How to start barefoot running - #1 - Introduction - YouTube

Welcome to this five-part series on how to get  started with barefoot running and movement. So this  

quick five-part series will cover the introduction - which is where we're here right now, beginner,  

intermediate, advanced, and expert barefoot  training techniques and exercises and stuff.

I'd recommend listening first to this introduction  because, I'm just going to go over some frequently  

asked questions, you know some tips, tricks, and  other things that you should know before you get  

started with like barefoot running and training. I bought a pair of barefoot shoes on a whim about  

four years ago and made a complete 180 in my lower  body's health. I had seriously problematic gait  

and it looked ridiculous. Before I continue I would  just like to say that I'm doing a sort of giveaway  

of any pair of Vivobarefoot shoes that you want,  as kind of a celebration of 1,000 subscribers!

To enter simply ensure that you've done all that  silly like and subscribe stuff as usual, and then  

just drop a comment down below why you would like  to win a pair of Vivobarefoot shoes and which  

ones, and this is available globally, to everyone! So just drop the comment and after 200 entries  

a bot will randomly select a winner and we'll go  from there. Why get started with barefoot moving?

Well, many people have covered this very  in-depth, so I'm just going to keep it brief.

Basically our movement evolved over hundreds upon  thousands of years, without plush, cushiony soles.

And suddenly now we have chunks of foam underneath  our feet, severely altering our biomechanics  

since childhood. Wonder why scoliosis, posture  problems, and all these other ailments have  

arisen? A really great book is Born To Run -  it's a stunning read and I'd highly recommend it.

okay let's do some FAQ and other things to know  and let's start with question one: What is heel  

striking? Well, it's pretty self-explanatory.  It's when you're running or jogging or  

walking, and your heel strikes first. Try  this - just stand up and jog in place. You know.  

Does your heel strike first, or does your forefoot  strike first? Chances are, you're not landing on  

your heels like this. So why do we do this when we  run? When did this become a thing? All this shock  

from the impact travels up our leg, to our hips, but  like you know, really concentrates in the joints, 

the knees, the ankles, the bones, tendons, ligaments  take the stress, instead of on the forefoot, where  

the muscles take all the impact. You know they  work as shock absorbers like muscles should.

Don't worry if you do this currently - I was  literally the worst offender of this possible.

It's kind of weird because footwear kind of  made it okay to do this by adding like all  

this inches of foam to absorb shock. So how long  does it take to get used to barefoot running?

Well of course everyone's different, but it only  took me a couple days or weeks to adapt first to  

the walking, a couple months to adapt to like  the jogging and the running, and heavy movements  

after about six months, and about six months to one  year to fully integrate, you know, barefoot into my  

lifestyle. You know just every activity and whatnot. Personally I did exercise and training about three  

to five days a week, and walk daily in barefoot  shoes this sounds like a lot, but it's really as simple  

as just buying some barefoot shoes and walking in  them all the time, and then you know maybe getting  

some barefoot running shoes, you know, after  a month or something. Do I need to do barefoot  

exercises to transition? And definitely not. Like  I said you can just switch to barefoot wear right  

away, but if you're doing like serious amounts  of like movement, jogging, running, training, ahh  

start slowly, you know. Do I need barefoot  shoes to transition effectively? And also no.

You can do of course everything entirely barefoot,  but you know it'll be quite a shock at first, trust  

me! Don't your feet get cuts from the street  or glass? No I've actually never had a cut from  

glass or something like nasty on the streets - I've  had a couple of splinters you know, in my feet from  

like thorns, or you know real terrain, but that's  actually pretty rare - you'd really be surprised how  

quickly your feet adapt to barefoot walking and  develop that thick skin. So what about returning  

to regular shoes per-se? Well now honestly they  feel really odd. It's not like I can't wear  

them, but I immediately notice how restricted  the footbed is, and unnatural the feeling is. You  

can always go back but once you've switched  over honestly I doubt you'll want to go back.

So let me get into some barefoot running tips, just to help your transition kind of go smoothly

here. So number one! Start slowly. Yeah you may  be the kind of person that just likes to jump  

into things and also just like push through  pains and aches. "The psychology is savagery! 

Remember this: Stay hard at all times!" Do not  do this - you'll run a pretty high chance of  

injuring yourself or something, you know. Instead,  literally start 100 meters at a time, or less!

The beginner section to barefoot running will cover a lot of exercises  

that are really great, and you don't even  have to leave home for those. Tip number two: 

Get some footwear! Barefoot doesn't mean like  no shoes at all. This can help the beginning  

where your feet are, you know, sensitive  and soft. This could be something from Vibram, 

Vivobarefoot, Wildlings, Merrell, Xero, or any  of the other brands dedicated to barefoot shoes.

Treat yourself! Give yourself foot massages, foam  rolling sessions, baths, good nutrition, hydration -

this is really all about growth, personal,  development, and loving our bodies. One step at  

a time but hey, let's lead the charge on the body  revolution here! Don't force it if - you're having  

issues with pains, aches, discomfort... take a break!  This can be for a day, a week, maybe even a month.  

The body really takes time to adapt and the  worst thing you can do is just force it and  

try too hard. Just let it be and let nature take  its course. And number five: Don't be afraid! While  

I'm saying like don't force aches and pains - they're completely natural to have. Chances  

are that you've been subject to improper footwear  since birth, like all of us here. The body will have  

some resistance at first and really it'll take  some time to adapt and get used to this. Just

watch your results grow from you know, six months  or beyond. So yeah that's the introductory section  

on just how to get started with barefoot running. The next section will cover how to get started  

with barefoot running with some basic techniques  and exercises that you could just literally do  

from home, so no need to go outside to the forest  or anything like this. If you like this video  

please also just hit the subscribe button and help  algorithm boost me, because it just really helps

the channel to grow a little bit. These videos  really took a lot of time and I'm just a one-man  

production crew so support me with a cup of tea  if you like and I'll see you in the next part! ;)