Hi. I'm going to get some flak for this, but I found that running barefoot actually reduced the pounding stress on my shins, knees, and lower back, compared to running in shoes with thick heels. Basically, when you run barefoot, you automatically land on the FRONT of your foot, and your foot structure, calf muscles, and Achilles tendon, act like a spring and shock absorber combo- like they're designed to! If you dare to land heel-first while barefoot, you'll FEEL it big-time! Most running shoes I've seen have thick, cushy heels that only encourage poor, heel-first running form.
Not only that, in my experience anyways, those same cushy heels didn't cushion my knees and lower back as much as the natural "springs" in my feet (which come into play when landing on the FRONT of my feet)
IMHO, the whole running-with-expensive-shoes-as-a-crutch-for-poor-running-form is a travesty, almost on the same level has the high carb + low fat dogma.
Of note, I'm 6 ft tall and 180 lbs, so I don't have a significant bodyfat excess to hinder running form.
If you choose to run barefoot, start off EASY!! Walk barefoot for a while (perhaps no more than a mile at once), landing first on the balls of your feet, and paying attention to minimizing the shock when your heels contact the ground during follow-through. Once your soles have toughened up, and your calves have strengthened, begin running barefoot slowly, for short distances. No more than a half mile at a shot to begin. If you find this to be too much (say, excessive soreness in the calves or pain/ excess soreness in your feet), cut back! Find the sweet spot that works for you. It may be 1/8 mile, or 1/4 mile--it doesn't matter, you'll eventually work your way up.
Running form should improve automatically when going barefoot. I found that I ran more upright, with slightly shorter strides, and my feet contacted the ground directly beneath me, rather than landing heel-first in front of me Landing heel-first in front of me actually slowed me down a bit (think of the direction of the transmitted forces up your legs when you land heel-first, actually fighting your forward progress!). Also, landing heel-first, even with good shoes, STILL transmitted excess shock to my knees and lower back especially. Running barefoot pretty much cured my lower-back and knee problems. Another benefit; no more smelly, expensive running shoes! My toes are much better off not being crammed in sweaty, nasty shoes.
Some drawbacks to running barefoot;
--You've probably spent your whole life wearing shoes; during work, leisure, running, exercise, etc. This makes it IMPERATIVE that you ease into a barefoot walking/running program. Your muscles, tendons, and bone structure need to get used to the new demands you're placing on them, demands that they've never had to deal with before. Think of it as induction for your feet.
--Watch where you're going! This is self-explanatory. Sticks and stones and broken glass are no fun to step on. After a while, the smaller stones and sticks may be OK to step on, IF you land softly (Remember, your soles will toughen up somewhat, which will help)
This low carb site is a too-well-hidden treasure IMO, and the few barefoot running sites and articles on the web are also hidden diamonds, known by far too few (just like the LC principles espoused here). I hope I didn't anger anyone here, and I hope you do your OWN research and find out more about barefoot running, just like you did your research before going LC.
HIIT - shin splints
They are ULTRA comfy. Hoping that will help.....
Linear Mode
