Barefoot Benny Personal Fitness
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Register!
  • Testimonials
  • Running
  • Barefooting
  • Blog
  • Links

THE Study!

2/1/2010

0 Comments

 
Picture
Many of these barefoot running articles that have been coming out now are citing research done by Dr. Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard. The study is conveniently layed out on a webpage titled "Running Barefoot or in Minimalist Footwear" and is a great way for newbies or people interested in an alternative type of running to get a start and feel comfortable with the idea. Each page is very clear, using simple writing, pictures, and videos to aid the reader into understanding the barefoot revolution.

Our ancestors used to run to chase down food, like gazelles and antelope, which means we were born to run (kind of like the book "Born to Run"). Running is a good thing, even though about 30% of runners get injured every year. When the popularity of running exploded in the 1970's, new shoe companies like Nike tried to solve this problem and make the experience more comfortable by introducing shoes with lots of cushion, which in theory absorbed the shock of the ground impact. The cushy heel, however, caused runners to change their gait, creating a population of heel strikers. The heel absorbed the impact from the foot, but transferred the shock up the leg to the knees and back, creating an all new problem. Heel striking was never an option for runners before this new age of shoes, but now about 75% of the population are doing it. Runners are basically forced to heel strike in modern shoes, unless they excessively point their ankle downward, because the elevated heel catches the ground before the foot reaches a nearly flat clearance point. Barefoot running is gentler on the joints, as the weight should be centered over the hip upon impact, thus evenly distributing the force.

There's also a YouTube video which you can watch here:
For more information, check out the birthdayshoes.com analysis of the study by Justin Owings. And if you'd like to start barefoot running, but need a little confidence boost or running partner, head over to barefootbenny.com!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Barefoot Benny

    Barefoot Benny's blog provides both clients and fitness enthusiasts great fitness tips, barefooting news, and nutritional facts throughout the week!

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2017
    December 2011
    November 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009

    Categories

    All
    Barefoot Exercising
    Barefoot Running
    Boot Camp
    Born To Run
    Breathing
    Central Park
    Nyc
    Pose Method
    Qwod
    Vibram Five Fingers
    Vivo Barefoot


    Barefoot Benny Personal Fitness

    Follow me @BarefootBenny
    Twitter me @BarefootBenny
    Vivo Barefoot
    Vivo Barefoot
    Join the Meetup.com group
    Join the Meetup.com group
    Betterfly rocks!
    Picture
    Wahanda
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Register!
  • Testimonials
  • Running
  • Barefooting
  • Blog
  • Links