In nearly five (5) years of barefoot walking and running, Michael Sandler has stepped in dog poop only twice (2), and both of these times it was his own dogs' poop, as the dogs were rounding him up with their leashes. Fortunately, feet are easier to clean than shoes.
Walking barefoot is an exercise in awareness. You become more aware of your environment and of every step you take , with light-footed. While you are looking twenty (20) feet before you, you're also scanning the ground just beneath your feet, always on the lookout for hazards coming your way. Dog poop, except in thick grass in the park, is almost always avoidable. No excuse not to do barefoot walking outdoor.
Don't sweat the poopy stuff just walk aware and you'll be fine.
This is not an objection at all. It's actually a reason to walk barefoot (though start slowly). Weak ankles are caused by too much support (and a lack of mobility) in a shoe and not enough blood flow to the ankles.
Consider this: our shoes are typically the cause of ankle sprains. In almost any athletic shoe you wear, you're raised above the ground at least a half (1/2) inch or more ( and sometimes up to two inches), and they have super grippy tread. ⇩
The higher you're off the ground, the more likely you are to catch this tread on a rock, a curb, a crack in the sidewalk, or almost anything you stepped on, and roll an ankle. Moreover, grippy rubber shoes bottom is supposed to be good for traction, right? Well, yes ... except if it causes your foot to stick or catch a surface while momentum continues to carry your body mass forward. When you want to go one way and your foot inside the shoe, is stuck going another way, you could end up with an ankle sprain.
Here's the good news. When you're fully barefoot walking or running, you're directly on the ground surface so it's much harder to roll an ankle. And if you're fully barefoot, you tend to skim over obstacles rather than 'stick on' to them and twist.
Sure, if you step on a ball or other obstacle accidentally underfoot, you can always roll anything, but when you're barefoot (or in very flat footwear) you're already almost on the ground. there is no place to roll.
Ankles can be strengthened over time by being barefoot. Unless you have pins and other hardware in your ankle that prevent mobility, even short distances barefoot walking can benefit your weak ankles.Just start slowly and listen to your ankles. If they start getting tired, stop walking.
If your ankles are weak, you just need to start slowly with barefoot walking and focus on the other exercises mentioned in this blog. The ankle is a system of interconnected muscles, ligaments , and tendons, and therefore can be strengthened. It just take time, patience and bay steps barefoot walking.
In nature we never had anything wrapped around our ankles. Even a tall Native moccasin was no more than soft leather (never use rubber or plastic) that covered the ankle. The ankle must be allowed to move unencumbered in order to stay flexible and strong.
You can bring that flexibility and strength back through barefoot walking, particularly on uneven surfaces.
Not true, unless you're walking in very unsanitary conditions, such as stagnant water or some third-world country areas without plumbing.
In general, parasites that enter through the feet skin are rare and found only in the hottest places. Even there, as long as you're not walking barefoot or standing barefoot around in festering pools of water, there's little chance you'll pick something up, and it's extremely unlikely you'll pick up something that's life threatening ( you have a much higher chance of winning the lottery). However, please do not walk around a dog park without shoes. Common sense. There, we've said it.
The greater harm to your health is not getting out and exercising.
Last thought here : keep your tetanus immunization up to date. Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is an infection characterized by muscle spasms. Boosters are given every ten years. If you can't remember when your last tetanus booster jab was given, check with your doctor. Although cuts when going barefoot are rare, particularly after your first few weeks, it's better to be safe than sorry here. And remember, if you've got a cut on your feet, do not go barefoot until it's healed.
Dirty Feet
If you don't want to get your feet dirty, then there is good news and bad news. First, the bad news: if you go barefoot walking, particularly in the city, your feet will get dirty. However, that dirt washes right off, particularly if you keep a wash basin/pail of water or wet wipes by your home entrance door.
So here's the good news. Your feet are likely cleaner going barefoot outside than they are in your shoes. Why? Because we almost never wash the insides of our shoes, and we sweat in them every day whenever we wear them.
Shoes are known to harbor thousands if not millions of molds, fungi, and disease-causing bacteria in and on them before we finally succumb and throw them out in favor of a new pair.
Good Morning America once tested 8 people's pairs of shoes as well as two dogs' paws and found the shoes carried the most bacteria, up to 66 million organism each. This compared to toilet seats, with only 1,000 organisms. And nine out of ten pairs of shoes contained coli-form bacteria from human or animal feces. They can also carry pesticides, toxic chemicals, and pollen. Yet we rarely (if ever) wash our shoes, because we don't want to ruin them. So instead we slip our clean feet into germ traps, sweaty shoes-environments devoid of oxygen that are just perfect for wee beasties to fester in and on. And we track them around the houses.
The rule in our house is this : whether we've washed our feet when we've entered the home or not, we must wash our feet again before we go to bed.
And there's even more good news. Research shows that microbes in the dirt (not those in our shoes) are actually good for us, and exposure to them contributes to a stronger immune system. More on this fascinating topic later.
Going Bare at the indoor Gym.
Something funny happened on the way to the fitness gym. People have gotten liability crazy. Out of concern that you may drop a weight on your foot ( which would break your foot in or out of a shoe), trip (something you're more likely to do in a shoe), or catch your foot on a contraption, gyms are wary about having you go barefoot.
