5 Barefoot Shoe Myths Debunked with Science

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I’m male, mid60s, retired Navy, & retired federal LEO…both careers that required fitness to meet the profession’s challenges. Fully retired now 4 years, I adopted the zero drop, wide toe box - minimalist shoe philosophy when attempting thru hike of the AT. Not only have I NOT experienced any injury (you do have to go at it slow, folks), my balance is greatly improved…and my feet don’t hurt after doing 6, 10, 15 miles! I need rest, but my feet recover quickly. I think it almost criminal that shoe companies still make “conventional” pointed “foot coffins” without offering a zero drop wide toe box line. Another great video, brother…Bravo-Zulu….well done on presentation. This is indeed, a “value-added” video!

Personally, I went from traditional cushioned running shoes to a zero drop running shoe with a wide toe box. I’ve now been in barefoot or minimalist shoes for about six months. Recently I put on some old traditional cushion shoes and after about 8 hours my feet were absolutely killing me. Switched back to my barefoot shoes again the next day and haven’t had a problem since.

Once the big shoe companies wake up to the inevitable barefoot trend, prices will plummet and overall quality will improve

I play hockey, and the foot strength I’ve gained from barefoot shoes has translated into better skating. Interestingly enough, I participated in a 5-mile run in my barefoot shoes with no particular run training thinking hockey was enough, and while it destroyed my calves and quads which weren’t used to the strain, my feet were fine. They weren’t even sore when I was done, although I could barely walk for days from the breakdown of my calves and quads.

When I was a young boy we used to wear shoes called plimsols, which were in effect barefoot shoes, they had no arch support, minimal cushioning and were foot shaped. This helped keep our feet strong and arches in great shape.

The only problem I have with barefoot shoes is... None of the manufacturers will accept that some people have big feet. I wear a size 16 and nobody makes them that big which forces people like me to continue to a very minimal selection of shoes that are not good for us. For an industry that is so dedicated to improving our feet they sure lack the care to even offer larger sizes. I have messaged many of the popular brands requesting the ability to order larger, and never got a single response!

That title made me think this was debunking barefoot shoes not advocating. Tricked me into clicking on it.

Thank you for putting this video out! You have answered, nearly all of my questions in a single video.. bought myself my first two pairs of barefoot shoes yesterday and now look forward to getting rid of the bunions on my left foot which has been a constant source of pain for awhile now. And while I was watching your video I jumped online and ordered toe spaces, so thank you for that! I look forward to your next videos!

My entire life I have had problems finding comfortable shoes. All squeezed my toes and hurt. When I was young, wide shoes were very, very hard to come by, especially for females. I struggled through until I discovered New Balance shoes in a wide width about 25 years ago. They weren't ideal, but at least they didn't hurt as much. I still had a bit of trouble with my little toe getting sore. About 2-3 years ago I discovered barefoot shoes. Oh. My. God. I had very little trouble getting used to them even though I was 80 years old. My balance is so much better, less chance of tripping or twisting my ankle. They felt weird at first with the thin soles and my feet feeling every stone. I remembered back to my childhood and my kids' childhoods. The soles of our feet were tough and we didn't even notice stones. Shoes were not a thing unless parents made you put them on. They felt stiff and uncomfortable didn't they? As far as I'm concerned, most barefoot shoes should have even wider toes and some have soles that are too thick and not enough flex. There are still improvements to be made. The biggest improvement should be a drop in price. It seems ridiculous to pay $175 for a pair of shoes with half (or less) material in them than a pair of conventional running shoes.

Wow thank you! I'm a 53-year-old woman, who just figured out that my bunions have been caused from wearing tight fitting shoes around the toes my whole life. I'm now looking for a good pair of barefoot shoes for my four-mile daily walk, and some toe spacers to begin realigning my feet. So, I very much appreciate this video, thank you again!

