why you should work out barefooted

Don’t let shoes get in the way of your true potential!


The simple act of taking off your shoes can powerfully transform your fitness. From athletic performance to balance and stability, moving around barefoot can impact virtually every aspect of your lower-body health. While it seems counterintuitive to take away your state-of-the-art trainers, sometimes you’ve got to bring things back to the basics and restore the innate strength you’ve had all along.

As a kinesiologist, I’m constantly encouraging my clients to follow this training method, and I’m constantly met with mixed responses. While I totally get that this one is a little ‘out there’, I promise the benefits deserve some serious attention. To help with the buy-in process, here are 5 transformational ways that barefoot training can help your fitness and overall functionality.

“Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolize a way of living — being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings.” Adele Coombs


One of the Best Kept Secrets in Fitness

Before we dive in, it’s important to note that you don’t have to go zero to one hundred for this training method to be effective. What do I mean by this? It’s probably not a good idea to start running marathons or doing HIIT classes without shoes on. This is all about gradual exposure. For example, start with doing 5–10 minutes of mobility work a week without shoes. Over time, you can gradually increase the volume and intensity of the exercises.

While this should go without saying, only do this when appropriate. Not all gyms are cool with you taking your socks off…if you know what I mean. Even if you don’t enjoy this type of training, don’t fret! Just a few minutes per week at home is all it takes for you to reap amazing benefits. Simply stay consistent and trust that you’ll be stronger and healthier for it in the long run.

Without further ado, here are my top 5 reasons for why you should take your shoes off every once in a while.


1) Better balance + stability

Have you ever tried doing single-leg work without shoes on? It’s quite a bit harder. This isn’t a bad thing, however. If you exposure your feet to this over time, they’ll become stronger and more stable in vulnerable positions. This is a fantastic way to activate the intrinsic foot muscles and foster better health around your fascia. Furthermore, this can be huge for your joint health further up the kinetic chain.

2) Enhanced injury prevention

As I alluded to above, training barefoot can strengthen tissues that would otherwise be neglected. If you do this type of training consistently, you’ll notice far fewer issues around heel pain, ankle instability, plantar fasciitis, and more. While subtle, avoiding these injuries will ensure you can stay active and free of common roadblocks that slow down so many others. This is especially crucial for all you runners out there who struggle with foot-related problems!

3) Boosted athletic performance

Better joint stability. Lower injury risk. Higher muscle engagement. What does this all equate to? Boosted athletic performance. It’s no coincidence that so many professional athletes do coordination, strength, and plyometric-based drills without shoes on. It makes you a more robust, versatile human!

4) Improved body awareness

Taking away the safety blanket of your shoes forces you to pay more attention to how your body operates. If your stability or strength isn’t where it needs to be, there’s no more hiding. This is one of my favorite parts of barefoot training. You’re forced to become more in-tuned with your weaknesses and turn them into your strengths. If you’ve never tried this training technique before, I guarantee you’ll feel muscles you didn’t know you had!

5) Increased variety in workouts

This final one is so overlooked. One of the most powerful ways to remain healthy, both mentally and physically, is to add a strong level of variety to your exercise regime. If you find yourself doing the same old routine day after day, this subtle adjustment will be just what you need to breathe fresh life into your training. Have fun with this!


In Closing,

If you want to upgrade your lower body health, look no further than the simple act of training barefoot. While subtle, this practice will allow you to expose weaknesses you didn’t know you had while avoiding injuries and bulletproofing your tissues in the process. Even a few minutes per week can make all the difference!

Are you ready to take your health and fitness to new heights?

-DavidLiira.Kin

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