Calvin’s Hub

When I started joining runs last year, I read a lot about running online. Techniques, running forms, training, etc. One of the interesting things I’ve read is barefoot running. I read the story about barefooted bushmen hunting faster preys not by being fast but by being steady until the animal gets tired.

There must be something about running barefoot that could help you achieve proper running form and by strengthening your feet and legs thereby help you improve your endurance.

Here are some of the benefits of being barefoot:

Doing activities barefoot brings a lot of advantages to the body’s flexibility and mobility. It allows people to exercise, stretch, relax, and strengthen muscles they normally don’t get to use when wearing shoes. Barefoot running also corrects the way people run—making them land on the balls of their feet—as compared to wearing rubber shoes which gives the tendency to land on the heels first. Landing on the heels of the feet releases more pressure and shock to legs and knees. Doing things barefoot also improves range of motion in ankles, feet, and toes because of movements that are more natural and free. It also heightens body awareness since the body has the sense of being freer than being shod. Balance and motion agility are also developed because doing things barefoot further stimulates the neurons and nerves that are essential to lower body movement. And because there are no heels to torture the foot heel and the ankle, it enhances natural posture and the alignment of the spine. And, most especially, it is much easier to relax and stretch after a workout if someone is barefoot.

Countless health benefits have been associated with being barefoot. That is why athletes, to attain better health and movement, prefer to do their sports without any footwear on. It is because when barefoot, movements become the movements of a child—playful and sensitive, yet purposeful and confident. A person experiences the unbound joy of stepping, hopping, and running across any surface on earth, simply to get from here to there. This is the reason why a lot of sports enthusiasts prefer to deal with their activities barefoot.

Numerous runners have been hitting the tracks without any shoes on because the benefits of running barefoot have long been supported by scientific research, coaches, and athletes who’ve offered ample evidence that training without shoes allows you to run faster and further with fewer injuries. Motion studies demonstrate that when running barefoot, one naturally lands on the forefoot, directly below the center of gravity. This results in optimum balance, increased stability, less impact, and greater propulsion.

While reading stuff on barefoot running last year, I came across Vibram Five Fingers. And I really want to try them out but people say you need to try them on first for an exact, comfortable fit.

Unfortunately, this VFFs are not available here in the Philippines at that time until a couple of months ago. I checked out their stall at PowerPlant Mall and tried one of the KSO model which can also be used as surf or reef shoes. It was weird at first but I could get used to it.

I don’t care if my feet looks odd in it and if it will draw stares from people but I want one. I would even use it when at the office or when malling. A friend has been using it for running and he said that his legs and ankles really got strong (after hurting and blistering in the first few tries) and he can run faster and farther with it.

So if you want to check out these Five Fingers, head to the Level R1 Bridgeway in PowerPlant Mall, Rockwell.

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Filed under: Health & Lifestyle