Barefoot Running Benefits

There are many benefits to barefoot running over shod running. Some of them are well documents, and some of them are not.

I noticed many things when I was researching barefoot running in anticipation of possibly embracing the concept, and since then as well as I try to do “new” things in my barefoot shoes. That is, I noticed that much of the issues are not really discussed. Some of the main benefits are pointed out, and discussed, while others are not mentioned. The same is true with methodology and usage. Some of the topics are well discussed in various articles and on various websites, but many are not. I will describe the benefits, along with other issues, from my experiences, and hopefully resolve many of the questions you have not been able to find answers for.

The Benefits Of Barefoot Running

Health

The main benefit of barefoot running is in the aspect of health. Running in shoes, studies show, has led to an increase in leg and foot injuries. The shoes force the body to use muscles as shock absorbers that were not meant or designed to be used in that manner. Barefoot running has the body using muscles in ways they were meant to be used, using the foot’s natural cushioning as the shock absorber, with the correct muscles being stressed.

You should find yourself running with less injuries, less pain and more physical freedom.

You might believe it, or you might not, but that is the main theory behind the barefoot running revolution in two sentences. Others say that the body has evolved over time, we are running often on surfaces that the body was not designed to run on (such as asphalt), and running like the primitives ran in the jungle is irrelevant to our current physiology.

Disclaimer

To be fair, I have never seen anything proven conclusively one way or the other. I just know what makes sense to me and what has worked for me. As well, I am neither a scientist nor a doctor of sports medicine or podiatry, and if you have any questions regarding health aspects, if you feel any pain while running barefoot, or anything that would be in the realm of the medical sciences, you should immediately consult a doctor. It might very well be that this is not the correct method of running for you, due to personal issues.

Other Benefits Of Barefoot Running

The other benefits of barefoot running are less documented, and they are gleaned from my personal experiences. As they say, your mileage may vary. However, I have consulted with a number of other runners who have made the switch to barefoot running and they tend to agree with me regarding the truth of these benefits, they having experienced similar results.

If you run barefoot you will:

• run faster, with less effort: the converse is that if you put more effort in you will be able to increase your speed and improve your running that much more. I found that with similar or even less effort and training, running not as hard, I am still running faster than when I ran with shoes. Perhaps this is because the foot is on the surface of the ground less. Think of it – if you strike with your heel, or the middle of the foot, the whole foot is spending time on the surface of the ground rolling forward to the lifting of the foot. With a forefoot strike there is less contact with the ground (every person’s strike might be slightly different, so personal results might vary), thus resulting in a faster stride.
• have less strain on the body: this is a continuation of the first point, but is really a separate issue. The barefoot running stresses mostly the calves, and hardly anywhere else in the body. After a hard run or a long run, your calves might be very sore, but you will hardly feel anything in your thighs, in your quads, in your shoulders, in your back, etc. The detriment of this is that I lost less weight while running barefoot than when I was running with regular running shoes. Probably because of it being less strain on the body, as it uses and affects the body less and is more concentrated solely on the calves, ankles and toes.
• Calves to kill for: with my calves getting such a great workout, I have got calves to kill for!