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How To Run Barefoot
How to Run Barefoot: Techniques to Get Started “How do I start barefoot running?” “What’s the best book/course/coach for learning to run barefoot?” “Can you show me what the best barefoot running form looks like?” I get these questions a lot. And it’s a bit tricky to answer them for a few reasons: Frankly, if all you did was take off your shoes, go for a run, stop when it hurts, and experiment to find ways of running that feel light, easy and fun (which is the way running with natural form should feel), you would learn more than I, or anyone else, could tell you. Those of us who’ve observed barefoot runners and coached barefoot running are starting to notice the obvious: different runners have slightly different form. That is, when you look at the BEST runners, they have many things in common, but they’re not all doing the exact same thing. So, I don’t want to say something that isn’t going to be relevant for YOU. To be totally candid, I’m in an awkward political situation — as a guy who sells “barefoot-style” footwear, and who would like to have ALL the coaches referring their clients to me, I can’t single out one coach/book/technique over another (or one “under” another, either). I can tell you that if you listen to ALL of them, and then follow a bit of advice I’ll give, below, you’ll appreciate each coach for his/her unique contribution to your barefoot running form. Many runners aren’t aware of what their bodies are actually doing, so certain recommendations won’t be effective anyway. If I say to you, “don’t land on your heels,” and show you a video of how you’re “supposed” to land on your foot, you may be 100% convinced that you’re doing what I suggested, and then a video might show that you are totally heel-striking. In other words, what I say will be less important than what you learn on your own. However, what I CAN do is offer some thoughts about getting started with barefoot running. Tips on How to Run Barefoot Here are my best tips on how to get started running barefoot, refining your running technique, and enjoying the benefits and fun of barefoot running How to Getting Started Realize that the best coach you have is YOU and your sensations and whatever you can learn from watching video of yourself (especially slow motion video). In fact, you MUST become your own best coach, because no external coach will be there for every situation you’ll encounter as a runner. If you can’t listen to yourself, make adjustments in what you’re doing, and know when to STOP… no other coach will be helpful anyway. Start SLOWLY and build up. There’s no rush in making the transition to barefoot running. And there’s no way to predict how long it will take YOU. Run barefoot on a hard, smooth surface. These surfaces are best for learning because they give you the most feedback. Remember that barefoot running is a never-ending process. You can always improve. Refining Your Barefoot Running Form To be slightly more specific and technical, and tell you some of what you would discover on your own with enough time and attention: Aim for having your feet land “under your body” - more so than you’re probably used to. Landing with your foot out in front of you too much is “overstriding” and it’s one of the habits that most of us need to work to overcome. You may need to even exaggerate this to get the feel of it — put your feet “behind you” when you land. You won’t actually be able to do this, but if you try it will highlight what overstriding feels like… and the correct place to put your feet is probably somewhere in between. You want to land forefoot or midfoot. Do NOT reach out with your foot to do this; that’s the opposite of what you want to do. By the way, If you land with your foot underneath your body it's almost impossible not to land on your forefoot or midfoot. You don’t need to stay on the balls of your feet and put extra strain on your calves and Achilles tendons. Once you land on the ball/midfoot, you can let your heel drop if it feels better to do that, and it will feel better/worse depending on whether you’re going uphill or downhill or on a flat surface, and depending on what speed you’re running. Don’t PULL your foot toward you, or PUSH it behind you… that’ll cause blisters as well as put extra strain on your hamstrings (pulling) and calves (pushing). Think, instead, about PLACING your foot on the ground and LIFTING it off. And lift by using your hip flexor. That is, think about lifting your foot off the ground by lifting up your knee, not by pushing off the ground. Un-Plop your feet. This is hard to describe, but many of us slam our feet into the ground, or wait for the ground to hit our feet. We plop them onto the ground instead of meeting the ground lightly. There are a lot of “cues” coaches use to teach this: Pretend you’re running on hot coals, or on thin ice, or trying to sneak up on a deer, or that your feet are wheels and you want them to touch where the wheel meets the ground, or that the ground is moving below you like a treadmill and you want to move your feet at the same speed as the treadmill. You will need to find your own way to feel this. Keep your core tight… when you run, your body is a spring. If you collapse in your midsection, you’re weakening the spring and making it less efficient and, therefore, making it harder to run. Pick up your cadence. Most people think 180 steps-per-minute is some magic number. It’s not. Some successful runners do more, some do less. The point of moving your feet faster than you’re probably used to is that it gives you less time to keep your feet on the ground… and that’ll help you learn to place/lift, “un-plop” and not overstride. LISTEN to the sound your feet are making… if you’re running loudly, if you make a lot of noise when your feet hit the ground, you’re doing one of the above incorrectly. This is true if you’re barefoot, in our barefoot shoes, or any other footwear. You can run quietly (not silently), and quiet running is usually a sign of good form. WONDER! When I run, I keep a question in my mind, “How can I make this lighter, easier, and more fun… and, sometimes, faster?” Then, I experiment and see what I can find. Finally, and most importantly: REST. Bodies get stronger when you let them rest. There are no bonus points for not taking a day off. HAVE FUN! If it’s not fun, do something different. Try a different surface, a different speed, a different reason for running (compete if you haven’t before, do an obstacle course if you’re usually all about putting in mile after mile). I’m sure other barefoot runners have additional pointers. Can’t wait to hear them. Oh, and did I mention, barefoot running can be, should be, and IS (once you get it) FUN… don’t forget that! Want to learn more about learning how to barefoot running? Watch this video below The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.
