Barefoot Training: Vibram Five Fingers Shoes Review

A lot of people come up to me wondering what the heck I’m wearing on my feet.  In fact, it’s probably one of the biggest questions I get from people who approach me.  And for a good reason…

They look pretty darn funny.  When I first saw the Vibram Five Fingers shoes I too thought they looked weird and wondered who the heck would wear a shoe like this.

But after the pain in my back and joints became too much I decided to do something about it.

I’ve heard a lot of great things from people in the fitness industry swearing by these shoes and that they did wonders for your lower back and joints.  I was skeptical at first but after using them a few times I was hooked.

“The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.”
—Leonardo Da Vinci

When we think back to the history of man kind and how long we walked around barefoot, it’s no wonder our evolution got the foot right in the first place but then we had to come along and try to reinvent the wheel with shoes.

I’m not saying shoes are a bad thing, but we’re so used to wearing shoes, some good and some bad, that are feet are no longer in the shape that they’re naturally supposed to be.

This has caused problems literally from the ground up and things get out of alignment and the constant pounding our bodies take has caused a lot of joint and lower back pain in a lot of people.

If you see a basketball player you’ll usually see them wearing a pair of high top sneakers and this in theory is supposed to protect the ankle joint, and they’ll also usually have their ankles taped too.  But once we take away that mobility by wearing sturdy high top sneakers and tape all the force goes straight up to the knee.

This is why many basketball players have more knee and ankle problems…lack of ankle mobility.

After watching soccer players, they’re sprinting and diving all over the field and their shoe’s are very flexible and allow a lot of joint range of motion…the result?  Very few ankle and knee problems are ever seen on the soccer field!

Feet are much more pliable then we ever thought, and as we wear shoes our feet will adapt to them.  I’m not saying to walk around the mall in your bare feet.  But if you’re home be barefoot and if you’re training or walking then wear the Vibram Five Fingers shoes.

I’m currently reading the book, Born to Run and in the book the author goes in search of the Tarahumara Indians in the Copper Canyons of Mexico.  They’ve been known as the running people as they can run more than 100 miles at a time in nothing more than a simple sandal made out of flexible rubber.  And you don’t see any of them having joint problems like we do in America.

What’s the best version of the Vibram Five Fingers?

To be honest I’ve only tried the Classic version, and I absolutely loved it.  It has a very good price, about $75 and it’s great for practically everything.  They also have other versions that are more practical for specific adventures, but for me the Classic is my favorite.

Be sure to wash them!

The one downfall I’ve found with the Vibram Five Fingers is that they can get super stinky in a short amount of time.  The good part is that you can just pop them in the washing machine and let them air dry.  I also just heard a great tip for getting the smell out by placing the shoes in a bucket filled with water and throw in some Efferdent tablets.

Make sure you get the correct size…

Since they are designed to fit comfortably on your feet I would recommend accurately measuring your feet so you get the proper size.  They have all the instructions on how to do this on their site, so just be careful, even if you’re off by 1/2″ it can make a significant difference.

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