Monday, September 20, 2010

My Initial Reaction to my Vibrams Five Fingers

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed me talk about my VFFs. So what exactly are they? See pic below (and I'll forgive you if you laugh, lol!):


Well, they are a pair of shoes I first heard about via my friends on Facebook. I saw pictures of these funny shoes that looked more like novelty toe socks than a running shoe. Then I started reading an awesome book called "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall where these were mentioned along with other very interesting info about running, foot health, diet, etc. that I hope to talk about in a future post and got really interested in wearing the shoes that make you feel as if you are barefoot.

I went to a local store to see if I could try them on and figure out my size as they don't follow the conventional sizing but due to their overwelming popularity and the fact my feet are a less common, smaller size (51/2 -6 depending on the shoe), they did not have any for me although I did try on a pair that were a size too large, but even then I fell in love with them.

So my next option was to go to the Vibram Five Fingers website; there they show you how to figure out your sizing and I chose the two sizes I thought would fit, ordered them, and sent back the pair that did not fit. (I ended up wearing a 36 in the KSO's, fyi.) Even there, it was hard to find colors in stock that I wanted and especially in the styles as I really wanted the KSO Treks which are more durable for rugged terrain.

 I wore them all day yesterday for about 10-11 hours straight while out and about for errands and social engagements. The main issue I had was my little toe; from many years of wearing feminine, narrow shoes, I have developed a hammertoe that kind of prevents the toe from fitting into the snug pocket as straight as it should. Other than that, they are very easy to get used to. I think the strangest part is getting over the feeling that I feel kind of naked, as if I am really going barefoot because it does give me a better kinesthetic feel of the ground. I can feel the stones in my driveway, although it does not hurt like when I go completely barefoot.

You also have to get used to the funny stares and long looks from people who likely have never heard of them before and then giving an explanation of what these crazy shoes are doing on my feet. But as one of my friends said, it is a great way to raise awareness about foot health/benefits of minimalist shoes (especially for running) as it is one of those things I think people that are used to having some kind of leg pain may benefit from.

I did my morning workout of Insanity's Max Interval Plyo (the hardest and longest DVD in the series) and Jillian Michael's Cardio Kickbox and did really well wearing them. No blisters, funny movments--I had very good proprioception. I especially liked the extra grip and stability I got when doing plank moves and quick glides. It is amazing how freeing my toes helps give back a little bit of coordination to my step!

The only thing I would caution about wearing these is you really have to strengthen  up your foot, ankles, and calves before attempting workouts like I am doing. I have worn Nike Frees for the last six years and this last 4-6 weeks, I've done most of my workouts with totally bare feet. I won't go into it here as I will have another post about barefoot/minimalist footwear another day, but you can hurt yourself if you do too much too soon. Regular shoes, especially highly padded ones with lots of support, almost work like a cast and atrophy those structures, so break them in gently with walking and light activity. Though I am up to four miles non-stop when I go for my run a couple times a week, I may only try 1-2 miles TOPS initially (maybe even only half if I get to feeling funny) just to make sure I can handle it.

I hope to update more in the upcoming weeks and let you know if I am truly sold on my Vibrams! Just hope I don't go a little too crazy and try to much with them though--but I am hoping they will solve a lot of my knee and hips issues I have had in the past with running. :)


**To buy the Beachbody DVD "Insanity" listed here go to our site at Graceful Coach/Beachbody and click the Shop sign and find Insanity and other effective workouts! Sign up under "Graceful Coach" for free coaching and advice from me!

No comments:

Post a Comment