eco2pia Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 re:strengthening the arches....as a younger person I developed flat feet and my ankles rolled in. I would stand in front of the mirror and focus on pushing my ankles out and lifting my arches up. At first I had to curl my toes to do it. it felt awkward and clumsy. after a while, I could easily lift my arches, and I started trying to take steps--again awkward and stupid, but possible. I bought teva sandals and wore them kind of loose (vibrams hadn't come out) and wore them constantly. Every so often as I was walking around I would practice pulling my arches up. Then finally one day it became second nature...now i actually have very high arches. My shoes wear evenly and my ankles are stronger. It turns out that my feet don't fit the standard arch pattern very well and counter-arches are death for me, so I buy shoes with flatter insoles--the muscles in my feet are supportive enough anyway. Quote Never cheat off the dumb kid. Link to comment
unicornassassin Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Possibly jealousy that I don't have such dorky looking shoes (kidding!)...or most likely because I know someone who wears them and is a douche about it so I transfer those frustrations onto the innocuous footwear rather than the irritating wearer. Ha! I hate when that happens. I have had so much stuff ruined for me because of a-holes! Quote [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] “If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.†-Thomas Edison "I'm only at about 35-40%, and I'm surprised as eff." -unicornassssin Fitocracy! [thread=16121]My Challenge Thread[/thread] Link to comment
Bumblebee4 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 re:strengthening the arches....And a great exercise is to pick things up off the floor with your toes. I have my clients with plantar fasciitis do things like pick up a dish towel and then later pick up smaller things like marbles and then flat things like coins. As a kid I actually used to clean my entire bedroom by picking everything up with my toes. Talk about lazy... I wouldn't even bend down. I think it was part rebellion though too. Quote “Women are like teabags. You never know how strong they are till they get in hot water." - Eleanor Roosevelt MyFitnessPal Diary Well, looks like I'm just a Human STR 1; DEX 2; STA 1; CON 2; WIS 4; CHA 5 Bumblebee's Quest to Play! Link to comment
'Roos Posted March 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Re: Foot strengtheningI was always told to put your foot flat on the ground and focus on drawing the ball of your foot towards the heel of your foot - if you'ven ever done it it will only move like 1/2" - nothing substantial at ALL. But as you gain strength you'll gain mobility. Quote Link to comment
maegs Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 That is awesome. I need to wear my vibrams more, get smaller feet, and then when I shop for shoes I won't be stuck in the most common size ever that always sells out, I will be a bit smaller.I like that plan! I may need to get a pair of Vibrams... Quote Current Challenge Goodreads|Instagram|Ravelry Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 I like that plan! I may need to get a pair of Vibrams... Gonna be honest here... If your foot arch is pretty normal, this won't make much of a difference. It might, but I doubt it. People with flat feet have flat feet be because there is a lack of use in their muscles. When they strengthen those feet muscles, it gives them their arch again. I've seen this time and time again.By all means, try it. Vibrams are fucking awesome... but don't expect your foot size to go down much if you have a "normal" foot. Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
morethanjustamom Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Gonna be honest here... If your foot arch is pretty normal, this won't make much of a difference. It might, but I doubt it. People with flat feet have flat feet be because there is a lack of use in their muscles. When they strengthen those feet muscles, it gives them their arch again. I've seen this time and time again.By all means, try it. Vibrams are fucking awesome... but don't expect your foot size to go down much if you have a "normal" foot.I have high arches and I LOVE my vibrams! Other shoes only support my arches for a few months, but my vibrams hug my arches. Quote The old believe everything; the middle aged suspect everything: the young know everything. ~Oscar Wilde Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 That's the point of the Vibrams too... they're not supporting you like shoes do. You're supporting yourself. There's very little in Vibrams in the way of support, and that's the point. Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
Kim Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Love my vibrams. I have an eyeblindingly blue pair for running and a second more subdued pair for lifting at the gym. I also want to stress starting slowly in vibrams. I walk around barefoot all day long since I'm at home all day but I still had to start off running in short bursts. In fact, I did the Couch to 5k program starting at square one to get used to my vibrams even though I can run more than it requires. It was worth the slow training and I've never had a day of pain from switching to vibrams. Quote Challenge 1 Plank time: 1960 seconds Challenge 2 Rope Jump: 4200 Link to comment
AKLulu Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 re:strengthening the arches....And a great exercise is to pick things up off the floor with your toes. I have my clients with plantar fasciitis do things like pick up a dish towel and then later pick up smaller things like marbles and then flat things like coins. As a kid I actually used to clean my entire bedroom by picking everything up with my toes. Talk about lazy... I wouldn't even bend down. I think it was part rebellion though too.I still pick up things with my toes all the time! I used to practice opening door knobs too.... Quote Lulu : one that is remarkable or wonderful (it's in the dictionary, it must be true) Battle Log | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram Link to comment
