Let's Go Primal!

Let’s Go Primal!

            We as a society are doing less for our health and talking about it more.  There is a lot of irony to this dilemma when it is an easy fix.  Get out and be active every day, more specifically do it barefoot.  I remember when it was a standard for a kid to run around outside all day long in your shorts without a shirt and no shoes.  Heck my dad used to always tell me tough feet made you a man, so I never wore shoes as a kid when I played outside.  Even though my father had no idea why you had to be barefoot there was a lot of sense to that statement.  As a coach I have really taken that barefoot approach to my athletes and researched the overall benefits of it.  I require all of my athletes to participate in some sort of barefoot activity at least once a week.  The different activities can include warming up, conditioning, or lifting weights (Yes you have to be aware of your environment then, because of the risk).  I feel that this topic should be brought to the attention of the performance field.

            Once you take a step and your bare foot makes contact with the ground there are kinetic chains in the body that active all the way from the foot to the head.  Every muscle in the body is contracted and forced to stabilize and balance at a higher rate.  This allows for the calf muscles and Achilles to endure the right amount of stress to adapt and become stronger and endure more stress.  Being barefoot allows your body’s natural gait to develop and allows all of the body’s major joints to adapt naturally and accordingly.  Back and pelvis issues are developed from everything in our everyday life not permitting us to naturally adapt.  This occurs from sitting all day and not wearing proper attire to do basic actions.  Once you take out the direct contact to the ground with socks and shoes there is a crutch of support that is created.  Then weaknesses in the body’s kinetic chain are created and you as an individual are susceptible to injuries.  I’m not knocking shoes, but let’s face it, if you don’t custom fit your shoes to the type of action you need them for all they will do is provide you basic foot protection. 

            So how do you approach this whole barefoot running thing and map out a program for it?  I would recommend first choose a running surface that is clear of debris and an even ground.  Then I would try to minimize the amount of change of direction you must do during your bout of exercise.  To start your barefoot program would begin my first bout with walking, then move to a jog the next bout, and finish with sprinting.  You could also start your warm up barefoot and then progress to your workout.  The positives of warming up barefoot is that there is more proprioception in the feet with bare foot strikes and better activation throughout the body, which means better balance and awareness before activity.  Whatever you choose understand it is a process and don’t be in a rush. 

            So forget about investing in the Fiver finger shoe crap and just go barefoot!  You will see a difference in your everyday living, as you back, hips, knees, ankles, and feet all become stronger and you feel better.