I’m really considering trying this. I’ve grappled (BJJ, wrestling) for a few years and the time spent on mats while barefoot has already changed my feet considerably (more muscular, more capable) but i dont have a callus built up at all because im always on a squishy mat. when i walk on my rocky driveway it hurts. i think im going to start with a walk in the woods.
Walking on rocks and (sharp) gravel will always hurt… at least a bit. Callous will also not build up uniformly on your soles, your skin will get more lethery and sharp stuff won’t be able to penetrate that skin so easily. Most barefooters I know do avoid running/walking extended periods on gravel, it’s the worst surface texture and feeling ever.
yep that makes sense. i like to go backpacking with my wife and i would love to be able to carry my pack and do so barefoot. because it seems awesome and i think it’ll be funny if we happen to pass anyone along the way. in all my years of backpacking/camping i’ve never seen anyone doing it barefoot!
I’m not a militant barefooter. In fact, I don’t generally like my feet to get dirty, so I rarely walk around with nothing on my feet. But, particularly for walking or hiking, I wear a lot of vibrams, or sandals, and I am militantly zero drop. Even just zero drop shoes with minimal support, like lems boots, will make your feet tired fast. So if you’re looking to strengthen your feet and you like to hike, i’d recommend you look into something like Lem’s boots. I’ve hiked with a pack and leather mocasins, and they’ll keep your feet from getting cut up, but it’s amazing how weak shoes will make your feet. And if you generally wear shoes with any sort of heel, your tendons aren’t used to walking any distance fully extended.
Something I found to really strengthen my ankles and stretch my tendons was skateboarding. Really helps with all the lower leg strength. But that’s something you definitely shouldn’t do unshod, unless you really know what you’re doing or you want to move from barefoot walking to walking with no skin on your feet.
I started in a similar fashion when I started to wear Vibram classics. But I wore them down to next to nothing and on a longer walk the soles faded away below my feet so I continued without them, liked it even more than walking with Vibrams (less sweaty) and kept it that way. Against the dirt I use a microfiber cloth, water, soap and a strong brush.
I found wearing socks makes my vibrams much less sweaty. I have some xero trek sandals i’ve been working up to wearing without socks on long walks and they’re working great, especially when my feet get wet.
There seem to be two kinds of autistic people: those who can’t stand socks, and those who always wear them because they can’t stand feeling the slightest bit of debris on their feet. I seem to be the second type. I can go on a barefoot walk deliberately, if I wash up directly afterward, but casually walking around with no shoes is a total non starter, which is pretty unfortunate. I have gotten a massive benefit from zero drop minimal shoes though.
I avoid wearing shoes wherever I can, this does include avoiding socks as much as possible. I do have some toesocks for my remaining Vibrams but if I’m not in an interview for a new job I’ll most probable wear neither nor.
I’m really considering trying this. I’ve grappled (BJJ, wrestling) for a few years and the time spent on mats while barefoot has already changed my feet considerably (more muscular, more capable) but i dont have a callus built up at all because im always on a squishy mat. when i walk on my rocky driveway it hurts. i think im going to start with a walk in the woods.
Walking on rocks and (sharp) gravel will always hurt… at least a bit. Callous will also not build up uniformly on your soles, your skin will get more lethery and sharp stuff won’t be able to penetrate that skin so easily. Most barefooters I know do avoid running/walking extended periods on gravel, it’s the worst surface texture and feeling ever.
yep that makes sense. i like to go backpacking with my wife and i would love to be able to carry my pack and do so barefoot. because it seems awesome and i think it’ll be funny if we happen to pass anyone along the way. in all my years of backpacking/camping i’ve never seen anyone doing it barefoot!
I’m not a militant barefooter. In fact, I don’t generally like my feet to get dirty, so I rarely walk around with nothing on my feet. But, particularly for walking or hiking, I wear a lot of vibrams, or sandals, and I am militantly zero drop. Even just zero drop shoes with minimal support, like lems boots, will make your feet tired fast. So if you’re looking to strengthen your feet and you like to hike, i’d recommend you look into something like Lem’s boots. I’ve hiked with a pack and leather mocasins, and they’ll keep your feet from getting cut up, but it’s amazing how weak shoes will make your feet. And if you generally wear shoes with any sort of heel, your tendons aren’t used to walking any distance fully extended.
Something I found to really strengthen my ankles and stretch my tendons was skateboarding. Really helps with all the lower leg strength. But that’s something you definitely shouldn’t do unshod, unless you really know what you’re doing or you want to move from barefoot walking to walking with no skin on your feet.
I started in a similar fashion when I started to wear Vibram classics. But I wore them down to next to nothing and on a longer walk the soles faded away below my feet so I continued without them, liked it even more than walking with Vibrams (less sweaty) and kept it that way. Against the dirt I use a microfiber cloth, water, soap and a strong brush.
I found wearing socks makes my vibrams much less sweaty. I have some xero trek sandals i’ve been working up to wearing without socks on long walks and they’re working great, especially when my feet get wet.
There seem to be two kinds of autistic people: those who can’t stand socks, and those who always wear them because they can’t stand feeling the slightest bit of debris on their feet. I seem to be the second type. I can go on a barefoot walk deliberately, if I wash up directly afterward, but casually walking around with no shoes is a total non starter, which is pretty unfortunate. I have gotten a massive benefit from zero drop minimal shoes though.
I avoid wearing shoes wherever I can, this does include avoiding socks as much as possible. I do have some toesocks for my remaining Vibrams but if I’m not in an interview for a new job I’ll most probable wear neither nor.