Barefoot walking

[Twisty]

Hi folks,
While I'm walking barefoot I'm still heel striking, this is cuassing me to have blisters on my heels.
Should I be thinking of changing my form of walking as well as my running?
Do you land mid foot or heel first while walking?

 

[Rich-in-STL]

Anytime you are getting blisters I would suggest looking at your form. When I walk, I heel strike unless I make en effort to do otherwise. I have walked barefoot and heel struck without any problems for years. How new are you to barefoot walking and running?

 

[PatrickGSR94]

Same here as Rich - my natural walking gait is with a heel strike, BF or not. I think that's natural for pretty much everyone. I only walk with a forefoot strike when warming up or cooling down before or after a run. And yeah I have to make a conscious effort to switch to a forefoot strike while walking, otherwise I just default back to the heel strike. Nothing wrong with that, as walking only imparts a small fraction of forces on your body that running does.

 

[Twisty]

Only been walking bout 4 weeks now. Started of with just short walks and built up to walking most places in the last week or so. Today was my second barefoot run. For some reason it's only my left heel that blisters.

Thanks for replying guys, just new and need some guidance.

 

[Bare Lee]

I've been a barefoot walker for a lot longer than I've been a barefoot runner, and every spring I have to build the heel skin back up. If you do it gradually, you won't get blisters. If you do it too fast, you'll get blisters, mild and severe.

I tend to heel-strike when walking, but if the surface is rough or hot, or if I'm tired, I'll kind of reach out and land with my forefoot first.