Let me just start by saying that I love running shoes – black with red piping to be exact!

Running shoes have improved remarkably each year due to the highly competitive nature of this multi-million dollar industry. Each company must remain innovative to keep athletes interested in their products and insure they are providing that competitive edge, lighter weight, better look and comfortability.

In Born to Run, written by Christopher McDougall in 2009, McDougall spent time with the now famous tribe called the Tarahumara in Mexico and has since opened the eyes and ears of competitive runners internationally. What he concluded was in direct conflict of what most of us have been taught about the importance of running shoes. Today, there are many athletes that would argue that running shoes do more harm to serious runners than actually enhancing the running experience. Running enthusiasts and personal trainers are currently leading the way with barefoot training for athletes.

If you are a little apprehensive about making this change after years of running in the newest technologically advanced running shoes, consider purchasing polyamide multisport shoes the stretch like a glove over your foot, in order to create the “feel” of running barefoot. These shoes have an ultra thin sole that protects the runner from the inevitable cuts and scrapes that accompany many outdoor barefoot training sessions. Due to the lack of double-blind, highly participated, large group studies on whether  barefoot training absolutely trumps training with running shoes, we mainly rely on feedback from  athletes that  recently made the switch to barefoot training methods, or ones who have been using this method for decades, such as the tribesmen mentioned earlier.

Athletes who run barefoot typically build more resilience in the small muscles in the foot (like the abduction hallucis). Building strength and endurance here is essential for a competitive runner, because heavy heel striking and loss of dexterity is created while wearing an expensive and well-cushioned traditional pair of cross-trainers. Reprogramming your body and feet not to rely on overly comfortable shoes with the newest irrelevant technology will reduce your chance of injury from the repetitive heel striking and strain. Two weeks prior to making the transition to barefoot running, I would highly recommend every individual athlete have four separate one-hour training sessions, working primarily on resistance training of the calves, while putting special emphasis on the tibialis anterior to avoid prolonged soreness.

Before completely switching over to barefoot training, choose a path with great surfaces like residential areas with paths, running /bike paths in a scenic place, or smooth belt treadmills. Also, start training the anterior and posterior calf muscles twice a week for more than two weeks with 1 day heavy and 1 day light weights with high reps. When you head out for this new experience, find a comfortable zone, mentally focus on what your body feels like and appreciate the new range of motion and a new degree of calf soreness. You’ll soon find that your running experience has greatly improved and extended due to the reduced injury and pain!

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Protein powders are an excellent way of providing the body with the nutrients it needs to perform well before and after training.

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ISOFEMME Protein Smoothie

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2 lb
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MUSCLE MAXX Protein Shake

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R-ALA Antioxidant

For recovery and protection against exercise-induced oxidative stress, R-ALA promotes the uptake of glycogen by optimizing insulin activity and helps speed up the amount of nutrients shuttled to your muscles. R-ALA can be combined with creatine to create a powerful and anabolic compound. R-ALA is also an extremely potent antioxidant, so powerful it is known as the Universal Antioxidant.

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Tags: running

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