There's quite a few other brands of minimalist shoes out there now, including ones without separated toe packets if you're not ready to make the leap. Many stores now carry Nike Frees (although, since nike is arguably responsible for modern running shoes and all their damage, I generally don't support giving them your money unless you have to), merrell "glove" branded shoes (all have ultrathin 5mm soles) which are quite popular, or NB minimus shoes. and there's tons more brands you can find online, or in specialist running shops (there's an all-minimalist running shop in seattle, donno about the rest of the world)
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feet running shoes.
- Thread starter Frisky Feline
- Start date
There's quite a few other brands of minimalist shoes out there now, including ones without separated toe packets if you're not ready to make the leap. Many stores now carry Nike Frees (although, since nike is arguably responsible for modern running shoes and all their damage, I generally don't support giving them your money unless you have to), merrell "glove" branded shoes (all have ultrathin 5mm soles) which are quite popular, or NB minimus shoes. and there's tons more brands you can find online, or in specialist running shops (there's an all-minimalist running shop in seattle, donno about the rest of the world)
Running shoes temporarily mask the pain of what you're doing, but they don't prevent the damage nor the force, especially if you're heel striking. Because you don't get the right feedback (pain), you keep doing these negative things (like pounding the ground harder instinctively because your feet are seeking out solid ground underneath your gel-filled shoes), and don't have the feedback to fully correct your form.
Casual shoes can cause pain for a number of reasons... many of them have thick soles, they may be ill fitting, etc. They are incomparable to the experience of going truly barefoot or minimalist.
Ultimately, though, going barefoot or minimalist after years in running shoes is going to hurt like hell for a while. Muscles you were pretty sure you never had will scream at you for weeks. You're basically recovering from a lifetime of feet and legs spent atrophying in casts.
After that, though, is the fun stuff. Those first few weeks of pain mean stronger calves, stronger legs, an acute awareness of how and where you land your feet (on the forefoot or midfoot, and lightly, because you've now learned to run and walk to avoid pain), and the ability to run as you were designed to.
yeah I never knew those muscles existed and if the bones in your feet have fused together then the separation can be a bit painful as well. But I would never want to go back now.
I have the muscle strength now that I could probably type with my toes lol.