Athletic training as always been about having the best training shoes, attire and equipment, but now athletes are moving toward having less and going barefoot.
The word shoe means a lot to most runners. Runners have racing flats, road flats, track spikes, trainers, frees and cross-country spikes. There is an array of different running and racing shoes, which help on any surface, whether it is dirt, sand, concrete or rubber. Now there is another label: nothing.
"We weren't born with shoes on our feet," Chico State cross-country runner Brendan Scanlon said. "Over thousands of years our feet have evolved to withstand."
However, when the corporation Nike came around in the 1970s, shoes with a lot of support became a big thing.
You can almost blame it on Nike because there was no such thing as knee injuries until shoes, Scanlon said. Supportive soles create heel striking instead of using the ball of the foot and people started messing up their feet.
"It's kind of funny because they did their whole shoe thing for so many years and now they're like 'oh this is good, the whole barefoot thing,'" Scanlon said.
Barefoot running used to be more popular for athletes before Nike became the athletic symbol and powerhouse.
"When Zola Bud was barefoot it was big and then shortly after the supportive Nike shoes and the new technology came around," head athletic trainer Scott Barker said. "Now it has been 20 to 30 years, it's interesting to me to see this fad of barefoot running come around again."
Bud is the South African who out kicked USAs Mary Decker who was favored to win the 5000 meters, Barker said. Decker tripped and fell and bud continued to run on barefoot taking the Olympic gold.
Running barefoot helps strengthen the muscles in our feet that we stopped using when we wear shoes. The theory behind it is by strengthening those muscles runners will minimize injuries, such as stress fractures, arch sprains and planter fasciitis, Barker said.
There are four layers of muscles in the sole of the foot that barefoot running makes stronger; and training shoes tend to splint those muscles from achieving their full strength, Barker said.
"I always think about it like wearing glasses, the longer you wear glasses the weaker your eyes get without them; it's the same thing with really supportive running shoes," cross-country coach Gary Towne said.
Though barefoot running is great for strengthening those muscles, this mode of training still needs to be slow and progressive, even for elite runners, Barker said.
"I think it's important for people to be careful when taking on something like that because their feet are weak to take on so much barefoot activity," Towne said.
Runners go on vacation for a week and they go somewhere with a beach and they run barefoot on the beach and come back with planter fasciitis because dramatic change in training like this can result in injury, Barker said.
Barefoot running requires runners to start from ground zero.
"I think the secret in all of this is progression," Barker said. A fat reducing review can help you establish a clear describe of what you require to focus on to achieve your fat reducing purpose if you're a starter; or serve as a reminder for the ones who are at an intermediate or more enhance step of their losing weight strategy. Following are seven steps that can serve as guidelines for your own weight loss system. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not the same thing. Many weight loss courses have fooled people into wondering that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss programs only work by resulting in a person's body to burn more muscle cells and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. "If you were to try barefoot running you have to act like you haven't run before."
When done the wrong way running barefoot can cause major injuries, but when athletes are smart about it, barefoot training can bring people back to their natural running form.
"There are some great pluses to barefoot running such as, being able to strengthen your feet and arches and develop a more natural stride, which training shoes take away from", Towne said.
Runners and athletes that begin barefoot running have bought shoes called Vibram Five Fingers, which specialize in strengthening those muscles without actually being barefoot.
"Vibram is just like being barefoot," Scanlon said. "It also fixes our toes, we should be able to move our toes like we can move our fingers but they have been squished in our shoes."
Vibram shoes carry all the benefits of running barefoot and act as a second skin. They are a cloth material with a hard sole and have a space for each one of your toes, almost the same as toe socks.
"Vibrams are basically running barefoot minus the risk of cutting yourself on glass because you have a rough surface that protects the skin on your feet," Towne said.
Just walking in them day to day instead of running in them at first doesn't put as much strain as running does on your feet, Towne said.
They aren't your every day hip style of shoe, but a barefoot lifestyle takes a lot of strengthening and dedication to the transition.
"I wore mine out one time and a guy told me he had some and goes hiking in them, then he told me that he would never wear them out though," Scanlon said with a laugh.
These Vibram shoes allow people to be barefoot all the time even when they aren't running to help strengthen their feet.
They allow you to run in the essence of barefoot, but athletes still need a careful transition from wearing shoes to the new technology, Towne said.
The protection you get from shoes helps with the risk of injury of stepping on something, but Vibrams have been used to decrease the injury of abrasion and allow athletes to strengthen the muscle of the foot, Barker said.
This allows for a smooth transition from weak arches to strong feet without the risk of injury.
"You wouldn't start running 70 miles a week," Scanlon said. "You are going to start running a lot different than you would in shoes."
Its just like anything, it takes moderation because most people have grown up with traditional shoes, Towne said.
Runners incorporate running barefoot or with the Vibram shoes by adding on to their longer, harder runs.
"You don't see us running eight to 10 miles right now, we just run around the track for a mile after our runs," Scanlon said.
Vibram shoes aren't only aimed for athletes, but for anyone with an active lifestyle and a need to live barefoot.
"The different types are just preference," Scanlon said. "Some are for different things depending on what you like to do."
Going barefoot with anything such as running, hiking or walking is a growing movement and another way for humans to adapt.
"People are realizing it's good because it could be used for everybody, not just athletes," Scanlon said. "If it sticks around for awhile, people will have less injuries and it won't just be a fad."
Meijer: No Search Results
www.meijer.com/catalog/search_command.cmdWe would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us.
China Wholesale, Cheap clothes, Designer Handbags, Shoes and ...
www.martroad.comA professional and reliable online shopping store provides a variety of cheap clothes, designer handbags, fashion accessorie etc, at reasonable price and shipped ...
WODReview.com Independent Reviews of Shirts, Shoes, Gear
wodreview.comWere very excited to announce that the new Reebok CrossFit Nan0 3.0s are ready for pre-buy. After months of anticipation from the CrossFit community, the Reebok ...
Personalized Golf Balls, Custom Logo Golf Balls, Golf Hats, Golf ...
www.golfballs.comGolfballs.com offers the hottest golf balls, golf clubs, apparel and more from the top brands in golf. Known as the Online Leader in Golf Customization, you can ...
Urban Dictionary: SMIDSY, vurp, Homance, gloatgram,
www.urbandictionary.com/?page=5SMIDSY. June 1 An acronym - "Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You" is a common excuse given by cagers in car-motorcycle accidents. I had my first smidsy yesterday at the ...
Band T Shirts, Emo Clothing, Body Jewellery, Alternative Clothes UK
www.bluebanana.comBand t shirts, quality body jewellery & stunning brands of emo, punk and gothic clothing from the UKs hottest alternative fashion store & body piercers.
Signs - YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Q7cP3ij5gA slideshow created to the song "Signs" by Five Man Electric Band. All Pictures belong to their respective owners!
Trademark Status & Document Retrieval
tsdr.uspto.govThe USPTO is pleased to report that the TSDR problem with the display of mark images has been resolved. Please clear your individual browser cache prior to accessing ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment