Let me start this post by saying that this is not a sponsored post. I bought these myself and wanted to share some hard, objective data with you to potentially help you with your own weight loss/fitness journey!
A few months ago when I reignited my fitness journey, one of the first conscious decisions I made was to take a risk and try something different. I have very flat feet and have been wearing orthotics for the past decade… ever since I stopped my intense training in the martial arts. With my arches so flat, I always felt at the end of the day like I had been walking around Disneyland for the past 13 hours; even if I hadn’t walked that much. So, I sought out a podiatrist and began looking into picking up some prescription orthotics. Eventually, I picked up a pair and it was heavenly! Though it was pretty harsh walking on plastic footbeds (with padding on them), my feet weren’t sore like they were before. That is how I was fixing the problem of dealing with my flat footedness. Conventional wisdom. Conventional medicine. Like I said though, this time around I was going to try something new.
Minimalist Shoes and the Hype
Back to present day: When I decided that it was time to do better, it wasn’t a whim that lead me to the notion of going with barefoot running and minimalist running shoes. I’d heard about VFF’s, as they’re called by the minimalist faithful, roughly two years earlier and had been following the research and headlines off and on since then. They looked pretty cool (I have a thing for camo) and at the time I first found them I was looking for water shoes not knowing that Vibrams were so much more than that. So, the day I decided I was getting back into shape I immediately ran out to REI and picked up a pair of Vibram Five Fingers’ TrekSports. It was love at first run! My calves were sore but I could feel them getting stronger and as an added bonus, I could actually see them getting stronger. There was just one nagging concern in the back of my head… hype. One of the claims of the barefoot and minimalist running evangelists is that running shoes actually weaken arches and the supporting muscles in your feet and by running the way that nature intended, you will actually strengthen those atrophied muscles. A large part of my decision to go the minimalist route was various posts I’d read by large guys like myself who were now running without shin splits or knee or hip pain, thanks to Vibrams. I was 250lbs and figured that if other 250 or 300lb guys were seeing results then it was probably not too far fetched that I could as well.
Vibram Five Fingers and the Foot Scanner
Being the nerd I am, anecdotal evidence wasn’t enough for me. I decided that around the 3 or 4 month mark I would have my feet rescanned to see if my new running posture (I’ve been using the Pose method), which I attribute to the wearing of the VFFs, had yet effected the muscles in my feet for the better. That meant that I should also see an improvement in my arches. During this time I also wore my VFFs at work, for short walks around the neighborhood and to work out in. In other words, I practically lived in them. They’re so comfortable that I wanted to wear them all the time! The only time I didn’t wear them was when summer got into full swing and I started wearing flip flops. This week, I went and had my feet rescanned, the results of that scan are below, along with my baseline scan which shows how my feet looked prior to wearing VFFs.
The scan above is my baseline scan. This is what my feet looked like after having worn prescription orthotics. I wish I had scans from before I began wearing the orthotics, but I don’t. The right side of the page shows what healthy feet should look like and the left are mine.The dark areas of my foot are where the most pressure is being placed on the contact surface. Notice how different the arch on my right foot looks than the left? My right arch is pretty collapsed, which means the left side of my body is doing more work. This can lead to lower back pain (and it has), very tight thigh muscles (IT band issues) and sore, tired feet. I’ve experienced all of the above.
This scan shows my feet today. Notice how balanced my arches are now? That’s because my right foot actually has an arch now! I thought it was a pretty dramatic difference myself. I could’ve had the doc send my scans to the lab to have them pour over them with precision and give me hard data for the improvements in my arch, but I figured I’d save the doc and myself the expense since the pictures are fairly striking. I can tell you that I’ve been running now for four months, averaging 3-5 miles a week, and have had no shin splits, no lower back pain and no running associated knee pain (they’ve been a little tender but that’s because I’ve also been doing a lot of squats).
So, there you have it! Let me make one thing clear though. I’m always asked by people, “how do you like your Five Fingers?” I tell them that I love them and how much better I “feel” having worn them but I’m also careful to let them know that the shoes themselves aren’t a “magic bullet.” Vibram Five Fingers didn’t do this to my feet, running with no cushion, on the balls of my feet like a sprinter did this to my feet. Walking around in them all the time, did this to my feet. Not pushing myself too hard and injuring my feet (people are seeing instances of plantar fascitis and top of foot injuries from overuse) did this. The shoes, as awesome as they are, were the catalyst for all of this though. If I hadn’t stumbled upon the site while looking for water shoes years ago, I may not have stumbled upon the barefoot and minimalist running movement and added one of the most important tools in my fitness journey to my toolbox.
