Stupidest question ever.

[pitbullmamaliz]

Yep, I got dibs on the stupidest question ever. I hope this is the appropriate sub-forum to put it in, if not, please feel free to move it elsewhere. Or delete it for its stupidity. Your choice. *wink*

Alright, I'm really trying this whole barefoot thing, I swear. But I can't stand things sticking to my feet so every couple steps I'm getting the urge to brush my feet off. But I'm trying. In the meantime, I'm wearing my VFF's everywhere. My barefoot walking has helped me figure out how to walk more appropriately in my VFF's, but to be honest, I feel like an ass as I walk. I'm taking these quick mincing little steps, landing mid-foot and popping my foot right back up. I'm prancing for god's sake. I have to look like a jackass. How do you guys walk without looking/feeling like idiots??? I'm really making the effort to not heel-strike as I would normally do, so maybe that's making me feel more self-conscious and idiotic? I feel like a freaking ballerina though. Please help me and tell me how to walk without looking like a prancing ballerina!!!

 

[mokaman]

Just walk...no prancing or thinking about what you are doing...its normal to heel strike when walking...nobody is keeping track if you walk like a jackass or not.

Things sticking to your feet...hmmm...i don't notice this much at all so maybe it just goes away or maybe not...i think you will just forget about it after awhile either way.

 

[NickW]

I do not agree that it's normal to heel strike (at least not on all surfaces). Hard surfaces are really not pleasant to walk distance on while heel striking. I go barefoot nearly everywhere and when I walk I land with a midfoot strike on hard surfaces. I've learned that you cannot take long strides barefoot on hard surfaces or you will hurt your heel because you will be forced to heel strike (at least this was the case for me). When I walk I am pretty slow unless on natural surfaces where I can heel strike and take longer strides. Really it comes down to personal preference.

 

[Go Barefoot]

I agree with mokaman. It seems natural to hell strike when walking. I wouldnt recommend trying to land mid foot while walking. When I began walking/running barefoot I too attempted to land mid foot when walking. After a period of time I found this to take more energy and thought than needed. It didnt feel natural. Once you reach the point where you begin running the mid foot landing will seem natural as the mid foot landing really reduces the strike impact and for me seemed to require less effort than runnning in shoes. During my first few walks in the local neighborhood (on the old rough asphalt) I decided to start out my barefoot walking/running in a cleaner environment and went to local concrete walking/bike trails which I could trust to be free of debre such as glass where my neighborhood streets were not. This allowed my feet to become accustomed to walking and running with out shoes. Once my soles had toughened up I was able to try increasingly more agressive surfaces and increase my distance. Just dont over do it like i did in the begining. The more you go BF the less you will feel like people are watching you.

 

[Rusinque]

Dont think. Just walk. Its that simple.
And you feel like youre prancing because your foot is now landing differently than with shoes. That feeling will go away in a couple of weeks once you get used to it.
Yes, stuff will stuck to your feet. Just keep running and itll fall off. Eventually...

 

[jldeleon]

From a biomechanical, evolutionary viewpoint, heel-striking is the natural form when walking, for humans. I would suggest you try walking in something other than VFFs. I would actually suggest thick wool socks. Sounds strange, but just try it for awhile, your feet will be able to give better feedback to your brain and make you less likely to prance.

 

[Bare Lee]

I would actually suggest thick wool socks.

Yuck, socks? I hate socks, even worse by themselves.

Anyway, yes:
walk = heel strike;
run = mid-foot strike;
sprint = forefoot strike.

Although on gravel and other challenging surfaces, you may find yourself mid-foot striking from the outside of the foot inwards. Also, if you're trying to sneak up on someone, it's advisable to walk tippy-toe (in biomechanical jargon). These rules apply to everyone except NickW.

And damn that sticky stuff. I agree, it's annoying. Maybe we should use that anti-stick frying pan spray, what was it called . . . PAM? Hey what does PAM stand for anyway? If it's all caps is it an acronym for something?

P.S., going barefoot is never having to say you're stupid.

 

[Neil_D]

You might want to try and lean forward a bit when you walk, kind of stumble rather than 'prance'. I learned barefoot running by studying Pose Running. Romanov extends the principal in walking. read about it here.
http://www.posetech.com/training/archives/000350.html

Neil

 

[pitbullmamaliz]

Thank you for all the responses without a single, "holy cripes you're really asking that???" response. I do appreciate it. Just for my own sanity, maybe I'll try to have somebody get vid of me walking, to see if I'm looking as dumb as I feel.

Seems like there are two camps here - mid-foot strike for walking or heel-strike for walking. When I've gone barefoot I just naturally mid-foot strike, so I assumed I should try to do the same thing in the VFF's so I can work on my proper form for when I transition to barefoot.

