Running In Barefoot Shoes
Running in barefoot shoes may seem scary, but it is what we are designed to do. Let’s dive deep into the human foot anatomy and understand how running barefoot can actually help you stay injury free over wearing highly cushioned shoes.
There are a couple of things to note -
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Your heel is not all bone. Your heel has a thick padding of fat between the bone and the ground that cushions your landing, in case you land directly on it.
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Your soleus muscle, also known as the second heart of the body, is your spring mechanism that absorbs all impact and converts it into forward thrust for you to be able to run fast.
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Your arch, whatever shape it might be, when loaded, absorbs impact and allows for controlled pronation to give you the springy feedback off the ground for a controlled running experience. It is important however to ensure that this muscle is regularly trained for it to be able to take this load effectively.
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Your toes are your balancing and adaptability drivers. Having a good wide splay of toes ensures proper foot function, arch engagement and weight distribution for a proper running form.
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Proprioception is super important when it comes to running. Knowing what is happening under our feet, engaging the nervous system to fire the right muscle groups at the right time is key to staying fit while running.
If these muscles are kept healthy and a natural forefoot or midfoot strike is used, the body will automatically get into the perfect running flow.
Humans have run barefoot throughout evolutionary history. Modern running shoes are a very recent phenomenon and we believe this overengineering is doing more harm than good in the long run.
If you are a beginner, know that it takes time for you to unlearn bad habits that modern shoes have left you with, and that your feet will take time getting stronger and stronger as you keep running.
Allow them to get strong and run free in your Zen Barefoot shoes.
