My friend and extremely talented musician, Cheryl Engelhardt, sent me this article about the benefits of training barefoot called "Baring Their Soles." The article, written by the strength and training coach at Northeastern University, discusses how and why and how he uses barefoot training to give his athletes and clients an advantage over the competition. He writes, ""shod" (shoe-wearing) athletes miss out on many benefits, ranging from proprioception and motor development to recruitment of important muscles that remain underutilized and practically dormant inside rigid, restrictive modern footwear." If you can't feel the ground, how is your body supposed to react to it in the most appropriate and efficient manner?

The strength coach, Art Horne, starts his barefoot training sessions with some SMR stretching (self myofascial release), then moves onto some balance drills and dynamic stretching, and then onto core exercises which simulate actions seen on the basketball court. "By placing the athletes in positions that imitate live basketball action but without the usual support of their shoes, we enhance the sport-specific foot and ankle sensory system. And by improving the foot's tactile feedback and gripping strength, we provide benefits not only for the foot and ankle complex but all the way up the kinetic chain to the knee, hip, and lumbar spine."

Horne also says that the barefoot training has helped his players avoid common basketball injuries. "In fact, during the 2008-09 men's season, no one missed a game due to an ankle sprain or any form of lower extremity pain. I'm confident that our barefoot protocols contributed to this success."

Any skill requiring balance or agility can be improved by barefoot training and waking up the dormant foot muscles. Once the lower extremities are improved, positive results can be seen all the way up the kinetic chain, keeping athletes and average Joes alike healthier, fitter, and more able to conquer life's physical challenges.

I was recently shown an article about the winner of this past weekend's Rome marathon, who boldy removed his shoes in the final stretch of the race as a tribute to fellow "Ethiopian Abebe Bikila, who won the 1960 Olympic marathon in Rome after running the entire course without shoes." That's pretty cool if you ask me, though Siraj Gena, the eventual champ, must've been pretty cocky to take the time to shed his shoes with runners close behind him. Imagine if he had lost! He would have been the guy who blew the lead because he wasted time removing his shoes. That would have sent the barefoot running movement a bunch.

My friend Keithnuts just took his first sip of the Kool-Aid. Of course, the Kool-Aid is a metaphor for barefoot running, and the sip is a metaphor for buying his first pair of Vibram Five Fingers. Keithnuts has set a goal to get in shape and run a ten mile race in two months. After listening to me preach about the benefits of running barefoot or in minimalist shoes, he became convinced and is now excited to get his quest to lose weight and run long distances started. He's so excited, in fact, that he has created a blog called "Barefooting With Benny" to document his foray into the barefoot world. He will be posting pictures of his physical progress, as well as giving readers wonderful insight into his personal experiences with his VFF's. To complement his running, Barefoot Benny Personal Fitness will be working with Keithnuts to tone his muscles and keep his fitness up on his off days from running.

I highly recommend checking out his first post about his goals, hopes, and fears, and then going back for updates on his progress. Keithnuts, I wish you luck on your endeavor, and I hope I'll be able to help you shed those pounds and get that six-pack in time for summer!