“My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot in the grass” Leslie Grimutter
The ‘barefoot’ trend is yet to gather the momentum needed to revolutionise the health of the nation, but it is definitely gathering speed. We even saw Todd Sampson, in a recent episode of ABCs Retrain Your Brain, heighten his sensory awareness for safe cracking by taking off his shoes.
At Train for LIFE, we run a barefoot studio.
The choice to train barefoot is exactly that, a choice, and one that pretty much 100% of our clients are happy to make.
Initially training barefoot is surprising to most. The all knowing “They” of mainstream media have conditioned us to expect fitness and good health to be the bi-product of sweat filled gyms where shoes are essential, along with spray on clothing, loud music and a big dose of attitude.
Historically though, much exercise has been done barefoot, and in the tranquil surrounds of nature.
Many martial arts styles are practiced barefoot (or in minimal shoes / slippers) - perhaps a result of the custom of the country being to remove shoes upon entering a room, or simply because it allows better connectivity to the ground and traction in movement.
Karate, Jui Jitsu, Tai Chi and Yoga are all practiced barefoot.
Will you train barefoot? What is your initial reaction to this question?
What if training movement barefoot made it safer and more effective?
What if training barefoot allowed you to eliminate pain?
In 10 years of training individuals both shod and barefoot, I have found that the best results come when the benefits of barefoot training are explored and embraced.
The foot is a complex structure - there are 26 bones in each foot; 33 joints; and more than 100 tendons. To add to these already impressive figures there are 19 muscles in each foot and 250,000 sweat glands. According to “The Barefoot Professor” there are an estimated 100 - 200,000 exteroceptors in the foot, which gather information from the outside world and enable the brain to make the minuscule adjustments required to the muscles during gait to avoid injury; and there are roughly 20,000 proprioceptors that keep track of body position via the sole of each foot. When feet are shod this biofeedback information gathering is hampered and the body can become clumsy and prone to make more mistakes.
Taking the shoes off to move and train creates the best opportunity for the body to receive vital information to be successful.
Improved biofeedback will improve movement. The more information your brain has about the environment surrounding the body and where it is in that space, the better it will be able to make decisions about how to move in that space. Training barefoot will allow you to develop greater awareness of your own body, and in so doing to strengthen your posture and gait from the ground up. Starting at the feet facilitates activation of the anatomy trains of fascial tissues that provide tensengrity (stability) for the body and will improve balance, posture, strength and flexibility naturally.
There is often a big focus on core strength in pain management, especially for anyone who suffers from lower back pain, a common complaint in many who sit all day. What if taking your shoes off and using a tool such as a spikey ball before getting up to move could reduce or even alleviate that pain. By re-awakening the soles of the feet to the environment in which they are asked to move, biofeedback can be improved encouraging the body to move better and in so doing reduce pain. Certainly this is different for every individual, but something so simple as taking off your shoes is surely a better first option than pain killers, doctors, podiatrists and orthotics to solve the pain problem.
Taking shoes off to move and train can improve balance, stability, posture, strength and flexibility, and in so doing can potentially reduce pain.
All said and done, taking off your shoes simply feels fantastic. At the end of the day most of us will kick our shoes off and welcome the freedom to walk around at home barefoot. Barefoot people enjoy the sensation of walking in water on the beaches edge, playing in the grass or experiencing the massaging effects of walking over pebbles and stones. Going barefoot heightens the experience of life.
Going barefoot is an individual’s choice. Footwear is not bad, simply not essential all the time, and where you have opportunity and choice to do so, letting your feet party in the open air is doing good for every part of you.
As Sabrina Ward Harrison said “Barefoot travel allows you to get the true feel of a place”.
