VIVOBAREFOOT
FEELING IS EVERYTHING
Vivobarefoot shoes are designed to mimic the natural movement of the foot.
Wide - They have a wide toe box which allows your toes (and crucially your big toe) to provide a stable foundation for natural, healthy movement.
Thin – A thin, puncture-resistant soles help maximise the sensory feedback available to the brain from thousands of nerve endings in each foot.
Flexible – A flexible shoe allows all the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the foot to load, splay and recoil, putting a natural spring in your step.
Environmentally friendly – Made from recycled, natural and bio-synthetic materials across the entire range.
In April 2020 After learning about the importance of having/keeping healthy feet I started looking at barefoot/minimalist shoes. Vivobarefoot stood out to me because they were the closest looking minimalist shoe to a main brand sneaker. I was still wearing running sneakers at the time and was a little hesitant to make the transition. As we went into lockdown for COVID19 I thought it would be the perfect time to put what I’d learned into practice. I had been wearing orthotics in my shoes since I was 12yrs old. Previously, I would struggle walking around barefoot because of the pain in my lower back and knees and feet. If I stood standing in one place for too long my lower back would hurt so much, I would have to sit down.
When you look at transitioning into barefoot shoes this is not recommended but I did this to see what would happen. I put my sneakers in the cupboard and went barefoot for 4 weeks. The first two weeks my back ached and felt tight and my feet hurt but only in the morning after getting out of bed after walking around for awhile they would be fine. When I say they hurt I would compare this pain the same as starting at the gym. On the third week the ache in my back subsided and my feet didn’t really ache anymore. Now I was working daily at mobilising my feet and stretching out in the beginning but after the 3rd week I reduced that routine down to twice a week.
I’ve been wearing Vivo’s for a little over one year now and I’m happy to say that I stand on concreate while I’m working and don’t get sore feet, knees or lower back anymore, I can walk around without feeling pain in the lower half of my body. My feet don’t pronate anymore, I generally feel much freer in my movements and don’t have to spend much time working on the lower half of my body.
There are always going to be outliers that need innovations to help them with legitimate issues and for them those innovations are extremely helpful, but for the rest of us maybe having thick cushioned, stiff, and narrow toe boxed shoes may not be the best for us long term. This is where I think these shoes really shine. You are strengthening your feet while walking around. You’re not having to take more time out of your day to add another stretch or exercise in to help. And it doesn’t stop at the feet. Allowing your feet to move how they were intended free’s up and allows the joints above to do their job efficiently and not overload them from the inadequacy of a weak foot.
If you look at the natural shape of children’s feet before we put them in shoes their toes are the wides part of their feet. Over a period your feet are adapting (like the rest of our body does) to its environment and your foot reshapes to suit the style of footwear you wear the most.
If you are weak in some area of your body or need to train for a goal or event, how do you go about that? Generally, you strengthen and positively stress the areas needed to achieve those goals. Why don’t we follow that approach for our feet?
When was the last time you actively strengthened your feet? I’ve heard so many people talk about training all the main muscle groups but never heard anyone talk about their feet. They are the foundation and like any building if the foundation is weak the rest of the structure is compromised
