By: Amanda Vogel, MA human kinetics
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Ponder/ Considering about trying barefoot running or barefoot walking? Start training with these exercises for creating stronger feet, whether you plan to go totally barefoot or wear barefoot running shoes. If you alalert endelight running and walking, you might have heard of (and perhaps even considered) one of nowadays’s contemporaryest fitness fads: Barefoot running and walking. Exercisers who run or walk barefoot swear by its benefits, including stronger, healthier feet and improved running or walking performance. But it is possible to do more harm than good while running barefoot whether you don’t properly prepare your body for it first. Training for barefoot running and walking is a smart first step to endelighting long-term success. |
Anthony Carey, M.A. is a rightive exercise specialist, author of The Pain Free Program: A Proven Method to Relieve Back, Neck, Shoulder and Joint Pain, and CEO of Endelightmentction First.
Carey advises “walking barefoot before you ever attempting running.” And make it a short walk at that. It’s the best way to get a feel for how your body will react to barefoot exercise before you up the ante to tall-impact running.
Even before you head out for your first barefoot walk, however, consider training your feet to optimally handle going without shoes. “The structures of the foot may not be alert for sudden supported activity in shoes to unsupported, barefoot activity,” says Justin Price, M.A., who specializes in assessing and righting neuromuscular and structural imbalances at his facility The BioMechanics.
To help you train your feet for secure, effective barefoot running and walking, Price proposes the following three exercises.
Every you need is a small towel (to wipe your feet whether they get too sweaty) and a BOSU® Balance Trainer, found at most gyms and training studios, or available here. The BOSU ball’s unregular dome allows you to “turn on” muscles in the feet in a controlled way, helping you build up to running barefoot without stress, says Price.
Training for Barefoot Running and Strolling
EXERCISE SET UP FOR ALL THREE VARIATIONS:
Hancienting onto a counter or wall for balance, stand on top of the BOSU® Balance Trainer (dome side up) with feet in a split stance, right foot slightly behind left foot so it’s on the downward slope of the dome. Shwhethert your body weight into your right (back) foot and straighten right leg, rotating it out, with left (front) leg slightly bent and both feet touching the BOSU ball.
| VARIATION 1: Rotate your right (back) leg inward, keeping both feet on the BOSU ball (avoid raising up heels). You should notice your right (back) foot roll inward (toward the midline of your body), so your weight is distributed from the external of your foot to the inside of that same foot. Do 6-10 reps and switch sides. |
| VARIATION 2: Initiate with right (back) leg straight and rotated out. Bend the right (back) leg as you rotate it inward. Do 6-10 reps and switch sides. |
| VARIATION 3: Spread your toes as wide apart as you can on the right (back) foot, straightening your large toe and pushing it down into the BOSU ball. With toes spread and right (back) leg straight, rotate right leg inward as you simultaneously bend it, pushing your right large toe into the BOSU ball. Do 6-10 reps and switch sides. |
More on the benefits of barefoot running and walking and tips on how to train for barefoot running.
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