Inov-8's Position on Transitioning to Minimalist Shoes
Inov-8 just released a press release today regarding their position on transitioning to minimalist shoes. Additionally, they also released a document summarizing some current research on barefoot and minimalist footwear. Both documents are attached to this post, Enjoy!
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Transitioning to Minimalist Shoes | 574 KB |
| Summary of Barefoot and Minimalist Research | 332 KB |
I really hope their new Road-x line has a wider toe-box. I have always wanted to try Inov-8 shoes have been scared off by reports of the shoes being narrow. I hope they are a bit cheaper as well. I don't mind paying a little extra for a shoe if its supposedly durable and has all the right features of a minimalist shoe.
Generally I agree with the thesis that people should gradually transition to minimal shoes (or barefoot), particularly for running. In fact I developed a business plan for this, with the company name P20, Progression To Zero. The idea was to offer shoes that progress:
1) Heel lift to 0".
2) Heel thickness to 0".
3) Insole contour to 0.
4) Cushioning to 0 (meaning from soft squishy soles, like Nike Free, to hard soles)
Alas, as with most of my great ideas over the past 23 years, my physical problems take up most of my time and energy...I can barely get out of bed in the morning, never mind start up a footwear company.
HOWEVER!!!!!!!! There is one barefoot/minimalist ideal that requires ABSOULUTELY NO PROGRESSION AT ALL: forefoot freedom. Don't spend one more day in shoes that are deforming your toes and forefoot.
I believe that forefoot freedom just as important (if not more) as heel lift, and significantly more important than sole thickness and weight.
I expect the big shoe companies to misunderstand the requirements for minimal footwear...and they have, they make minimal shoes seemingly unaware of the forefoot issue. It is distressing that small companies focused on minimal footwear are also making shoes that do not allow forefoot freedom.
To someone wanting to start barefoot running, consider a different paradigm of progression:
Rather than progress your shoes toward minimal, consider progressing your barefoot activities from minimal to more intense. In this paradigm the barefoot running progression does not start with barefoot running, it starts with barefoot walking and "hanging around". If you progress in the method below, you won't have to spend any money on minimalist running shoes (maybe a pair of huaraches), and you will probably have a much more enjoyable experience.
- Start by not wearing any footwear around the house. Your goal should be to progress to 100% of your indoor time spent barefoot or in super-minimal shoes.
- Most people heel-strike when walking barefoot, but the foot is close to flat at heelstrike, allowing a very quick transition to mid and forefoot.
- Have fun, experiment, see how it feels to strike at all different places on the foot. After a few months of barefoot walking on pavement I realized that I was orchestrating my heel-strike to occur in the middle of my calcaneus (heel bone), because that's what I though I was supposed to do. If I just let my foot "do what it wanted", my heel-strike was quite a bit to the outside and toward the back of my foot. At first I thought, "this can't be right, I am supposed to strike the middle of my heel". Nope, I have been happily heel-striking on the lateral-posterior aspect of the bottom of my heel for about 6 months now.
- Practice walking with mid-foot and forefoot strike. Although this is not the way most people walk when barefoot, this will begin to develop the muscles that you need for barefoot running...with less risk for injury. Also this may help you to more quickly "understand" how to mid-foot or forefoot strike once you begin running.
- Allow a few months for your foot bones and muscles to adapt to the different gait that you develop when barefoot and for your foot strength and tolerance to increase.
- Start walking in your yard (if you have grass).
- This stage also allows for a slow progression of your sole-skin to increasingly rough surfaces.
- When grass starts to feel comfortable, walk on the sidewalk/driveway/street... for 20-30 seconds.
- Only add barefoot pavement time when you are feeling no negative effects at all the next day. Add a minute at a time.
- Once you can walk barefoot comfortably for 30 minutes on a mix of hard and soft surfaces, with no negative effects, start running...for 5-10 seconds a day on a softish surface like grass. -
- DO NOT STOP WALKING! Continue to walk on pavement, increasing your time, and building your tolerance for rougher pavement and pavement with rocks and debris.
- Increase your running time only when you are having no negative effects, and only increase by 5-10 seconds a day.
- When your foot structures and sole-skin allows 10 minutes of running on grass, progress in a similar timeline to artificial turf, then to a track, then to pavement.
I think Inov-8 has it exactly backwards. You shouldn't transition to barefoot running through the use of minimalist shoes. You should transition to minimalist shoes through barefoot running.
I learned this the hard way. I tried to go "barefoot" with VFFs. Even as mimimalist as they are, they are not the same as barefoot.
By going barefoot, you must start with short distances, like 100 yards or less if on concrete or asphalt, maybe a bit longer if on a softer surface. Your skin will be the limiting factor here as it compresses over time to the plastic-like layer you'll earn after 2-3 months.
During all of this, you'll very quickly learn not to push off with your toes, twist as you land on your forefoot, strike the outside of your foot too hard, etc. because all of those will cause blisters or abrasions. Wearing VFFs or anything else will mask that and allow you to develop improper form. Ask anyone with Top of Foot Pain. Can't get that barefoot, but you can with minimalist shoes.
Then, and ONLY THEN, when you can run 3-4 miles (say 4-8 weeks of training to get there) should you don a pair of minimalist shoes.
I run between 30-40mi per week usually and at least 4-8 of that is barefoot, the rest in VFFs. The barefoot part keeps my form correct. http://edsstraythoughts.blogspot.com/2010/12/just-completed-100-miles-of...
If running only a few hundred yards the first few days is too light, just put your old shoes on and run whatever you want the old way. Your body will adapt between the two methods ok while you crank barefoot up and shod down.
Interestingly, Vibram agrees. http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/faq/barefoot_running_faq.htm
More minimal sneakers tend to continue enabling a heel-strike running form, whereas running in Vibram FiveFingers means learning to run on the forefoot. We recommend running first completely barefoot on a hard flat surface. This serves a dual purpose. One, it naturally forces you to run with a very light forefoot strike. Two, it allows your skin to function as a failsafe, so that you don't push yourself too hard too soon.
Too far too soon is the key. Minimalist shoes will allow it. Barefoot won't.
Edit: Oh, and all of that said, the Bare-X 200 looks appealing. Zero heel to toe drop. I'd never run in them, but am always looking for minimal shoes that are more socially acceptable than VFF's are for some situations. It will depend on how thick it is. If I cannot feel the ground, I won't bother. Oh I'd kill for a pair of Merrell Barefoot shoes with the tread of a VFF KSO - that is to say none. :-)
I hear you on that one. I love Inov-8 shoes, but am keeping my fingers crossed that they will see the light and introduce the anatomical last in their minimalist trail shoes.
Damien Tougas
http://www.adventureinprogress.com
http://www.toesalad.com