Benefits of Barefoot Training
I have this one specific memory from my childhood, sitting in a shoe store with my mom, patiently trying on dozens of shoes to figure out which ones felt the most comfortable.
As a kid, I thought that I had “wide feet” since I always preferred to have a little extra room for my toes to breathe and spread out.
It turns out that from an early age, I was onto something!
I didn’t want restrictive footwear to change the natural shape of my feet.
To read more about my personal experience with footwear, check out My Journey to Foot Health.
Brief History of the Evolution of Feet
Many of us are familiar with the images of ancient leather sandals from depictions in cinema.
But when did we start wearing shoes?
It’s believed that somewhere around 26 to 40 thousand years ago is when our human ancestors started wearing shoes.
We don’t know exactly what these shoes looked like or what materials they were made from, but it’s interesting to know how scientists discovered this.
After comparing the foot bones of humans dating back to 40 to 100 thousand years ago to more modern humans (less than 40 thousand years old), scientists realized that the more ancient ancestors had thicker and stronger toes.
Suggesting that the shoe-wearing modern humans had weaker and thinner toe bones due to the utilization of footwear.
Repeated studies have shown similar findings, where individuals who don’t wear shoes have stronger toes.
The most interesting part of all of this research is that the findings suggest these are not evolutionary adaptions, but adaptions that happen over the course of a lifetime.
Meaning that we aren’t doomed to weak feet due to our ancestors wearing shoes and that you can increase the strength of your feet simply by going barefoot regularly.
All o these toe conditions are caused by shoes or improper foot function.
Why Certain Shoes Are Not Optimal
Within a single lifetime, shoes can dramatically affect the structure, function, and health of the feet and toes. Restrictive shoe wear can weaken the toes, balance, coordination, and proprioception (ability to sense the environment).
Restrictive shoe wear is any shoe that limits the natural movement of your feet and toes, even the ankles. Having excessively stiff, thick, or soft (or squishy) soles can weaken and change the tissues and bones.
One of the most common ways that shoes can restrict foot movement is by having a small toe-box. Meaning that the toes are cramped and cannot properly spread out or spay.
Structural and functional changes in the bones and tissues can also contribute to pain and joint issues in the ankle, knees, hips, or low back. Having a limited range of motion in the toes, feet, and ankle can also cause imbalances throughout the body.
Conceptualizing the feet as the foundation of the body is a great way to visualize how having a poor foundation (or foot health/mechanics) can lead to issues in other areas of the body.
If you have a foundation issue in your home, it can affect other parts of the structure such as the walls, flooring, even the ceiling.
Barefoot Training is Optimal
Training barefoot is a great and easy way to start learning how to increase your foot and mind connection and strengthen the muscles, and connective tissues of the feet, toes, and ankles.
Learning how to spay (spread) the toes and actively grip the floor with your feet is one of my favorite ways to integrate foot health into training.
As mentioned before, building stronger muscles and connective tissue in the feet translates to increased function and health of joints in the ankle, knees, and hips.
To maintain healthy and functional bodies, we should be able to access all ranges of motion without any restrictions.
Barefoot training can also improve your walking mechanics, or gait, by strengthening the shins and improving coordination, and proprioception (ability to sense our environment).
Spending time barefoot sends more sensory feedback to the brain, further strengthening the mind/body connection. Proprioception, the ability to sense our environment, can also increase your ability to sense your posture and bodily positions.
Imagine walking barefoot on the beach in the sand, and how different that feels to walking with sneakers on.
With this increased awareness, we can improve our mechanics when training to strengthen our weaknesses and imbalances. For example, finding a neutral foot/ankle position for collapsed arches, or excessively pronated feet (rolling outwards).
As one would assume, spending more time barefoot can also help improve the strength and health of the connective tissues on the sole, known as the plantar fascia.
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of these tissues, which can be caused or exacerbated by poor foot mechanics, or restrictive shoe wear. In my personal experience, having tight calves with restrictive shoe wear has caused plantar fasciitis issues as well.
Another insightful impact of barefoot training is potentially decreasing joint pain. Using the low back as an example, increasing the strength of the big toe (and foot in general), can improve the strength of the hips and glutes, which can alleviate tight lower back muscles. Crazy, huh?! [To learn more hip mobility exercises, check out my Happy Hips, Happy Life article).
In summation, having strong feet is essential for having a healthy and balanced body, particularly for anyone who experiences any joint issues in the lower extremities.
When accessing your feet and mechanics, reference the image below to visualize the proper weight distribution of the feet and arches.
Practical Application
Kick Off Your Shoes
Kicking off your shoes, and training barefoot is the easiest way to get started. Starting on a soft surface like carpet, turf, a yoga mat, or a gym mat, would be a great way to introduce different surfaces into your training.
I also suggest being barefoot at home as much as possible.
Keep in mind, that your feet will experience some fatigue, just like our biceps do from training, so be sure to have some comfortable shoes around to utilize when experiencing fatigue.
Minimalist Shoes
Wearing minimalist shoes throughout the day and when exercising is another great way to start strengthening the feet and improving foot mechanics.
Minimalist shoes provide you with a thin, flexible sole that is flat, as well as giving you a wide toe-box so that your toes can spay out.
Foot Exercises
Here are a few exercises you can start incorporating into your foot wellness and exercise routine.:
Flex and Point
Actively flex the ankle and toes, spreading out the toes as far as you can
Then point the ankle and toes down as hard as you can
Repeat for 1 min on each foot
Wearing Toe Spreaders
It may not seem like much of an exercise, but spreading the toes out is a great way to release the tension of the foot muscles before strengthening them.
If you don’t have toe spreaders, you can thread socks in between your toes as well.
Wear these for several hours at a time, several times a week
Wear daily for the best results
Ankle Circles
Flex your ankles and foot, and draw a circle with your ankle
At the bottom of the circle, point your ankle and toes as hard as you can
Repeat for 30 seconds and switch directions
That’s it! Hope you were able to take something away from this and continue keeping those feet healthy!
To start training barefoot with me online, join one of my online fitness programs.
Considerations
When beginning your barefoot journey, remember that like any training, recovery, rest, balance, and volume are all just as important as the work we put in.
Take your time incorporating the exercises and tools recommended and don’t rush the process.
When training barefoot be sure to take the surface of the floor and the impact on the boney structures of the feet into consideration. When lunging or jumping I typically use a yoga mat for support or opt-out for some shoes with better shock absorption.
Happy Feet!
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