I learned early on while studying exercise physiology and anatomy that there is no such thing as a bad exercise. However, bad form can elicit a negative response. For example, performing a single leg lunge is an effective exercise to build overall leg strength, balance, and stability, but if you perform it with improper alignment and while holding 50-pound dumbbells, you’ve just made a useful exercise dangerous and harmful. This is exactly what is happening with the movement to run with less shoe or barefoot. You can go from 0 to 60 in three seconds in your car, but to make the transition to running with less support is going to require a lot more time.
Barefoot movement is authentic to our bodies, but not to our culture. My nephew is making the reverse transition to his first pair of shoes from learning to walk barefoot. It’s not all that natural for him because he’s missing the key ingredient he used in learning to walk in the first place—the sensory information he receives from his feet. When your feet are in direct communication with the ground, you move differently and, some would argue, more efficiently. You can also see this when you put gloves on a dog’s paws (my dog hated this). Initially, they can’t interpret the ground and are at a total loss about how to walk or run in them (quite funny to watch). We put shoes on kids and dogs to protect their feet/paws from the reality of the real world, which includes concrete, snow, glass, and many other obstacles. Eventually, we adapt and learn to navigate our lives with the protection and support of shoes. This leads to mindless movement down the road, because you don’t have to think about every step, you simply plod along. It’s very much like wearing a low back support instead of developing core strength to support the spine.
There are many runners who have been very successful running barefoot, and there are just as many who run better with less shoe or a modern supportive shoe. It doesn’t mean running shoes or Vibram FiveFingers are bad. It simply means that when you begin to run with less, it is imperative to understand that the technique (stride) is vastly different and you have to relearn the patterns by starting with the fundamentals. Running with supported shoes promotes a heel strike (not always, but usually), and running without shoes promotes a mid- or forefoot landing pattern. Therefore, it’s not as simple as taking off your shoes and going out for a run. Barefoot running is much more taxing on the muscles in your foot, ankle, calf, hamstrings. It isn’t bad, but it is different. We’ve become dependent on the support of the shoes, and it takes time to adapt to moving with less under our feet. Try writing a letter with your non-dominant hand and you’ll get my point.
Without the support, you automatically (within a few strides) revert to a mid-to-forefoot landing pattern because if you don’t, the impact is felt through the heel and it hurts. It is a subconscious and authentic movement pattern that is dependent on the sensory feedback of feeling the ground and the impact forces. As you begin to add layers between your foot and the ground, that feedback goes numb because the cushion is a barrier. Minimalist shoes offer a subtle transition in terms of support, but unless you learn the sensory patterns you can end up continuing to heel strike with less protection (not good). Finally, contemporary running shoes are made with a beefy heel that encourages a heel strike. All this is to say, if you are keen on making the transition to running with less you have to start with the fundamentals. You can’t hit a home run until you learn how to swing the bat and connect with the ball (T-ball). Many runners are swinging for a home run without enough strength and technique. And even when you have the technique down, making the transition activates a series of muscles that have been dormant and supported by the structure of a beefy shoe! It just takes time to reap the benefits of running with less.
There is no doubt that wearing less on the feet can strengthen the muscles and support you better as you run. The secret is in understanding that we live in a supported world with shoes and have all of our lives (most of us). Because of this, all those muscles are dependent on that protection and if you take it away too quickly, injuries will happen. It’s not a bad thing to move in a direction that requires more from the muscles to stabilize you and less from your shoes, but it really needs to be done in a painfully slow (think Flintstones) fashion or injuries will occur. Whether you are in the middle of a training season or running for life, start with the fundamentals, respect the process, and watch in amazement as your body relearns how to move more authentically.
Like the invention of the automobile, the advent of shoes made life easier (and prettier). However, innovation can also breed dependency and weakness in other areas. Driving allows us to move quickly and safely to a destination, but if it means you move less during the day, it can contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle. Shoes allow us to move more safely, quickly, and with less thought. However, they also allow the stabilizing muscles to go on hiatus, making them dependent on the protection and support provided by the shoes.
Is this a bad thing? Not if that is the world you want to live in and if it works for you. But many still get injuries running in shoes, and many of those injuries might be prevented with a strong base of support (foot, ankle, core), which is much harder to develop inside the supportive environment that the shoe provides. Sure, running barefoot on a trail may not be for everyone, but what about performing barefoot strengthening exercises postrun to decrease the dependency on the synthetic support system? This can be an incredibly valuable asset for trail running, developing balance and strength to reduce ankle injuries. You can leave it there or progress to weaving in short barefoot running drills. The choice is yours and it doesn’t mean you have to run on glass. Also, the stronger your feet, ankles, and core, the less likely that you will sprain an ankle or re-injure an area.
You can absolutely make your way slowly into the minimalist movement world. Build the strength to move around with less structure and go from there. You’ll never know unless you try. At the very least, you will develop stronger feet that will help you to become more stable as you continue to run in shoes.