I have a theory-- come shoot holes in it (or tell me I am a genius, whatever)

[Norm Deplume]

:davie: and I were talking yesterday about why some people keep up their mileage in the transition to BFR by switching back and forth between shoes and soles. Other people cannot do this, it just doesn't work. I came upon an idea:

If you were running with pretty good form in the first place, then switching back and forth will probably work. If, like me, your mechanics are ugly in shoes, you'll probably end up having to go cold turkey.



When I first switched from shoes to BFR, I tried to wear shoes sometimes to keep my mileage up, but every time I put on shoes, I went immediately back to my old heel-strike and overstride. I doubt that if I had switched to racing flats would it be much different. But my husband runs forefoot, quick stride, light feet already, so his form doesn't change much when he takes off his shoes-- the big difference for him is that his feet are getting a different workout.

Does that make sense? Weigh in (my feelings won't be hurt; it's just a brainstorm)

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Yes, Mrs. .  That is one

Yes, Mrs. :davie:. That is one reason why people who already have a good plant are able to transition easier and quicker. This is why Barefoot Ken Bob advises we ditch the shoes altogether, learn our barefoot running form first, and then only use footwear in extreme conditions. And yes, you are brilliant. :grade:

 

[dirtdemon77]

I've observed my kids, age 14

I've observed my kids, age 14 and 12, and they both seem to be able to switch between running with shoes and barefoot with no issues. I think its because they are naturally midfoot runners, so there is no transition for them. Their form is the same with shoes or without.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

 i concur  my coach's stance

i concur

my coach's stance on this subject is exactly what you said. if mechanics are sound then you can make the move fairly easily. if they are not then you are learning a completely new form and it can take a long to time to rewire the neuro pathways your body developed growing up.

 

[runslikeagirl]

I don't have perfect form in

I don't have perfect form in shoes, awful heel striker. I'm only up to a bit over half a mile barefoot and am keeping up my mileage shod just fine. But, I do have to remind myself constantly to not heel strike. My running partners have noticed the change in my stride away from heel striking over the past few months and have commented on how much better I'm doing lately. So it is working for me to slowly work out of shoes into barefoot, but I work hard at doing it. The little barefoot I do reminds me what my stride should feel like.

Before starting BF I was working on shortening my stride to help with IT band problems and it clearly wasn't working as well as I hoped. It's been amazing how much the little amount of BF has helped me to understand exactly how much shortening of my stride I needed to do.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

I completely ditched the

I completely ditched the shoes when I started my transition, I wanted no short cuts, no distraction from shoes, and just to be fully thrown into it. It was hard for me in the beginning. I started in September 09' and coming off a great summer with a personal best of hitting high mileage, so I bascially had to start over from scratch.

 

[VFFn in AK]

 I vote genius.When I

I vote genius.

When I started, I was coming off some illnesses and wasn't doing much mileage anyway so it wasn't much of a sacrifice for me to give up my shoes and just delve into, in my case, VFFs. The fact that I enjoyed my runs in my VFFs so much more than those in my ascics also helped with the letting go. I felt like it was a whole new world to get all that feedback and I didn't want to go back. So I just upped my other cross training to make up for not running as far.

I like to think that I was more of a midfoot striker in shoes, but I don't have any real evidence to back that up. That I had to adjust my cadence so noticeably suggests to me that maybe I wasn't. I'm fortunate that my transition has gone well, but I credit that to all the good advice I have read on these magical interwebs.

 

[BFWendyBird]

I started in VFFs, and was a

I started in VFFs, and was a horrible heel striker, BUT grew up going barefoot most of the time and went barefoot in the house 9 months of the year. What finally made the transition work was getting hurt in yoga class. It made it impossible to run for a few weeks and then when I started up again I had to take it really slow and start with extreamly short distances. In the mean time, I did as much barefoot walking outdoors as possible to condition my feet.

Sooooo, I was forced into a slow build up of distance by a non-running injury, I transitioned fairly quickly because I was used to being barefoot, however, I have had a couple of injuries. From trying to gain speed and distance at the same time I strained my calf. Then I hurt myself twice from wearing shoes when I couldn't do enough barefoot (shin splints, unidentified knee injury).

Bottom line, my running form totally sucked so I had to go total barefoot for a few months to get past it, but it only took a few month because my feet were in pretty good shape.

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 I'm sorry you got hurt in

I'm sorry you got hurt in yoga....I find this personally irritating, the amount of injuries people get in some classes...There is no reason anyone should get hurt doing yoga, with proper instruction and support from your teacher, yoga should HELP any injuries, and help you feel healthier. But, hey, at least it resulted in your BF transition :-D.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

 Nate's right...no one should

Nate's right...no one should ever get hurt doing Yoga...I mean that's fairly low impact there. Good that it helped you. I never really had to make a transition so I was lucky. I got told about needing to run bare to strengthen my feet when I was seventeen and living in the country most of my life I didn't wear shoes a whole lot as it was. The toughest part for me was this year making a full switch and getting my mileage up on pavement.

