increased proprioception. This includes not only “toe” shoes such as Vibram FiveFinger, but also other up and coming brands such as Altra.  Altra, and others, are currently making shoes with some padding to absorb impact, but sticking with a 0mm heal to toe drop (HTTD).  Main stream brands are also coming out with shoes that come close to this principle such as the ADIDAS Adipure, Brooks Pure, or New Balance Minimus.  These shoes have a very small HTTD, but have extremely flexible thin soles. For sake of this article, I am going to break it down into two groups, Vibrams (meaning toe shoes or shoes with 0 padding, and 0mm HTTD), as well as minimalist (shoes with padding and 0 HTTD).
    When & Why, Vibrams: I love these shoes for many different uses.  My Vibrams as I stated last week are one of my favorite go to pairs of shoes.  Running errands, hiking, climbing, yard work, weight training, etc.  I do not run in these, but it is quite possible too with zero issues. From what I have seen anecdotally, and read, I feel to run in these shoes you should have normal arches, good running mechanics (midfoot strike, normal pronation), possess a relatively ectomorphic body style (relatively skinny, not overly muscular or carrying large amounts of excess weight.
     Your arch is necessary to absorb shock and spring you forward, utilizing stretch shortening cycle to conserve energy in the ligaments of the arch and Achilles tendon while saving those forces from transferring up the kinetic chain into your legs, hips, and back.  Good running mechanics are necessary for these ground reaction forces to be comforted in the proper manner, to avoid impact/overuse injuries.  Lean body is necessary as the amount of impact of even 20lbs extra is massive when multiplied with the force of you landing, and looking at those who have been running barefoot for centuries: they aren’t exactly eating McDonald’s and Fritos daily.
    The other equation here is the surface we run on.  Cement, concrete, asphalt and other man made surfaces are all harder than dirt, even the hard packed dirt of Africa and other dry/desert regions.   How often can one run barefoot on these before (if at all?) breaking down is unknown. Every person has individual limits, what your limits are, is unknown until you hit the limit and something breaks.          Using a different padded minimalist shoe while running on harder surfaces, and using Vibrams as a PIECE of the puzzle while running on turf, grass, some easier trails, etc. may be a fantastic plan of attack.  This is something that may never be researched as there are just too many variables to control for, but if common sense is applied with some good knowledge and research may help keep you running strong, healthy, and safe.  As for weight training, these are fantastic for reasons I will outline below.
    When & Why, Minimalist: These shoes I feel with proper mechanics, as long as properly fitting are fantastic for your everyday running regardless of surface.  However, the padding is often much thinner and may break down sooner, and it would be advisable to keep an eye on mileage and any MINOR aches and pains that crop up, as these could easily be warning signs to future, larger trouble.      The other HUGE bonus about these shoes is the ability to lift and cross train in them, with completely natural biomechanics you just cannot get in shoes that open up your shin angle. When you put your foot at this downward angle from heal to toe, this shifts your weight forward, in turn limiting your ability to drive your hips backwards.  If you cannot drive back and then upwards through your heals, then you are decreasing range in your hips, and limiting usage of the glutes and hamstrings.  What is the purpose of squatting if you aren’t going to properly use glutes and hams?!          How, both: This is the tricky part and where (I’d be willing to bet) well over half of people who get hurt, is because of the how, not the when/why.  This is a long process to do properly, and improper transition after years or regular shoes takes adjustment.  Just as you cannot do an ironman after sitting on the couch and only 6 weeks of training, you cannot start running minimalist overnight.  I break the transition down into five main stages: Gait, Daily Use, Transition, Build, Maintenance.  
    Gait: This is when you start to work on your mechanics and ensuring proper foot strike and proper pronation before even buying the shoes.  As I said earlier, heal strike will not work with this and neither will excess or not enough pronation.  Sending in video to a coach such as Ascension Multisport for a mechanics assessment can help steer you in what changes, if any, need to be made to your running style.  When you are able to run fluid, and more importantly subconsciously with proper mechanics, we can move onto stage 2.
    Daily Use: You must crawl before you walk, walk before you may run.  Start wearing the shoes for a few hours a day around the house, errands, etc.  Build up gradually how much time you are able to wear them.  You can also achieve this by being barefoot. No, Flip Flops DO NOT count (and are a cardinal sin for athletes, another future blog topic!).
    Transition: This is the most important stage in my opinion, and extremely similar to the following stage of Build.  Start running 1x per week for just .5-2 miles.  You could easily be sore the next day in your lower leg, calves especially. I recommend sticking with shorter distances during this phase, and if you need more miles, then bring your regular pair and change halfway, after warmup, etc.  After a few weeks of this, and soreness disappears start gradually increasing the quantity of runs per week.  After you hit 60-70% of your runs in minimalist shoes, you may progress to the Build phase.
    Build: This is where you start gradually increasing your mileage. The toughest part here is to increase while still sticking to the 10% rule.  No more than 10% increase in mileage total, as well as no more than 10% increase in mileage in your minimalist shoes.  If the total time so far in this process seems really long, (should be months) congrats! You’re doing it right. To start running in minimalist, slower is safer.  After you have increased your mileage in minimialist to almost 100% of your total mileage, you are progressing into the final stage.
    Maintenance: This is the easy stage, where the only rule is use common sense.  You are most likely loving minimalist running, the efficiency, hopefully still injury free, and you are able to keep it going simply by keeping it going.  Pay attention to your body, and listen to it.  This process should help you learn to be more in tune with your body, as you have no other options.  Tuning out the voice of your body will get you in trouble.   When all else fails, listen to and trust your coach, ask questions when you are unsure what they mean or why, and ALWAYS err on the side of caution. Happy Training!