Barefoot Running – Is It For You?

Leonardo Da Vinci said, “The human foot is a work of art and a

masterpiece of engineering.”

Barefoot Running

• Minimalism or Natural running• Man ran for millenia without shoes• Only in recent history we have become

obsessed with running shoes• NOW it’s having a re-emergence!

ANCIENT MAN

• Mostly endurance runners• Can outrun most other animals due to

intricate bodily heating mechanisms• All based on Chris McDougall’s Running Man

Theory• He observes how this group didn’t suffer the

same injuries of today’s runners particularly those that hurt the knee.

Advent of Running Shoe

• Barefoot running has been the norm until the 1970’s

• But there was just a fad and never an evidence found to benefit mankind with running shoes on nor would it prevent injuries.

• Running shoes caught up through advertising

One Harvard Collaborative Study

• Most barefoot runners land on the middle of their foot or the ball of the feet and never the heel.

• Running barefoot then is fun and safe but it uses a different set of muscles offset by running shoes says Daniel Lieberman, professor or Evolutionary Biology

• You can run on the world’s hardest surfaces without slightest discomfort or pain!

Well, How about Shoe Runners?

• 75% of people are heel runner or strikers [meaning: we land on our heel when we run]

• Running shoes made sure this is encouraged• RESULTS: Runners are now more prone to

repetitive injuries

Modern Man

• It was Ethiopian Abebe Bikila who won a marathon in the 1960 Rome Olympics running barefoot!

• Adidas was said to have supplied him with small shoes which he turned down.

• India’s Sivnath Singh also famed barefoot runner

• South Africa has one too with Zola Budd, World Cross Country Championships

HOW TO RUN BAREFOOT?

• Try the 100-Up exercise• Stretch your Achilles tendon to strengthen it

as a result from heel striking. Start with slow walks gradually moving to running with your forefoot, landing.

• Try on Minimalist shoes now readily available in the market today more than ever!

Benefits of Barefoot Running

• It saves you 5% of your energy, giving you stamina to last more runs longer!

• You’ll absolutely experience less running-related injuries

• PLUS it’s a free reflexology session

VIDEO FROM GUARDIAN UK

• Examine this video from The Guardian explaining how barefoot running is a better form of running than with the overly expensive and padded running shoes of modern man!

VIDEO FROM GUARDIAN UK

LEARN MORE!

• Visit this blog page to read the entirety of the article with all the tidbits of information you need to know about barefoot runnind: http://tuvizo.com/barefoot-running/