Walking Barefoot
Urbanisation has greatly affected the way in which we walk and as such we no longer use our feet in the way they were intended. We explain the mechanical benefits of walking barefoot.
While we at walking.org are forever talking about hiking up hills, marching up mountains or how to eat well and exercise properly in order to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, your feet is something we very rarely address.
Generally there are three types of foot, arched, high arched and flat footed. Generally, people of European descent have arched feet which evolved to walk on soft, uneven surfaces.
However, due to the rapid urbanisation of our environment in the past few hundred years, with streets being covered in tarmac and concrete paving slabs providing pavement to walk along, the ground has changed from soft, uneven woodlands and fields to flat and hard surfaces.
The problem with this is that our feet are unable to evolve as quickly as the changes occurring in our environment. As a result, we all wear footwear incorporating a variety of cushioning technologies to provide impact dispersal and shock absorption in order to prevent injury.
This also explains how, back in the day, Chris Brasher pioneered his Brasher boots to provide cushioning and lightweight performance for the benefit of our feet rather than the longevity of our walking boots. His revolutionary design was based on a running trainer which is intended to address the fast impact of the foot on a hard surface.
So if we take off our shoes, how are out feet supposed to work?
Due to our arches, walking barefoot is meant to be like walking on wet sand. Anyone who has walked along the beach where the tide is rushing in and out will feel their heel sink into the ground before their foot rolls forward as their weight shifts to the centre before progressing onto the forefoot and pushes off with the toes.
However, because of the hard surfaces we walk on, the heel is unable to sink into the ground. Because of this, the heel needs to be cushioned for when it strikes the hard ground and so does the forefoot. Instead of a smooth and straight roll, the foot now rolls downwards in order to meet the ground, causing the forefoot to require cushioning and shock absorption as well.
The end result is that our feet do not work the way they were intended to by nature and because both the heel and forefoot is heavily cushioned by the shoes that we wear, our bodies are not required to work as hard in giving us mobility.
This is why you will find that walking along the soft, wet sand as the tide comes in is much harder than walking normally. So when it comes to getting the greatest amount of exercise, walking bare foot is the best way to do it.
With the invention of products like the Vibram Five Fingers, more outdoor enthusiasts are beginning to embrace the outdoor in their bare feet. Or rather, bare feet encased in a protective rubber shoe that hugs the sole and the toes for maximum freedom of movement.
While Vibram Five Fingers have been a success, a suitable environment for barefoot walking can often be difficult to reach compared to the wide appeal of running shoes as a means of getting a daily amount of exercise.
So what if you could only spend half an hour, rather than a whole hour’s worth of walking to get a suitable amount of regular exercise every day?
This is what Skechers seem to be addressing with their new range of Shape Ups shoes. Skechers being Skechers, have launched their product from a fashion angle, relying on their tried and tested consumer marketing tactics. But perhaps there is far more to their fitness footwear than meets the eye where barefoot walking is concerned.
Basically, Skechers Shape Ups simulate the effects of barefoot walking by utilising the cushioning of their trainers in a different way. So instead of dispersing shock as the heel impacts the ground before rolling onto the forefoot, the soft sole of the shoe is designed to compress, recreating the effect of walking on soft sand within the shoe rather than on the ground. Very clever.
In doing this, Shape Ups not only make sure that the wearer is working their foot the way nature intended, but all while working the supporting muscles further up the body. So by optimising the way we walk, Shape Ups also enhance the benefits of walking.
So let’s forget for a moment that Skechers Shape Ups are a well marketed fashion item and let’s consider them purely for their function. And that is to recreate the way we would naturally walk and give us a greater level of exercise during the same space of time. Perfect, as Skechers say, for people with a busy lifestyle and when they are so well designed for our urban surroundings, Shape Ups make sense. But would you wear them?
While we seriously do not expect to see men wearing Shape Ups, there are a small range of men’s trainers available. Maybe they will catch on as an essential for getting exercise while walking about town, but for now Vibram Five Fingers have a greater hold on the outdoor enthusiast looking to walk about barefooted without shredding the soles of their feet on rocks and other sharp surfaces.
Even for someone who is used to walking long distances, walking barefoot still requires some getting used to. So if you’re planning to ‘go natural’ in bare feet, put on some Vibrams for protection or try out some Skechers Shape Ups, take it easy. After generations of walking in cushioned trainers, using your feet properly may come as a shock.
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