This was made difficult by the fact that I ran a marathon on a broken big toe and it wrecked me. My form was ruined after that so I was in a way starting over which helped but slowed me down a bit. Now I've my distances back and the speed is coming so it's all good

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Good point, Nate.  Injury is

Good point, Nate. Injury is bad, but at least it is leading people to barefoot running. That was the case with me. I always say thank God for Morton's Neuroma, for without it, I would never have discovered running barefoot. For me, I was predisposed to MN, but I know for a fact that shoes caused my neuromas grow beyond slight occasional discomfort to where I am right now.

 

[BFWendyBird]

  It was a combination of a

It was a combination of a bad teacher and me pushing too hard because I was so bad at it I was getting comments I'm so inflexible that just trying to keep my balance and do the poses I would shake. The teacher asked me after class if I had some kind of condition and another class member chimed in saying she wondered the same thing. So at the next class, I was trying not to shake and trying to move far enough not to look like an idiot and strained my ankle turning. I know, really lame,

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 Um....I really dislike

Um....I really dislike making judgment calls on other yoga teachers...but, well...here it is....that really is a bad teacher....My NO 1 rule in ALL my classes is that EVERYONE should mind her/his capacity. I see ANY shaking that's not directly related to muscles working in strength poses (like arms shaking a bit in plank), I back people off. The teacher should have given you modifcations so you could experience the "truth" of the pose, even if it's a different variation. AND NO OTHER student should be judging you. And yoga is not about developing strength or flexibility, it is about self-awareness, acceptance, and compassion, the strength and flexibility are SIDE PRODUCTS of a yoga practice. Yoga is not about "attainment" but about one's individual "experience of themselves." Anyway, I get kinda pissy when I hear these kinds of stories....it gives yoga a bad name. I get the same way when I hear about 15 year olds who've been studying a martial "art" for 3 years and have achieved the rank of "third-degree black belt." Anyway...getting off my soap box so I can enjoy my beer.

 

[louiewendell]

This is all fairly new to me

This is all fairly new to me but I've thought the same thing- maybe even the amount of time you previously spent shoeless as much as your form. I started BFR the first week of May and although I know I was definitely a heel striker in shoes- the transition seems to be going fairly quickly for me. Maybe because I didn't wear shoes any other time than when I was running- if that's not irony. Of course, I've had to cut back on my mileage some but my pace has remained the same as when I was shod. I figured I was going out too strong and would suffer because of it since I'm impatient. (I couldn't bring myself to start off with just a 1/4 mile or even a mile as everything I've read has suggested). Fortunately, I've been lucky- no aches or pains associated with the strengthening of "new" muscles in the feet or the calves. I figured I've been able to start out running longer distances because my feet are tough but what do I know. It could still be too early to tell and I'll be complaining in a bit about by lack of patience.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

 Nate just testified yoga

Nate just testified yoga style on yous! I agree though. I've been in the fitness and coaching industry for 14 years and no instructor should go ask someone if they have a nervous condition because they were shaking. people shake while doing yoga...that stuff aint easy and if the muscles are not accustomed to isometric forces then they're gonna shake. get a new instructor and forget about people's thoughts about your execution of poses. if you cant leave that class then i suggest giving that judging person a little nudge during a tough pose and see what they're really made of!

 

[BFWendyBird]

Thanks   I did leave the

Thanks I did leave the class and haven't been back. I may try another class after we move.

 

[LavaRunner]

I totally agree. My form was

I totally agree. My form was bad and everytime I put shoes on I revert back to that old programming. It really does take cold turkey for some of us. Ken Bob is super smart on this and we all need to take a lesson from it so you are right on.



Even when I wear something as minimal as VFFs I still need to focus on form and keeping it easy and light. My last run at 3 miles I slipped on the VFF's for a rough stretch of sidewalk that always hurts my feet, Immediately I felt fatigue in the calves as I lost form and had to stop, visualize, relax and proceed.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

A lot of people feel they

A lot of people feel they lose some form when putting something on their feet. I do for one. It's perfectly understandable.

 

[tutaepaki]

I was one of those who

I was one of those who transitioned to a minimalist shoe by switching between the old running shoes and a minimalist shoe.

I go BF around the house a lot, (I work from home, so the occasions I need shoes are pretty rare) and always thought I wasn't a heel striker. Looking at some photos from my early races..I was completely wrong about that.

I gradually introduced the minimalist shoes into my routine from September '09, and by December, I was able to run 20km in them. I did a hilly HM in the minimalist shoes in December, and have had Achilles issues ever since then. It's only recently, since I started introducing barefoot into my schedule, that I've worked out what the problem was. After the HM, I started holding my heel off the ground completely. Making a conscious effort to relax, and allow my heel to touch the ground has seem a steady improvement.

So a gradual cut over into a minimalist shoe has worked for me, but I suspect that while I did used to heel strike, it was a very light strike. so I'll use the same approach to introducing BF. (up to 2x5km per week now)



Marc