Barefoot with VIVO
We are now getting barefoot with VIVO, our new proud partner!
Picking the right shoe is critical for every individual person to each runner and OCR athlete. We have done our research, we have tried and tested different brands and different style shoes and what we have learned is that: EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.
With that said, there is a science behind walking and running barefoot. Key elements in minimalist shoes are:
- Heightened Senses
Thin, puncture-resistant soles allow the 200,000 nerves in each foot to provide your brain with the sensory feedback you need to move with skill.
Thick cushioned soles don’t allow your feet to feel the ground, reducing sensory feedback to the brain resulting in clumsy, unskillful movement.
- Natural Stability
Wide shoes allow your toes, crucially your big toes, to provide a stable base of support.
Tapered narrow shoes give you shoe-shaped feet, reducing stability and restricting the natural splay and recoil of toes weakening the muscles and foot function.
- Uninhibited Movement
A flexible shoe allows your muscles and tendons to load, splay and recoil putting a natural spring in your step.
Supportive rigid shoes, cramp your feet and restrict the natural range of movement, weakening the muscles and the foot.
As we continue to train and improve our craft, we want to use the best products and offer the best quality to our clients. VIVO Barefoot aligns perfectly with our mission; Not only are they one of our proud partners, they also sponsor our race team with their Trail Run and Swim Run shoes to prepare our team for any race throughout the year.
If you would like to try a minimal shoe, remember to WALK before you RUN.
"Unless you have strong healthy feet and a flexible squat, watch any four-year-old running barefoot round a swimming pool and they will show you great natural technique. Upright posture (head over hips over feet), quick cadence (lots of small steps) and they are probably relaxed and having fun. That is what natural human movement is all about. Then we go to school... start sitting on chairs and wearing padded shoes...and so begins a lifetime of bad posture and movement habits. Everyone’s transition back to strong healthy feet and natural movement is different depending on lifestyle, chair and shoe use. Walk and squat before you can run. Take time just to walk around every day in thin flexible shoes to reignite the many muscles in your feet and start using the Great Toe! When it comes to running, no shoe is a silver bullet:
Running is much more complex than that. If you are not injured and enjoy running the way you do – then don’t change! And if you insist on ‘jogging’ (long sticky heel-striking strides) then the more padding the better.
But, if you would like to rediscover the skill of natural healthy movement then the more sensory feedback from the feet to the brain the better and make sure your feet are strong and healthy and you have a nice flexible deep squat."
Feel free to use code: HKPVV15 to save 15% off your pair at VIVO Barefoot.
- The HKP Team
#WEAREHARDKOUR
