The more you can feel the ground with your feet when you, the better able you
are at fine-tuning your running mechanics at the neuromuscular and reflexive levels.
This is why adding barefoot running to your training can be extremely effective
in helping you run more safely, even if you prefer to run in more conventional
running shoes. This is because a popular explanation that’s been consistently confirmed
in the research regarding the importance of better ground-feel when running is that increases in
ground-feel at the feet when running naturally helps you develop and assemble more functional,
balanced, low-impact running mechanics on account of increased ground-feel at the feet when running
activates a constant sensory feedback loop in the sensory-motor component of the nervous system
that informs the brain about your body’s position in space and the forces acting on your body, thus
giving rise to much more awareness of our joints in space and the forces acting on the joints,
and all of this came to light when the bestselling book Born to Run came out around the same time as
Dr. Daniel Lieberman’s pioneering work on Kenyan barefoot runners, both bodies of work, which are
linked below the video in the description box, emphasized that the increases in ground-feel
at the feet through barefoot running is a key organizer in shaping more functionally effective
and safe running mechanics because heightened ground-feel plays a direct role in activating what
is called the ‘impact avoidance behavior reflex’. This reflex engages a number of mechanical outputs
that effectively reduces high-impact landings and improves postural alignments of the foot and leg,
but the ‘impact avoidance behavior reflex’ is most strongly activated when running barefoot because
the bottom of our feet are densely populated with groups of sensory and pressure nerves that sends
important information about touch and space to the spinal cord and to areas of the brain involved in
spatial perception, movement coordination, balance and postural control, reaction time,
timing and intensity of muscular activation and foot strike intensity. These systems are most
strongly activated when you’re barefoot because there’s multiple sensory inputs converging on the
underfoot of which does a better job at switching on the impact avoidance behavior reflex more fully
of which the low-impact mechanical outputs engaged by this reflex to protect the body in the absence
of underfoot cushioning when running include: a forefoot strike landing, a lesser over-stride
angle (meaning initial foot strike position is closer the ankle, knee and hips at touchdown);
it engages more knee flexion at touchdown (which means the knee is more bent, and less extended at
touchdown), a higher cadence or step-rate (which is the number of steps you take per minute)
and a faster removal of the foot off the ground or a faster withdrawal retraction of the foot
off the ground. All of these mechanical outputs during running, that are engaged more optimally
when running barefoot, are on record for having the net effect of lowering impact collisions,
preventing greater than normal compressive loads on the knee, stabilizing the foot and ankle and
improving shin and knee angles, all of which may result in less conflicting internal and external
rotational forces on leg, while at the same time you’re developing stronger feet because
just by being barefoot increases the amount of independent engagements of all areas of the foot.
The point is, to run more safely in running shoes, it’s important to develop functional
and safer running mechanics through barefoot running because the more you run barefoot,
the more these improvements in neuromuscular and reflexive control
of movements become hardwired in your muscle memory, and so low-impact, more stable,
more balance running mechanics are better able to maintain for when you choose to run in shoes.
So again, running barefoot provides a good basis for helping you run better in shoes
and the gains in foot strength that is naturally accompanied with barefoot running is also a big
step forward in making you less vulnerable to injury. So i just thought it would a good reminder
that your forefoot strike and the rest of your leg swing mechanics can be made more effective
at suppressing harmful impacts and making the foot stronger at pinning down more stability in a more
neutral alignment by adding barefoot running to your training and as equally important you’ll
be getting your foot strength far enough along developmentally to handle more miles and will make
it easier adapt to new levels of training. On that note, I posted a link to a video I did on an easy
barefoot running training plan to help get off you to a good and safe start to running barefoot.
I also posted a link to what a proper forefoot strike landing looks to give you a more clear-eyed
view of how the foot exactly interacts with the ground and why. I hope you’ve enjoyed this
video. If you did, feel free to hit the thumbs up button as well as the subscribe button if you
haven;t already where you will stay more informed on the benefits of barefoot and
minimalist running as well as more on the forefoot strike running vs heel strike running. Thank you
so much for listening and watching. Have fun out there on the roads and trails. Bye for now.