Forums >Gears and Wears>Are five finger shoes really good for running?
Are five finger shoes really good for running?
Interval Junkie --Nobby
It was a fad. Some people really liked it. But most people I know went back to traditional running shoes.
2024 Goals: chest out my nephew at Philly
When I clicked on this, I thought for sure that it had to be an old thread from like 2012.
pie man
Good for running on your hands, maybe.
11:11 3,000 (recent)
They are good for taking a time machine back to 2006.
Vibram got sued by the way.That said, I opened this thread and thought, "hi kitten" but who really knows.
I think they're probably good as an occasional tool for "barefoot running" to strengthen parts of the foot and legs, and to spread the toes, but I wouldn't run in them every day.
Maybe 1-2x a week for a few warmup miles at most, if at all.
Note: people's toes in shoe-wearing cultures are squished together unnaturally. In the pointy-toe shoes that are popular and available. Only recently have "natural foot shape" shoes become more popular. Something like the 5fingers can help to get the foot back to it's natural shape, like orthodontic braces for your feet. Vibram got sued because they were making unproven health claims related to their shoe design. I have a hammer toe on my pinky toe, and I sometimes wear these for an hour or two while watching TV in the evenings, and it helps:
60-64 age group - University of Oregon alumni - Irreverent and Annoying
doubleplusgood! me too!
Biomimeticist
The shoes are excellent, I wear them regularly. I was also interviewed as an expert witness to testify for their lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiff of the case. I have an e-mail exchange with the head of marketing before the lawsuit warning them if they continued to market their products as they did, they would face legal scrutiny.
You have to remember that your running form from your ankles up is determined by running with shoes. Taking away the shoes and not changing your upper body form will wreak havoc on your body. Which is why my golden rule is that I will not wear them on concrete or any other hard surface outside a gym.
Cultures which historically have never worn shoes do not walk like you do, run like you do, nor do they carry weight as inefficiently as you do.
Unless you're willing to learn how they actually do run, you could run 20% faster. But since you've worn shoes your entire life, taking them away as support now will tear your body apart since you foot muscles have no proper strength coordination, or endurance in how your feet are actually designed to move without the hindrance of any modern shoe. If you're not willing to learn how shoeless cultures actually run, then stay away from them if you're considering using them for racing.
I use them when I'm hiking and absolutely love them. For racing, if you hit your toes on anything its painful.
I wear them for my treadmill training and rowing workouts exclusively in the gym.
Experts said the world is flat
Experts said that man would never fly
Experts said we'd never go to the moon
Name me one of those "experts"...
History never remembers the name of experts; just the innovators who had the guts to challenge and prove the "experts" wrong
Someone has been chanting Bloody Mary into a mirror, haven't they?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bloody-mary-story/
?
https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=10059505
? https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=10059505
Many possibilities, including this being a legit 'cast a wide net' call for info.
1. It is a bot setting up a nice spam thread. It will return and change the original post to something strange and/or start spewing nonsense in new comments.
2. It is a troll, perhaps one well known to these parts. Say, kittenkat. Or someone else.
3. It is code from Q to rise up against the true evil.
Well, it just has to be one of those possibilities robbie! Amazing how you are always on top of it. LEGIT DA
Ricky —our ability to perform up to our physiological potential in a race is determined by whether or not we truly psychologically believe that what we are attempting is realistic. Anton Krupicka
Prince of Fatness
Many possibilities, including this being a legit 'cast a wide net' call for info. 1. It is a bot setting up a nice spam thread. It will return and change the original post to something strange and/or start spewing nonsense in new comments. 2. It is a troll, perhaps one well known to these parts. Say, kittenkat. Or someone else. 3. It is code from Q to rise up against the true evil.
I vote 3. Now I just have to figure out what the true evil is.
Not at it at all.
Someone has been chanting Bloody Mary into a mirror, haven't they? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bloody-mary-story/
OMG, this has awoken the Kraken!
Here's another one:
4. Thread created by a new account with an alias name so the notorious crackpot can chime in and hijack the thread.
Note: if that happens, I'll just take my ball and go home. Don't feed the troll; the thread dies there.