How to Walk Barefoot [FAQ]

By Justin on May 7, 2009 | In guides | 2 feedbacks »

An image of what it looks like to fox walk, a method of low-impact walking that may provide some answers to how to walk barefoot (Source: TrackerTrail.com)

I received the following question in the mailbag yesterday:

Hi, my name is Ben and I'm a recent convert to Vibrams (black KSO's). I'm building up foot strength as well as calluses so I can run the NYC half marathon in them in August. I am also learning Pose running, which is very similar to running barefoot, as you land on your sole/midfoot.

I was wondering if you could run a poll or something asking how VFF wearer's walk in them. I notice that when walking in the VFF's, my heel strikes first, and since there is no real cushioning, it tends to hurt a little bit after a long walk, especially when walking around fast. Do people walk with their soles striking first? I've tried walking more softly, but when moving fast but not yet running, the heel strike feels noticeable.

Thanks and keep up the really cool site!

-Ben

Ben,

Thanks for writing in and you'll have to keep us updated on your half-marathon training a la POSE. I'd like to learn some POSE basics at some point!

As for your request for a poll, hopefully some others will chime in with their experience with walking in VFFs. I recall that in recanting his initial experiences with fivefingers Julien described walking as feeling as though he was on a catwalk. I know that in experimenting with different five fingers walking methods, one method I tend to return is taking short steps and landing midfoot, and when you do this, you feel almost catlike, gliding across the ground quickly and effortlessly.

Richard Nikoley (his b-day shoes interview), who regularly walks three miles a day and has been for years, had to retrain his feet so as to avoid pain in his feet. How does he walk? In his own words:

Armed with the knowledge I'd taken in, I was able to notice that my stride is actually quite short. It's barely perceptible, but my heel only contacts the ground the briefest micro-second before I roll forward on the outside of the foot and spring off my fully bent (and splayed) toes, ending up with my calf muscle fully contracted. Where I used to wear out my shoes on the outside heel and inside toe, I now wear through them right square in the center of the ball of my foot. I should know: I go through a pair of expensive Nike every six months. To me, that indicates that the stress is not on the pounding of the heel, but in the compression and springing off, right from the ball and continuing outward, radially through spread toes -- as it should be. My shoes now have virtually no heel or toe wear when I toss them out.

He also refers to the picture in NYMag's article titled You Walk Wrong — short stride, very low-angled, knees-bent, and soft heel-strike to a roll and push off with your toes.

For what it's worth, I finally did run a poll on BirthdayShoes and here are the results:

How do you walk in your Vibram FiveFingers?
Started: 01/19/10
Total Votes: 61

I strike midfoot first and then touch with my heel.: 54% (33)
I heel-strike (hit the ground heel-first).: 26% (16)
My foot hits the ground pretty flat so it's hard to tell.: 20% (12)

According to this poll, most people are midfoot (or forefoot) striking but many can't tell and others heel-strike. Then again, "strike" may be the wrong word for it entirely. Seems the key in walking without padding underfoot is to walk gently and lightly. If you're feeling a reverberating wave of force travel up your leg when you walk, you're probably walking too hard and you need to shorten your gait or learn to land more softly.

Finally, it might be of interest to look into the art of "Fox Walking" (see the image above). You can read more about fox walking here via Tracker.
Ultimately, I think any serious or prolonged heel-striking on our modern, hard-surfaced world is going to result in some foot-pain. However, I think the easiest way to mitigate this is to retrain yourself on how to walk to minimize impact and maximize efficiency. In fact, no matter

2 feedbacks »

Tags: walking