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Old 06-19-12, 07:40 PM  
blessed_mom_to_3
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Working out barefoot

Does anyone work out barefoot? I mean workouts other than Ellen/Classical Stretch/yoga/pilates.

I am interested in this after noticing that in Rushfit there are a couple of barefoot exercisers.

Your experience? Did it cause foot/ankle/knee problems?

thanks
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Old 06-19-12, 07:53 PM  
sewoodson
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I have been working out barefoot for about 6 years. I have flat feet. All the tennis shoes I would purchase would cause pain where my arch is supposed to be. When I went to a kettlebell workshop the instructer made me remove my shoes and my feet never hurt.

Here are some of the things I have noticed working out barefoot:
1) I do not have the pain in my foot when I'm barefoot
2) I can do balance exercises easier
3) No knee pain when I do squats or lunges

The one disadvantage is that, since I workout on carpet my feet will slide when I do planks or wide leg squats so I need to be careful. I do have a pair of Vibram Five Fingers but don't wear them too much because I enjoy working out barefoot.
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Old 06-19-12, 08:03 PM  
Sancho
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I did one of the Rip 60 workouts barefoot. It was the one with GSP and he was barefoot. This workout uses the suspension trainer and I thought it might make it easier to grasp the handles with my feet if I was barefoot. Well, for one of the moves, you are in a plank position with one leg on the floor and the other in the strap. You jump forward to your hands with the foot on the floor. My foot didn't jump high enough and I landed with my big toe curled under the pad of my foot. Luckily, most of my weight was in my heel because if it had been on the pad of my foot, I would have broken my toe. I won't EVER go barefoot again (unless it's a stretch workout). I'm also clumsy, so I won't do weights without shoes on either.
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Old 06-19-12, 08:16 PM  
Lucky Star
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sewoodson View Post
I have been working out barefoot for about 6 years.

The one disadvantage is that, since I workout on carpet my feet will slide when I do planks or wide leg squats so I need to be careful. I do have a pair of Vibram Five Fingers but don't wear them too much because I enjoy working out barefoot.
I often work out shoeless on carpet but wear Toe Sox. They give me a tiny bit of cushioning and security: http://www.amazon.com/ToeSox-Pilates...ywords=toe+sox
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Old 06-19-12, 08:20 PM  
ebianco
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I recently bought a very high quality/high density big blue gymnastics mat to put over my carpet in my exercise room (10' x 5' or so), and have refused to wear shoes with any vids ever since, because I am LOVING IT!!! I only wear shoes when jogging or spinning now. I could not have done this on my carpeted floor without foot pain.

I do all kinds of workouts with bare feet on the mat including strength, mixed strength/cardio circuits like Firm Express, 10 Lb Slimdown Xtreme, Jillian, Bob, S90, as well as kettlebells, yoga, kickboxing (Turbo Jam) and pilates. And I do go high intensity in these workouts as they require with burpees, plyo lunges, jumping jacks, and the like. I have been avoiding any step, bosu, or rebounder workouts all of which I feel would be unsafe with bare feet, but am not missing those either (the step was very hard on my feet/knees and it's nice to get away from my Firms/Fitprimes for a while!).

Last winter (pre-mat days) I had a severe ankle sprain and still do my PT exercises, and am sure that working out barefoot on the supportive mat surface is great for my foot and calf muscles. My feet and calves feel GREAT and I used to really struggle with plantar fasciitis, foot cramps, and tightness in my calves. Balance exercises are tougher barefoot (IMO) however I think it really is a better challenge for the whole leg, foot to glute, than wearing shoes.

After several years of exercising with videos, I have really revolutionized my workouts. I don't think I could ever go back

I have always struggled with sensitive knees and the mat seems to be making no impact over using shoes, although I bet I'll see benefits in the long run.
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Old 06-19-12, 08:28 PM  
EllenU
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I do all of my indoor workouts barefoot except step workouts and some gliding workouts, as some step and gliding moves are uncomfortable to me barefoot. For step and gliding, I wear Merrell Bare Access Arc shoes - a minimalist shoe.

My barefoot workouts include high impact/plyo, and I currently have no problems. I advise starting out slowly with the impact though. I injured my lisfranc joint several years ago after being too aggressive in training to run with minimalist shoes. Calf muscles get used more when training barefoot...I sometimes still get DOMS in my calf muscles from high impact barefoot.

I love working out barefoot or minimalist. I can't imagine going back to workouts in traditional training shoes.
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Old 06-19-12, 08:32 PM  
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Originally Posted by ebianco View Post
I have been avoiding any step, bosu, or rebounder workouts all of which I feel would be unsafe with bare feet
I rebounding barefoot. Maybe it depends on the rebounder?
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Old 06-19-12, 09:32 PM  
eyefit
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I do low impact, weights, high impact/plyo, low impact step, rebounding, kickboxing and kettlebell workouts barefoot. The only thing I found I couldn't do successfully was high impact step aerobics. However, I am finding it's kind of tough on me to do those kinds of high impact, dancey or twisty/torquey kinds of step aerobics anyway...with or without shoes. When I walk on my treadmill I use shoes too, but I rarely do that anymore anyway. I have thick and cushy puzzle mats to help with shock absorption and my balance, proprioception and overall body awareness is so much better barefoot. I'm actually less likely to injure myself during plyo, I've found, because I have better proprioception and can keep my form much better. I actually have found with going barefoot my arches have been strengthened and brought back as well. I started a thread on this awhile back:
http://forum.videofitness.com/showthread.php?t=179065
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Old 06-19-12, 09:59 PM  
blessed_mom_to_3
 
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Originally Posted by eyefit View Post
I do low impact, weights, high impact/plyo, low impact step, rebounding, kickboxing and kettlebell workouts barefoot. The only thing I found I couldn't do successfully was high impact step aerobics. However, I am finding it's kind of tough on me to do those kinds of high impact, dancey or twisty/torquey kinds of step aerobics anyway...with or without shoes. When I walk on my treadmill I use shoes too, but I rarely do that anymore anyway. I have thick and cushy puzzle mats to help with shock absorption and my balance, proprioception and overall body awareness is so much better barefoot. I'm actually less likely to injure myself during plyo, I've found, because I have better proprioception and can keep my form much better. I actually have found with going barefoot my arches have been strengthened and brought back as well. I started a thread on this awhile back:
http://forum.videofitness.com/showthread.php?t=179065
Thank you for the link, I hopped over and read it - sounds like this can really be good for one's feet. I think I'll try it!

Thank you all for commenting, I really appreciate the replies, everyone!
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Old 06-19-12, 10:04 PM  
Harantwanders
 
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I do everything I can in life barefoot, so yes, do like to workout sans shoes when possible at home. I can't do planks and things like that without shoes, though.
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