Vibram FiveFingers
Vibram FiveFingers have been named one of Time Magazine’s best inventions for good reason. While they probably won’t win any fashion competitions, these shoes bring a completely unique feel to any type of exercise. Rather than tightly lacing up your feet into an indolent, over braced mass of dormant ligaments, tendons and muscles, these shoes free your legs to move and develop new levels of strength, agility and balance.
Why I Like Them
If you’re like me, you spend the majority of your work week sittin’ on your tuckus in front of a computer. To balance things out I try and do something--anything--active on a regular basis. I’ve been wearing these shoes for gym workouts and runs for over a year now and am planning on getting my second pair soon. I find that during workouts they enable an extra level of precision and support. When lifting, pulling and pushing they allow you to use all of your toes to brace and balance yourself instead of just the outer or inner ridge of your foot. Vibram FiveFingers shoes have also changed the way I run quite a bit. I now find myself treading fairly lightly, rather than pounding my feet, heel first into the trail or pavement. Take a look at this barefoot running page to learn more.The comic sans type and animated feet gifs definitely add a sophisticated air of credibility to the site.
Give them a try.
The only way to know whether or not these shoes are for you is to try them. Vibram offers 4 different types, each designed for a unique set of athletic activities. They come with a standard 30 day return policy, which is good because finding the correct size can be tricky. Word to the wise, don’t think you can cram your filthy feet in them, go tromping around in the mud and send them back. Nobody wants your foot funk lying around in their brand new aqua socks...err.... FiveFingers shoes.
3 Responses
Nice article Trent.
Glad to see some more people spreading praise about these ‘shoes’, I originally got mine for martial arts training (a modern alternative to Japanese Tabi boots) and have since started wearing them whenever I do any exercise, they’ve changed the way I move for the better. I’d wear them to work if I could, unfortunately they’re not quite “business casual”.
Recently I saw an interview with Christopher McDougall on his book “Born to Run” about a mexican tribe of barefoot long distance runners. Kind of sold me on the barefoot deal even more: ttp://bit.ly/XQ3AM
I saw somebody in a waiting room with a pair of “fives” some months ago and the penny dropped immediately - footwear that allowed our feet to be what they evolved to be. What a great idea! It was obvious to me straight away that shoes - those rigid boxes which make our feet dysfunctional were a 5,000 year old fail.
I tracked down a pair of fives and haven’t worn anything else on my feet since. The first few days even my abs got a workout! Supremely comfortable, great for walking on streets or bush trails, running, Tai Chi and great too for my work with shorebirds, which gets me onto rocky headlands nearly every day.