Getting started with barefoot running
Imagine that you haven't lifted weights in a while... or ever.And imagine that you got the idea that you wanted to bench press 500 pounds.Would you go to the gym, put 500 pounds on the bar, and just go for it?Of course not. There's no way you could budge 500 on day one.Would you go to the gym and put, say, 100 pounds on the bar and lift it, over and over, until you felt tired... and then do a few more reps until you were wasted?I hope not.Would you take a small weight, like 20 pounds, and lift it for an hour or two?Boy, I wouldn't.But for some reason people think they can get into barefoot running with one of those plans.They think they can just whip off their shoes and replace one of their regular runs with a barefoot run. Or, worse, they think that even if they haven't run for a decade, it'll be fine to go for a 5 mile barefoot run. Or they get out for a barefoot run, feel some strain or pain in their feet or calves and think, "Oh, I'll just work through this, it'll be fine."And they pay the price.They wake up with freakishly sore calves or Achilles tendons. They get blisters. They get plantar faciitis. They get stress fractures.Look, over-training is over-training. Doing too much is doing too much.Especially with barefoot running, TAKE YOUR TIME. There's no rush to get to the point where you're running an ultramarathon every day for 1000 days in your bare feet. And there's no way to rush building up the strength in your muscles and ligaments and tendons, or to develop correct and efficient form.It happens as it happens. No sooner, no later.How long that'll be is a mystery. Maybe it only takes you a week or a month. Maybe it takes you a year.Who cares?First of all, it's not all-or-nothing. It's not like you won't be able to be barefoot and then, BAM, 6 months from now you can! It's a process. Maybe today you can only run 100 yards and then need to ice your feet for 3 days. That's fine. In a month, guaranteed, you'll be doing more. And a month after that, you'll be doing even more.Secondly, nobody is telling you to throw away your shoes the moment you realize you want to become a barefoot runner. Keep your shoes. Enjoy your shoes. And look forward to when you don't want or need them.But, please, give yourself time -- the amount of time that YOU need -- to make the transition.Honestly, there's enough to learn and experience and benefit from if all you ever do is an occasional 1 minute jog without shoes.I hate to toss out "prescriptions for living," but in this case I can't think of any better way to say it than, "Enjoy the journey... because there isn't really a goal."The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition." to the bottom of the blog post.The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.
Running Barefoot -- The Importance of Core
Usain Bolt's coach, Glen Mills, talked in an interview about what helped make Usain Bolt the fastest man in the world. He revealed something that will surprise most runners, namely, the most important muscles required for fast, efficient running. Have a guess? Think it's the quads? The hamstrings? Glutes? Calves? Eyelids? Let me quote Glen: Usain is an extremely gifted athlete. When I started working with him, one of the things that stood out like a sore thumb was his poor mechanics. Part of his poor mechanics was because he was not able hold the sprint position during maximum velocity running, so we had to do an intense programme to develop his core strength. In Beijing he showed a mastery of the technique that we had been working on, but the transformation took two years. He goes on to discuss in more detail how important the core -- primarily the abdominal muscles -- are critical for running. Now, what does this have to do with your running? EVERYTHING. Next time you run, tighten your core (as if you're bracing yourself before someone hits you in the stomach). See what that does to your running form. Play with this. See what changes as you tighten your core, especially the transverse abdominis (the muscles you use to suck in your stomach when you're trying to fit into a pair of too-tight pants). Well, if that's not the motion you make when running, is it the best thing to use for training? Strength coach Michael Boyle discusses this and suggests that if you want to keep your core stable, you should train it to remain stable while some force is trying to move it. Looking forward to hearing what you discover when you activate "the most important muscles for running." The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.
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