The Best Advice You’ll Ever Receive On Double Glazing Firms Near Me
fit
Double Glazing Companies Near Me: 11 Things You’re Not Doing Double Glazing Door Handles
See What Assessment In Mental Health Tricks The Celebs Are
Using assessment in mental health (suzumame.hatenablog.com)
10 Undisputed Reasons People Hate Birmingham Door Panels key cutting birmingham
(http://www.mecosys.Com)
10 Life Lessons That We Can Learn From Citroen C1
Key Replacement Citroen Remote Key Replacement
10 Things That Your Family Teach You About Railroad Injuries Lawsuit
Railroad injuries lawsuit
Guide To Slot Wins: The Intermediate Guide To Slot Wins Slot Wins
Demo Slot Starlight Princess X1000 Techniques To Simplify Your Daily Lifethe One Demo Slot Starlight Princess X1000 Trick That Everyone
Should Know demo slot starlight princess x1000
The Most Valuable Advice You Can Ever Get About Rush Sugar Demo Sugar Rush
What The 10 Most Stupid Repair A Window Failures Of All Time Could Have Been Prevented Double glazed window repairs near me
The 10 Scariest Things About Online Grocery Stores That Ship
online grocery stores that ship (Michel)
You’ll Never Guess This Misted Double Glazing Repairs Near Me’s Tricks
double glazing repairs near me
Bunk Beds’s History History Of Bunk Beds Bunk Beds Stores
You’ll Be Unable To Guess Online Shopping Uk Amazon’s
Tricks online shopping uk amazon (Audra)
What’s The Job Market For Situs Gotogel Terpercaya Professionals
Like? situs gotogel terpercaya (Melody)
7 Simple Tips To Totally Rocking Your Repair Upvc Window upvc window Repair
Nine Things That Your Parent Teach You About Online Shopping
Sites In Uk For Electronics online Shopping sites in uk for electronics – http://www.chunwun.com –
15 Of The Best Pinterest Boards All Time About Double
Glazing Shops Near Me repair to Double Glazed windows
What’s The Current Job Market For Social Anxiety Treatment Professionals?
social anxiety treatment
The 9 Things Your Parents Taught You About Amazon Online Shopping
Clothes Uk amazon online shopping clothes Uk (http://pre.zunft.li/?p=)
Do Not Believe In These “Trends” Concerning Veterans
Disability Lawsuit vandalia veterans Disability attorney
Workers Compensation Claim 101″The Complete” Guide For Beginners workers’ compensation (bulangiul.Net)
The No. 1 Question Everyone Working In Ghost Installations
Must Know How To Answer ghost installations review (Millard)
The Hidden Secrets Of Panels For Upvc Doors upvc door Locks Replacement
10 Facts About Slot Updates That Will Instantly Put You In A Good
Mood new slots (Carmon)
Auto Accident Settlement Strategies That Will Change Your Life auto accident Lawsuits
Five Killer Quora Answers On Online Shopping Uk Women’s Clothing online shopping uk women’s clothing
(Amie)
The Most Worst Nightmare About Auto Locksmiths Be Realized mobile automobile locksmith
Three Greatest Moments In Mesothelioma Settlement
History mesothelioma lawsuit
The 10 Scariest Things About List Of Online Shopping Sites Uk online shopping sites
uk (jtayl.Me)
You’ll Never Guess This Situs Alternatif Gotogel’s
Tricks situs alternatif gotogel (Marina)
The 10 Most Dismal Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit Fails
Of All Time Could Have Been Prevented north royalton motorcycle accident Lawyer
20 Mesothelioma Law Firm Websites Taking The Internet By
Storm mesothelioma law firms
You’ll Never Guess This Car Accident Lawyers’s Tricks car accident lawyers
Why Injury Claim Will Be Your Next Big Obsession Injury Lawyers
The 10 Most Terrifying Things About Sectional Sofas Sleeper Sectional Sofas Sleeper
Guide To Gotogel Link Alternatif: The Intermediate Guide In Gotogel
Link Alternatif gotogel link alternatif (Lilliana)
A Time-Travelling Journey A Trip Back In Time: What
People Talked About Vegas Slots 20 Years Ago Evoplay slots Tournaments
A Proficient Rant About Door Fitter Luton sliding wardrobes Luton
15 Lessons Your Boss Wants You To Know About Emergency Window Repair You
Knew About Emergency Window Repair window repairs
Learn About Central Locking Key Repair While Working From Your Home lock replacement near me
The 10 Scariest Things About Upvc Doors Near Me repairing upvc door
You’ll Never Guess This Malpractice Lawyers’s Secrets
Malpractice Lawyers
20 Things You Must Be Educated About CSGO Cases Value spectrum Case
Say “Yes” To These 5 Window Repair Near Me Tips install
Why No One Cares About Newborn Push Chair pushchair [Willian]
How Much Can Slot Demo Gratis Experts Make? Demo Slot Terbaru 2023
9 Things Your Parents Taught You About Double Glazed
Window Suppliers Near Me Double Glazed Window Suppliers Near Me
Guide To Double Glazed Window Near Me: The Intermediate Guide For Double Glazed Window Near
Me double glazed window near me (Alice)
10 Things Everyone Makes Up Concerning Online Shopping
Figures Uk Reusable Air Filter Opel/Vauxhall (https://vimeo.com)