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The present world has ever-new athletic gear for runners with a promise to protect from injury and damage. However, the truth is that even with such athletic gear, there is only a small minority who runs or walks. Most of us spend a lot of time sitting on the couch munching on popcorn and watching our favorite TV shows, or surfing the net or gaming online. The similarity in all these all activities is laziness in being physically active. But apart from becoming lethargic, such activities cause a hindrance to us using our feet. Our feet are designed by nature to run, hop, jog, sprint and take a stroll, which a majority of us just don't use well enough. So when our youth is spent in being couch potatoes, old age eventually could lead to the feet not being strong enough to carry the increased weight. And then people start complaining of all pain in the joints and muscles.
It is vital to optimize the usage of your feet during your youth. After all, childhood is best spent in running around in the park and being physically active all the time. The best way is to do it barefoot. Take a look at the structure of the human foot; it is designed by nature to run in without any "protection" from shoes. The majority of contemporary running shoes aren't prepared for running naturally with no damage. They are fashioned with the erroneous idea that people fall on the heels and with a requirement for some false machination to soak up the shock as the heel hit next to the ground. If running naturally implied to land on the heels, nature would have placed springs in our heels! The shoe corporation may well try to make us consider that humans are not made to run in any case not on artificial planes.
There are two key issues with the story that the shoe corporation forces us to believe. One is that nature did not intend that the heel should soak up shock. The flaws are quite easy to discern: One that the collision of landing on the heel costs the Achilles tendon, then the impact goes straight up the leg to the knee, and if the knee isn't permitted to curve, then up to the back, resulting ultimately in utter damage. Secondly, consecutively to land on the heel, the foot must be moving frontward even as the ground is moving rearward underneath us. So that although the heel hits, it is thrusting next to the ground in the reverse direction we are aiming to run.
Basically, when the foot lands, it ought to go in reverse, corresponding with the pace of the ground underneath, since the body is required to be pushed onward when running ahead. This happens perfectly when the landing is on the ball of the foot, and not the heel. The foot has a natural curve, unless of course it has been tampered with with orthotic inserts. This particular curve serves as a natural coil. It is fashioned by nature to support movement. It serves as a foil for the first part of the landing, after which the role of the heel comes in the way. The heel allows the calf muscles to relax after which automatically the knee bends. This is the way nature intended and this is the way it ought to be. The shock is not felt so shockingly but soaked up naturally. However, while you permit your knees to bend, do not let the rest of your body go in to hunchback of Notre Dame mode. Keep the back straight and erect. This is why when you run barefoot not only are you able to develop a lot of stamina and patience, but it also allows you to fight off all injuries that otherwise may plague your feet. And it increases your speed as well. This is perhaps why the Kenyans are always on top of every competitive racing event.
To take a leap in barefoot running, start to walk in slow motion first so that you are able to get the feel of the ground. This will allow your feet to get accustomed to walking or running on the irregular, jagged surfaces of twigs, rocks, sand and even dirt. Once exhausted, you can try walking on a golf course or on the grass in the park to refresh and soothe the feet muscles. Be careful while treading barefoot. Unlike your ancestors you never ran barefoot in the fields did you? So take it slow and make barefoot running a gradual hobby instead of an abrupt one. It just takes around a year.
