Why strictly barefoot, or why were people upset? Well, he was strictly barefoot because it felt better to him. And people were upset about it because they keep the indoors clean and he can’t remove the soles of his feet if he gets them dirty to avoid tracking whatever is outside inside onto their floors and into their carpets, not to mention his own feet shedding sweat/skin/whoknowswhat on his feet everywhere indoors, and I’m sure part of it was just that it’s uncommon and looked weird to people.
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.
Cool. I met a friend abroad who was strictly barefoot, and people did not always appreciate it indoors.
Interesting, any idea why?
Why strictly barefoot, or why were people upset? Well, he was strictly barefoot because it felt better to him. And people were upset about it because they keep the indoors clean and he can’t remove the soles of his feet if he gets them dirty to avoid tracking whatever is outside inside onto their floors and into their carpets, not to mention his own feet shedding sweat/skin/whoknowswhat on his feet everywhere indoors, and I’m sure part of it was just that it’s uncommon and looked weird to people.
Ah, ok. I use soap, water and a microfiber cloth, that gets my feet quite clean, cleaner than most people’s shoes at least.
That’l do it. This dude diiiiid not, haha.
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.