Book Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 All right... I've joined the Vibram revolution! Went to REI and bought a pair. I do very much intend to start slowly and do the exercises/stretches outlined on the website. Although I'm mainly planning on just using them as my everyday shoe, I don't do much running, other than some sprints I may add into my workouts. Of course... that's assuming I'm up to letting my nerd flag fly and wear such strange shoes to work.And yes, part of the reason why I did this is because of my daughter, who has large feet, and may benefit from what this thread mentioned. Quote Character and Epic Quest! Current Challenge Battle Log Link to comment
bigm141414 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 All right... I've joined the Vibram revolution! Went to REI and bought a pair. I do very much intend to start slowly and do the exercises/stretches outlined on the website. Although I'm mainly planning on just using them as my everyday shoe, I don't do much running, other than some sprints I may add into my workouts. Of course... that's assuming I'm up to letting my nerd flag fly and wear such strange shoes to work.And yes, part of the reason why I did this is because of my daughter, who has large feet, and may benefit from what this thread mentioned.And Vibram is now one person closer to total world domination Hope you enjoy them. Quote "Pull the bar like you're ripping the head off a god-damned lion" - Donny Shankle Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I just hiked 3.5 miles in my Komodosports. Here's to hoping my feet aren't bruised tomorrow. Haha. Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
So Late So Soon Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I just bought a pair of KSO multisports. They are supposed to be here in three days and I'm pumped. Quote Well I guess it's only life, it's only natural We all spend a little while going down the rabbit hole Link to comment
AprilMay Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 HA! I went to Bikram yoga last night because I had a free pass. (Free ftw!) I wore my leather vibrams and got the weirdest looks. You can't do yoga on a slippery sweaty mat! I felt like a gecko rockstar while everyone else was sliding around a bit.I tried to look up my pair of vibrams, but I couldn't find them on the website, so no link here. I think they were called the Performa Jane or some nonsense. Quote "Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform. "-Mark Twain“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.†– Winston Churchill“You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety.†– Abraham MaslowWood Elf Adventurer LEVEL 6.817Stats: STR-18.62 DEX-8.22 STA-19.05 CON-29.72 WIS-30.26 CHA-22.73 Link to comment
Atalan Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I made my own pair of huaraches since I had leather lying around and I'm way too broke for vibrams.That's the point of the Vibrams too... they're not supporting you like shoes do. You're supporting yourself. There's very little in Vibrams in the way of support, and that's the point. As someone else with high arches, when I wear socks or shoes that hug my arches, I like it. It's not because I'm actually getting support, it's just, for me, pleasurable to have that kind of closeness on my foot. [shrug] Quote Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I made my own pair of huaraches since I had leather lying around and I'm way too broke for vibrams.As someone else with high arches, when I wear socks or shoes that hug my arches, I like it. It's not because I'm actually getting support, it's just, for me, pleasurable to have that kind of closeness on my foot. [shrug]Totally. I just don't want people thinking they're receiving any type of arch support from Vibrams. They're not. Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
BarefootDawsy Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Nice! It's amazing how much it changes things...did you find your feet got wider at all? Mine are a little shorter, but noticeably wider since starting barefooting...welcome to the club Quote BAREFOOT DAWSY Scout Commander (ret.) Link to comment
BarefootDawsy Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 I made my own pair of huaraches since I had leather lying around and I'm way too broke for vibrams.What did you use for soles? Quote BAREFOOT DAWSY Scout Commander (ret.) Link to comment
Atalan Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 What did you use for soles?8-10 ounce vegetable tanned leather. Quote Link to comment
Book Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Yup... I now wear Vibrams to work. A bunch of weird looks, but my boss is great with it, and they do feel awesome. Quote Character and Epic Quest! Current Challenge Battle Log Link to comment
Bob-gar Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 My wife and I picked up our vibrams last Saturday. I've been taking it super slow(flat feet). I'll wear them a few hours a day around the house but I workout in regular shoes. Today is the first day I've worn them at work. I had about ten people in my cubicle asking me questions and looking at them. Pretty amusing experience. I've only run a quarter mile in them so far trying to focus on my form and such. They felt really good but I did have soreness in my legs afterward and some slight pain under my foot (plantar fasciitis survivor) but it went away ther next day. Hopefully all the benefits I keep hearing about come true and these help me strengthen my feet. I've totally got the bare footing bug. Hopefully my legs and feet come along for the ride. Quote "Being stronger will make you better in every conceivable aspect of your life, except of course being weaker." Fitocracy: https://www.fitocracy.com/profile/boudainFitBit: http://www.fitbit.com/user/297TR5RunKeeper: http://runkeeper.com/user/boudain/profile Link to comment
BadWolf Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 That's cool! I didn't know that was possible!I wear a women's 10, but I wear men's skate shoes almost exclusively so I don't usually have a problem wit hwidth and it's an 8 or 8.5 I get. Quote Current 6 Week Challenge Link to comment
doc_brietz Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Congratz on you losing foot size!May your feet shrink forever more!Yea, that is the first time I have ever typed either sentence. :-) Quote "Before you listen to what is said, you must first consider the source." - ME Link to comment
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