Chris, your research, presentation and resources are truly amazing! ❤❤❤ As someone who’s open minded, forming my perspectives by doing my own research, I really appreciate the article references you provide. I’ve even followed some of the resources listed on the reference pages of these articles to verify those learned perspectives. Your perspectives and content are absolutely top notch, got me into zero shoes and new gait technique. After about a month of new exercises and new gait walking 2 miles a day, my ankle with 15 surgeries has never felt better. Seriously ❤

I work in a commercial kitchen - on my feet on tile floors 8 or more hours a day. I was wearing increasingly thick-soled shoes because my feet always hurt. Outside of work, though, I wore crocs or no shoes at all. I even went hiking barefoot. So my toes were spreading for years, and when I forced them into standard shoes, they got squished. I bought a pair of barefoot shoes and wore them to work. I was smart and had my other shoes with me in case the barefoot ones hurt me. But I never put the standard shoes on again. My feet never hurt now like they did when my toes were squished. I would say that my years of wearing crocs and going barefoot gave me a solid foundation, and were my transitional period. I am thrilled with my barefoot shoes, and can’t imagine going back!

Dude. I’ve watched so many videos where people draw negative conclusions on things, but they didn’t properly transition. Good job touching on that subject

The biggest issue with the argument here is that it relies on heel strike vs. fore foot strike. If you look into it more, you find the same is true no matter the shoe used. Heel strike generates more jarring and injury inducing impacts no matter the shoe. This is a running form issue, not a shoe issue. I'll also add that if you look at many of the top long distance race shoes, they tend to be low pile, low to zero drop, with a wide toe box. Mainly because runners at this level are expected to have worked out form by this point. I have found it far better to start new runners in fully cushioned shoes, train form, and then work to a minimalist shoe.

In 7 months of wearing minimalist shoes I've noticed my arches are much stronger and higher now, and my Plantar Fasciitis is no longer an issue. Everything in this video is spot on! I will say, the transition period is definitely crucial. I jumped into some xero running shoes with essentially no cushion and went at it every training day. While my running and foot health did improve, my feet were constantly sore from it. Nowadays I have two pair of Altras with medium cushioning for long distance runs to use with my xeros which I wear for shorter distances/speed work days. Safe to say I'll never be going back to traditional footwear!

Our feet change with age: less known fact that we gradually lose our fatty layer on the soles of our feet. (Especially with creeping weight gain) but foot strength really helped my feet! Wide toe box shoes are better than flip flops 🎉 ❤️ your channel 🥰

You bring up good points. I started running long-distance in the mid-1970s. Upwards of 100 miles/week. I occasionally got injured, but it was mostly tendonitis in my knee. A week off, and I was off and running again. The running shoes we had were the Nike Waffle trainer, Onitsuka Tigers (paper thin), Adidas, etc. My favorite running shoes were made by Arthur Lydiad (Olympic champion Peter Snell's coach.) Today those shoes (if you could call them that) would be called minimalist. No heel lift to speak of and little cushioning. I eventually got injured; that many miles cannot be sustained. So I was forced to lay off running for about 20-years. I started running again and got a pair of Saucony Jazz. They were great. Apparently, the Nike Pegasus were great, too. I noticed with the Jazz that I could run, but I kept getting injured. A lot more than when I was younger even though I was barely running a quarter of what I used to. I tried Nikes. The same thing. I experimented with barefoot shoes. The ankle injury reared it's ugly head. I kept looking and finally, I got a pair of Nike Free shoes in the 2000s. What a difference. The Nike Free is extremely flexible. (Hint: take the font of the shoe and bend it back. If it can't flex all the way back, get rid of it. It's stopping your foot from flexing properly.) I believe what the shoe companies did was try to make shoes for fat people. Giving the shoes more control for the extra weight. The problem is it did the opposite and created injuries. Once I got the Nike Free, I could run 10-miles with no physical problems. Unfortunately, father-time has taken away my ability to run fast and recover. I now only run in Nike Free.

I’ve watched just two of your videos but I wanted to point out the amazing quality in not only a graphic-illustrative way but also the content itself. I strongly believe that anyone could benefit from this channel and the wonderful easy explanations you share. I hope your subs grow in numbers and that you can make a living out of this. Definitely smashed that sub button 👍🏼

Do you mind doing a small analysis for the trekking/backpacking/hiking options? And how the extra weight of the backpack may affect the decision of going barefoot vs traditional...