Barefoot training

Athletes have been training barefoot on grass fields and sand for years. Why?

By Josh Staph Theory says that without the support of athletic shoes, the bare foot is forced to use muscles it otherwise wouldnt. Many believe such training strengthens the lower body and prevents injuries. To gain a full understanding of this practice, we spoke to training experts, Eric ichter and Tim !obertson, co"owners of #peed #trength #ystems, $leveland, %hio. ichter and !obertson have implemented barefoot training with their athletes, including &' prospect (onte )hitner and &' stars ondon 'letcher, &ate $lements, Tony 'isher and e$harles *entley. +)e perform all kinds of speed and agility work in our sandpit to help strengthen our athletes feet, ankles, knees and hips,, ichter says. Taking the practice to solid ground, #peed #trengths clients now perform dynamic speed warm"up drills without shoes. ichter says, +)hen you wear shoes, you lose some of the force production of your feet. )hen we have the athletes warm up barefoot, their feet produce more force, which makes them stronger, faster and more powerful., Nikes research -n .une /00/, &ike set out to test the practice that was keeping its shoes off world"class athletes feet. #enior researcher .eff 1isciotta set up a &ike #ports !esearch ab 2&#! 3 on a grass soccer field. Ten men and ten women ran at a 4560"mile pace with pressure"measuring insoles taped to the bottom of their bare feet. #imultaneously, high"speed cameras captured the 70 feet in action so that researchers could later examine joint angles, foot motion and foot pressures. 8ccording to their research, a foot sans shoe makes more natural contact with the ground. )ithout confinement, the foot moves freely, pressure is evenly dispersed among the foot bones and toe muscles contract to grip the ground9incorporating more muscles throughout the rest of the body. 1isciotta concluded that a bare foot works harder and more naturally than one shod in a running shoe, supporting the belief that training barefoot can improve strength, speed and agility. The practice does have its limitations, however. 8 bare foot lacks protection and cushioning, so a well"groomed surface is necessary. 8lso, the bottom of the foot has little traction, making speed and agility training difficult. Their technology To combat these problems, &ike developed its 'ree Technology. &ike points out that the 'rees essence is flexibility, which is derived from a sliced soft upper material and a segmented sole. Each cut is positioned to reflect the pressure measurements taken at the &#! , as well as the foots skeletal structure. -n contrast to most athletic shoes, which control the shape of the foot, where force is distributed, and how foot contact is made, &ike says your feet control the 'ree. (ifferent versions of the 'ree are available. %n a scale where the typical athletic shoe is on one end and barefoot training on the other, the :.0 falls right between, while the 7.0 provides

slightly more freedom. The 'ree Trainer9designed for change"of"direction training9has a ;elcro strap across the forefoot to provide lateral stability during speed and agility drills.