Written by: John Baker and Lily Hoog-Fry
An Inherited Problem: The Detrimental Impact of Conventional Footwear on Foot Health
It can be disheartening to confront and correct long-standing issues, especially when they weren't of our own making. We often observe how many shoes, while aesthetically appealing, seem designed more for a display mannequin than for a functional human foot. While we don't lay blame entirely on large shoe manufacturers, as they've historically aimed to address consumer comfort, their solutions often fell short.
For years, people reported foot pain, and shoemakers responded by providing an abundance of cushy foam. These offerings, however, functioned more like expensive band-aids, merely masking symptoms rather than resolving the root causes of discomfort. This approach inadvertently led to a cascade of other problems, manifesting throughout the entire body. The good news is, even with limited options for work-appropriate footwear, there are still effective strategies to regain healthy foot function and overall well-being without disrupting your daily routine. Prioritizing your foot health is simpler than you think.
Train Smarter to Save Time: Maximizing Your Workouts with Barefoot Training
The universal desire for more time in a day remains unfulfilled. Since we can't extend the clock, our focus must shift to efficiency, accomplishing more by integrating tasks whenever possible. One of the most impactful "training hacks" we advocate is training barefoot or in barefoot shoes. This method allows your feet to engage in unique and challenging positions under load during strength training, significantly enhancing their capabilities.
The benefits of training barefoot or wearing barefoot shoes during your workouts are profound. This approach strengthens and reshapes your feet far more effectively than daily life alone can achieve. It promotes a more natural foot shape, increases strength, enhances flexibility, and improves stability at an accelerated pace. If you're already dedicating time to the gym, why not optimize that effort and unlock the full potential of your feet? When you train with your feet barefoot or in functional barefoot shoes, you gain the ability to explore your full range of motion, boost your strength and endurance, and drive remarkable positive adaptations not just for your feet, but for your entire body. As we'll delve into further, conventional shoes can inadvertently inhibit your body's innate potential.
While specific exercises might primarily target thigh muscles or the shoulder complex, every exercise, from a squat to a bicep curl or shoulder press, inherently involves your feet – or at least, it should. Rather than dedicating extra time to isolated foot workouts, imagine strengthening your foot-ankle complex synergistically during your regular training sessions. Most people don't relish the thought of additional foot drills after an already demanding workout. By going barefoot or wearing barefoot shoes during your training, you conserve valuable time and energy, allowing you to tackle other responsibilities on your plate, all while building stronger, more resilient feet. (Taddei et al, 2020) (Kelly et al, 2012) (Curtis et al, 2021) (Jan-Peter et al, 2013) (Ridge et al, 2019).
More Stability = More Strength: The Core Principle of Barefoot Footwear
Increased Surface Area and Ground Contact: The Foundation of Stability
Consider the experience of riding a road bike on a wet surface versus a mountain bike. The narrow tires of a road bike offer minimal ground contact, leading to precarious stability, often resulting in falls. Conversely, a mountain bike, with its wider tires, maintains significantly more ground contact, providing superior stability. This isn't about suspension; it's fundamentally about surface area. Even subtle differences in tire width translate to massive differences in stability.
Applying this principle to footwear, conventional footwear typically features a narrower base throughout its construction compared to barefoot shoes. This design inherently leads to less ground contact. In contrast, barefoot shoes provide a wider base, maximizing ground contact and making you feel more stable and "sure-footed." This mirrors the logic of a hockey skate offering more stability than a figure skate, and any skate being less stable than a shoe. Yet, this critical understanding is often overlooked when selecting everyday footwear. The scientific consensus is clear: a wider base equals greater surface area, which directly translates to enhanced stability, not just for your feet and ankles, but for your entire body (Yamaguchi et al, 2015) (Cudejko et al, 2020) (Cudejko et al, 2020).
Neurological Enhancement and Inhibition: Unlocking Your Body's Potential with Barefoot Training
Our bodies are equipped with an ingenious system, much like a car's traction control. When instability is detected, the body instinctively applies "neurological brakes" to specific muscles to regain control. This protective mechanism is beneficial when navigating icy surfaces or a slackline, but it becomes a hindrance when attempting a heavy sumo deadlift or a challenging squat.
The problem with conventional footwear is its tendency to over-activate this natural system. By creating an improper foundation, conventional footwear bombards our body's traction control, preventing optimal muscle recruitment when it's most needed. This means that even if you possess the underlying strength for a lift, your shoes might be inadvertently holding you back. Fortunately, studies demonstrate that barefoot shoes facilitate proper sensation and stabilization, leading to greater muscle recruitment, improved coordination across musculature and joints, and even enhanced reaction times. This not only optimizes performance in structured movements like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts but also fosters a faster, more coordinated neuromuscular response to unforeseen situations – whether it's dodging an errant weight, spotting a training partner, or quickly stepping around an obstacle. In essence, barefoot shoes elevate both your training performance and your overall physical capabilities (Romer et al, 2019) (Robb et al, 2021) (de Villiers & Venter, 2014) (Lu et at, 2022) (Southwell et al, 2016).
Completion of the Kinetic Chain: The Integral Role of Natural Foot Function
Unlike conventional footwear, which often incorporates an upwardly sloping toe (known as "toe spring"), the human foot is intrinsically designed for flat contact with the ground. This natural design is crucial for maximizing friction, which in turn enhances propulsion and stability.
The intricate engineering of the human foot far surpasses the reductionist logic often applied in the design of conventional footwear. Natural foot movement demands significant mobility and the synchronized engagement of over 30 joints and 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Some of these vital structures originate in the lower leg and extend all the way to the toes. Together, they work in concert to properly align the load-bearing structures upstream in the body, while simultaneously managing force distribution across the foot, ankle, and knee.
This proper alignment is key to increasing muscle recruitment at the pelvis, thereby reducing unwanted stress on the foot, ankle, and knee. Conversely, conventional footwear alters the natural orientation of these muscles, inhibiting and even crippling their ability to perform their intended functions. The unique lengthening of the foot muscles when wearing barefoot shoes restores the foot's mechanics to its original, natural design, leading to increased strength. This results in greater power output from the lower limb, enhanced stability throughout the entire kinetic chain, and improved proprioceptive awareness across the entire body – a remarkably efficient and comprehensive benefit. (Kerrigan et al, 2005) (LaPlaca & Seedman, 2021) (Yamauchi & Koyama, 2019) (Yamauchi & Koyama, 2022) (Franklin et al, 2018) (Chen et al, 2016) (Manganaro et al, 2022).
So...Can training barefoot actually make you stronger? Unlocking Your Peak Performance
Improving your foot health doesn't require a radical overhaul of your schedule or lifestyle, nor does it demand expensive equipment or specialized knowledge. The path to healthier, stronger feet simply requires consistent exposure to being barefoot or wearing barefoot shoes, coupled with a commitment to your own well-being.
Over time, you will progressively feel and become more stable, your movements will achieve greater mechanical soundness, and your body will cease to put the brakes on its true potential. Your entire system will begin to operate like a finely tuned and perfectly coordinated machine, capable of unleashing its full strength. Training barefoot is one of the most accessible and impactful adjustments you can make to elevate your overall training experience and physical capabilities.
Why delay reaching your peak potential when you can begin this transformative journey today?
