Rilla wrote:

GymBunny wrote:Thanks Pingu, but tis a slight over-exaggeration to say all my posts are fascinating.

Ya think? Wow. I find all of your posts fascinating Lys, and I think you're the coolest/sweetest/nicest/hottest/insert superlative person ever.

That's all.
Have a nice day, thanks.

Are you trying to make me vomit over my keyboard Rilla? All this running is obviously rotting your brain.

I didn't start it.

GymBunny wrote:Thanks Pingu, but tis a slight over-exaggeration to say all my posts are fascinating.

I meant in this thread! Wouldn't go as far to say ALL of them are.... I am fascinated by biomechanics ergo your posts here have been fascinating.

GymBunny wrote:

The arch of the foot absorbs force when the feet impact the ground, stretching tendons in multiple directions, flattening and deflecting momentum. ‘Supporting’ the arch of the foot by placing it on a convex orthotic would make it virtually impossible for it to function as a shock absorber.

The arch support, which is present in all running footwear, would interfere with the downward deflection of the medial arch on loading. Furthermore, the use of orthodics, or other structures that are fitted to the mold of the soft tissues of the foot, could cause similar difficulty. Such designs occur when an engineer looks at the foot as an inflexible lever which is delicate and thus requires packaging. Various myths persist about foot behavior due to poor understanding of its biology. (Robbins and Hanna 1987)

This is a good point and not something I had thought of. However, for me, it is correct the fact that one leg is nearly an inch longer than the other which in turn puts great stress on my knees, hips, back etc etc.

http://birthdayshoes.com/index.php/moc/ - how flexible are those!

http://birthdayshoes.com/index.php/vibr ... first-look

http://birthdayshoes.com/index.php/more ... log-photos - new ones for 2010!

http://birthdayshoes.com/index.php/the- ... kila-soles

They actually look cool!

All VFFs look cool in their own weird way.

I think these are more you Scott:

I know they all look cool in their own way. For me the lace up ones look like trainers, which despite not being ideal for feet, look better. And the lace up ones kinda remind me of Puma (and maybe Adidas) trainers.

They're cool indeed. Must get a pair!!

Have to say I think the Vibrams look proper creepy, biomechanically superior they may be but I'm still not sure I could bring myself to wear them!

Have your KSOs arrived yet Rilla? I wanna see a pic of you in them

GymBunny wrote:Have your KSOs arrived yet Rilla? I wanna see a pic of you in them

Keep up!
Check my journal dude. No pics yet though, camera is out of juice and I've misplaced the charger.

Rilla wrote:

GymBunny wrote:Have your KSOs arrived yet Rilla? I wanna see a pic of you in them

Keep up!
Check my journal dude. No pics yet though, camera is out of juice and I've misplaced the charger.

I checked right after this thread.

Stop making excuses and find the charger.

GymBunny wrote:

Rilla wrote:

GymBunny wrote:Have your KSOs arrived yet Rilla? I wanna see a pic of you in them

Keep up!
Check my journal dude. No pics yet though, camera is out of juice and I've misplaced the charger.

I checked right after this thread.

Stop making excuses and find the charger.

Dude, I'm cleaning up my entire apartment looking for the lil fucker.
Why aint you replying to PMs (edit: and commenting on how awesome I am in my journal)?

Rilla wrote:

GymBunny wrote:

Rilla wrote:
Keep up!
Check my journal dude. No pics yet though, camera is out of juice and I've misplaced the charger.

I checked right after this thread.

Stop making excuses and find the charger.

Dude, I'm cleaning up my entire apartment looking for the lil fucker.
Why aint you replying to PMs (edit: and commenting on how awesome I am in my journal)?

Because I'm a woman and disorganised. You are amazing but I couldn't think how I could possibly improve on Health's reply to your last training session so hadn't. Give me 5mins

I'll give you three.

http://www.livingbarefoot.info/2009/08/ ... e-feelmax/ - useful review

Another good read: http://www.runningquest.net/2009/08/04/ ... nd-hippes/

http://www.terraplana.com/the-evo

The next best "barefoot" shoe???

View them here: http://barefootrunner.co.uk/vivobarefoo ... sneak-peak

Couple of "testing" shots here: http://barefootrunner.co.uk/vvf-alterna ... erra-plana & http://twitpic.com/photos/vivobarefoot

Terra Plana's VivoBarefoot shoes look very nice indeed (if a little pricey, but so what). This new Evo shoe looks interesting for sure. If they can get it right (snug enough to feel part of the foot, but natural & comfortable without any cramping, esp of toes & mid-foot), then they could be onto a winner. VFFs may seemingly give the ultimate "barefoot" experience, but they are less practical in day-to-day working life.

We shall see...

I still don't see much of a sporting crossover from these so really there use is limited to enthusiasts.

Stronger feet & legs is a crossover. Less injuries as your knees will be stronger from the better gait when using then shoes; useful for rugby since your boots are flat and on unstable ground. Better for deadlifts and squats.

To be honest I'm still not convinced as in most sports you'll be spending a lot of training time in specific footwear so your exposure otherwise will be minimal.

Interestingly I've had a few clients recently that have had knee and lower back issues. All also have "fallen arches" and so wear orthotics. I can't say for sure if that is the main or only cause of their issues, but I sure as hell think it's a big factor. By wearing such devices you train the foot to be even weaker. The body's gait & stance will be different from how it should be naturally and over time (many years usually) that will manifest in pain in other areas of the body.

Trainers have thick soles and arch support. They make matters worse.

Is the answer for these people to go "barefoot"? No, not straight away. It's far too much of a change. It needs to be done slowly to allow the muscles of the feet to strengthen and adjust. You get the idea.

There is of course a big issue for those going more minimal in their shoes, esp if running, and that is the surface to run in. Tarmac etc is not great and running on it in ultra thin soles is going to take quite a bit of time to get used to.

I think the other thing is not just the thin soles and increased "foot awareness", but also the allowance of the feet and toes to spread out naturally. Just take a look at women's feet; esp those that wear high heels and constricting shoes. That is not how feet are meant to be. And if some of these people are sports people then they'll undoubtedly have issues in their feet/ankles/knees/hips/lower backs due to it.

But like anything it's a personal choice based on many factors. One is money of course and if you so not believe it's worth spending on such items then that is fine. I'm not trying to convince anyone. I find the whole "barefoot shoe" thing very interesting.

I can see a foot health benefit here but I still maintain this is really more a lifestyle product rather than sport, which for me the product marketing gives away.

Looking at when you can actually use the product reaffirms this as it's generally not something a vast majority can wear to and while at work and if you're anything like me then when you're at home you don't wear footwear.

This goes back to my previous mnetion of product exposure being fairly minimal and whether this would make much difference. Is not too disimilar to try and base potential protein synthesis simply around one meal?

Terra Plana make shoes too: for example http://www.terraplana.com/lesotho-p-103 ... colour=245

Heh, just about