Remember running barefoot in the grass as a kid? I remember how great it felt to run free—no shoes, no restriction of movement…just cool grass under my feet. As we get older, we find ourselves in shoes more and going barefoot less. Our Michigan environment demands that we protect and support our feet.
Enter Vibram Five Fingers: a new type of footwear designed to let your foot move like you are barefoot. These shoes are not like most shoes. In appearance, they resemble a thin foot covering with toe sleeves designed to protect your foot, a design that lets your foot move naturally, like nature intended. Designed by an Italian graduate student to simulate climbing mountains barefoot, Five Fingers has attracted a diverse group of enthusiasts - Yoga instructors, surfers, martial artists, and runners. All who have tried this dynamic new concept have touted the benefits…greater foot strength, better balance and increased proprioception - the body’s ability to sense the ground.
Five Fingers offers very little in terms of support, but they do allow the foot to support itself by keeping the foot close to the ground and letting the muscles of the foot be active. This promotes increased foot strength, strengthens tendons and ligaments, and increased nerve activity - something that is missing in most footwear. Most shoes entrap the foot thereby inhibiting natural strengthening. Shoes do not typically allow the foot to move and grab at the earth like it would in beach sand. Other shoes offer varying amounts of cushioning and support. The more supportive the shoe however, the more the foot depends on this support and as a result, the foot weakens. Going barefoot is effective but leaves the feet prone to the abuses of our hard-surface environments. The thin rubber outsoles that Vibram produces provide just the right amount of protection against cuts and scrapes.
Todd Peabody, an ex-Michigan State track athlete, started using Five Fingers as a last-ditch effort to rid himself of nagging injuries. The strategy has worked wonders and Todd has logged up to 60 miles a week running in Five Fingers. “At first my feet hurt after a few hours, but now I can wear them for 12 hours no problem.” Todd is convinced that without Five Fingers he wouldn’t be running at all. “Nothing I tried prior to Five Fingers allowed me to run injury free.”
Grant Robison, 2004 Olympic distance runner agrees. “The Five Fingers shoes have been a great tool to help strengthen my feet and improve my balance. I use them about three times a week to supplement my normal training.”
Running or walking barefoot or in Five Fingers is not for everyone. But it is a great way to train your foot and lower extremities to be stronger and less reliant on artificial support. Maybe it will give you the same sweet memories of running barefoot in the grass it gave me.
