working out barefoot
 

I love to be barefoot, probably my fave part of summer! However, I have had feet problems for a long time-had some hammer toe issues that were surgically corrected a few years back & have a custom orthotic I wear in my workout shoe (used to do a lot of fast walking on the treadmill when this all started) & I teach on concrete floors, which are awful on the feet. So, I try to wear a decent shoe at work & either way the first week back to school my feet are killing me for a week or so. I had a problem w/my arch a few months back & my foot dr. gave me an arch support to wear-not a dropped arch... yet, she didn't say it wouldn't go there either. I asked her about working out barefoot & she very adamantly said no way for me, not w/my feet! She did admit she wasn't a big fan of it, but definitely not for me.

So, now the last few weeks enter kettlebell workouts-which I love. So, I decided to do them barefoot, which I also love, no issues w/my feet. I also add in some kickboxing during my week & some other cardio workouts, for those I wear my shoes. But now I am experiencing some knee pain-under the knee cap, hurts when getting up after sitting, going up stairs, etc., not when walking or generally working out but squats were nearly impossible yesterday.

Wondering if anyone else w/difficult feet has tried working out barefoot & then had issues w/their knees. Maybe it is unrelated, could be just coincidental, just trying to rule it out or not!
TIA!
Tami

I get knee and ankle pain when my running shoes are old and worn out. I have to replace them at least every 6 months. The reason I know it's my shoes is because my knees feel fine when I start running in my new shoes.

I went through a period of working out barefoot, especially with classic firms and original fit primes. It just felt good to me. It sounds like you need shoes to help give you some support but just make sure they are big enough and properly fitted for the shape of your foot. I actually buy my running shoes a half size larger to prevent any hurt or bruised toes when I run.

I also understand about the concrete floors. I worked in a department store in my year before law school and I had to wear stockings and heels on concrete floors all day. The bones in my feet would ache at the end of the day. I have also read that the padding in your feet thins outs you age. :( Many times, after a longer run I don't want to wear heels later if I'm going out with my dh. It's like my feet have said "Enough! We're tired."

They have a new type of sneaker that is very minimal and light - sort of the shoe industry's response to Vibrams. Maybe they would be good for you? Hth