"At my favorite gym I have to write my own waiver after a lengthy discussion with management about being able to use a treadmill barefoot. In the waiver, I stated they were not responsible if I hurt myself. I also had to promise that I would scrub down the belt afterward so it wasn't dirty for the other patrons (who oddly enough, would be in shoes that were never washed, even after walking in public bathrooms). Even then they were hesitant to let me use the treadmill barefooted."
Other strange oddities at gyms abound. There are fitness classes and even yoga classes (though this one is silly) where you have to at least wear socks, if not shoes, when working out. However, you're more likely to slip and fall, particularly in a pose, if you can't grab with your toes.
Working out barefoot at the gym is a great way to increase proprioception (your perception of movement and spatial orientation of your body and its parts). balance, strength, and overall health. However, if you find you just can't do it at your gym or the stares are too much, then simply get yourself the most minimal shoe you can. There are even toe sock, with rubber nubs for traction, designed specially for yoga classes.
Toe Shoe ⇧
Toe Socks ⇩
But wait, you say. What about the gym locker rooms? If our feet are cleaner out of a shoe, what about getting athlete's foot at the local gym? That occurs because people take their sweaty feet with festering foot fungus out of their shoes and then walk around barefoot in the locker room and showers.
In these environments, if your foot is going back into shoes, it's easy to pick up the fungus and spread it to your shoes. But if you're staying barefoot, the fungus can't survive in oxygen, so your bare-feet should be just fine. When in doubt, wipe your feet, especially in between your toes, with tea tree oil, organic raw apple cider vinegar, or raw honey. Flip-flops will serve you well here too.
Natural Grass Barefoot Wear ⇧
Absolutely wear shoes in public restroom, on the streets in third-world countries, and anywhere else you see or smell unsanitary conditions or feel uncomfortable.
(OR PLANNING TO BE PREGNANT)
The good news is that going barefoot adds additional benefits for future mommies to be during pregnancy. Swollen feet are common during pregnancy, and many women find themselves shedding their shoes anyway. Consider these barefoot walking benefits of truly going barefoot:
•Minimizes swollen feet. One of the big considerations for pregnant women is circulation. It's known that women's feet get bigger during pregnancy, and a large part of this is fluid gain, often caused by not working our muscles. However, fluid gain goes down as you use muscles more. When you go barefoot your feet have to wok more. That's a great thing when pregnant, because a working foot is like a fluid pump, bringing fluid up out of the foot and the lower leg and delivering it back to the heart.
• Improves overall circulation. The increased circulation doesn't just end with the feet. Your lower legs also do more work when you're barefoot, particularly as you shift your weight toward your forefoot. This increased circulation acts as a fluid pump and helps keep your legs healthier, happier, and stronger.
• Builds balance for less wobbling. One of the greatest benefits of going barefoot is that your feet are closer to the ground, which brings more stability during a time when your center of gravity is shifting. You can also feel the ground beneath your feet, which helps you reawaken and work the stabilizing muscle groups from your feet to your legs, hips, and up into your core, improving your balance for increased maneuverability and lower chances of falling.
• Strengthens core muscles for delivery day. If you think of the human body as a series of interconnected links of a chain, each one connected to the next, you start to get a real sense of the benefits of going barefoot when pregnant. After your legs, the next link in the chain is your core. Now, a stronger core isn't just about the stomach; it includes all the muscles from the pelvis on up. In essence, when you've fully engaged your core, you're doing somewhat of a Kegel exercise, just to hold yourself in place ㅡ muscles essential for an easier delivery day.
• Develops a healthier back for a happier mommy.
Keeping the back healthy and happy during pregnancy is often a big challenge. After all, you're carrying a growing heavy weight in front, and your back often arches forward.
And by working all of the muscles from your feet on up, you assist the circulation of your cerebrospinal fluid, in essence lubricating your spine and keeping it loose.
• Stand with better posture for more comfort. Since you are working right up the chain and have better body awareness, better circulation, and a stronger core, you also end up with better posture, because you can feel what is going on beneath you ㅡ especially when there comes a time you can't see your feet.
If you were already walking barefoot before pregnancy, congratulations ㅡ you've got a leg up here. Keep doing what you're doing if your doctor agrees, and it will serve you well. But if you're already pregnant and would like to experience the benefits of being pregnant and going barefoot, always trust your doctor here, and when in doubt, be safe and ask.
Your feet arch shape doesn't determine whether you can go barefoot. It's a myth. In fact, study after study says it has absolutely no bearing on whether you can go bare or not. Your feet arch, like your fingerprint, has its own unique shape.
We could find no correlation in the scientific studies between the shape of the feet arch and how it functions. However, what we did find is that the shape of the arch changes as you go barefoot. Yo start to strengthen the arch, and it grows taller. In essence, you're building a stronger spring. However, for many people, after the arch grow taller, the foot gets more muscular and better padded, and so, like the greatest African barefoot runners, the foot fill out and appear to be flat again. But this time the muscle is hiding a beautiful strong arch on the inside.