Regardless, seems as though the key is definitely keep up with the short steps. I have long legs and can really stride long, so the short steps are definitely contributing to the prancing feeling, I'm sure.

Anyway, thank you all so much for the feedback. I'm off to go read that pose walking link. Thank you all!

 

[Go Barefoot]

Just noticed something this morning on my morning walk/run that I never even realised before. While walking slow I was heel striking but when i upped the pace to a power walk I automatically began a midfoot strike. Maybe that explains some of the differences in peoples opinions about the heel/midfoot stike. About the rocks & things sticking to my feet I just keep going till it falls off also. I found that as your soles become thicker things seem to be less of problem when it comes to things sticking to your feet.

 

[RunningPirate]

Hey what does PAM stand for anyway? If it's all caps is it an acronym for something?

P.S., going barefoot is never having to say you're stupid.

Answer to the PAM question: "PAM actually stands for a Product of Arthur Meyerhoff, who started PAM Products Inc and marketed PAM Cooking Spray in 1959!" Whew! Now I can finally sleep!

As for never having to say you're stupid, does that also apply to stupid non-BFR stuff I do, too?

 

[NickW]

Just noticed something this morning on my morning walk/run that I never even realised before. While walking slow I was heel striking but when i upped the pace to a power walk I automatically began a midfoot strike. Maybe that explains some of the differences in peoples opinions about the heel/midfoot stike. About the rocks & things sticking to my feet I just keep going till it falls off also. I found that as your soles become thicker things seem to be less of problem when it comes to things sticking to your feet.

I also wonder if it depends on how much you are truly barefoot outside of just running. There are quite a few that wear shoes (of all sorts) when they aren't running.

 

[Go Barefoot]

Yeah your probably right. I made up my mind that this summer i will be barefoot as much as I can and as many places that I can be or at least as many places that will allow it. Wish the only pair of shoes I need to own would be for work and the winter months.

 

[NickW]

I've been mostly barefoot for the last year, but I would don shoes when I would go to stores or around the wife or her family. A month or two ago I made a conscious decision to go barefoot everywhere. Plain and simple. I walk at least a mile barefoot everyday in addition to my daily activities and running or biking. I take my huaraches with me when I go to stores or school, but I don't wear them unless approached about being barefoot. It's amazing how much my gait has changed recently. I learned the hard way about walking with a heel strike on hard surfaces and hurt my heel pretty bad because I was trying different walking methods to see what worked best for me. Took several months for it to heal.

 

[Bare Lee]

Answer to the PAM question: "PAM actually stands for a Product of Arthur Meyerhoff, who started PAM Products Inc and marketed PAM Cooking Spray in 1959!" Whew! Now I can finally sleep!

As for never having to say you're stupid, does that also apply to stupid non-BFR stuff I do, too?

Thanks for the info Mr. Running Pirate. I guess I'll name my kids PBL1 and PBL2.

And yes, I do think there's general application. The secret is to do everything barefoot, then you're never stupid, just eccentric.

Careful with the Pose stuff Liz, it's a religion disguised as training advice. You will become assimilated.

I agree with Go Barefoot that the faster you go the further up the foot you strike. And sometimes I mid-foot strike while mid-tempo walking for little mid-brow fun. I also like going up stairs with a pure forefoot strike. Finally, I sleep with a non-stick, no strike, non-Pose pose.

 

[pitbullmamaliz]

Thanks for the warning about the Pose stuff, Bare Lee. I figure I should walk/run in whatever way causes the least discomfort and just leave it at that.

 

[JosephTree]

There have been threads about the shuffles and slides that go with stuff sticking into and onto your feet. I think there's a whole scale of responses to the sudden awareness of discomfort and that the scale moves with foot toughening. Sometimes it's just "Hey - what's that? and it's gone. Other times it's "Ouch!" But it goes away after a step or two. Then there's the "OMG! That hurts like hell!" And the next step just drives it deeper as does the next. At that point I might even stop and see if there's a new hole, though there's usually not. I've found that for the most obnoxious bits, stopping enough to slide my sole along the inside of the opposite leg mostly does the trick.

 

[Jaybird]

There is a free ebook by Lee Saxby (google for it) that talks about
walking vs running vs sprinting. He's independent but influenced
by Romanoff (POSE), I've found his videos and written material
to be useful.

I'd also go with Ken Bob and call it 'landing' not 'striking'

 

[Barefoot TJ]

We walk differently than we run. We use different gaits. If, on a given surface, you find yourself heel striking while walking, then that is a natural gait for you. Just walk.

 

[dutchie53]

Just walk...no prancing or thinking about what you are doing...its normal to heel strike when walking...nobody is keeping track if you walk like a jackass or not.

Things sticking to your feet...hmmm...i don't notice this much at all so maybe it just goes away or maybe not...i think you will just forget about it after awhile either way.

+1 on this. Just like Mokaman and TJ said, just walk.