So, I took the plunge at the Outdoor Retailer. I walked ove in my Montrail shoes and like the 100's of others proceeded to strip my shoes and socks to get fitted properly for a pair of these crazy shoes others have been swearing by.A few days ago, I was not only excited to receive my first pair of the Vibram FiveFingers , but to also wear them.
Vibram says, "The typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised."
I totally believe that and like all exercises - cross training is vital to creating a strong core and to use multiple muscle groups daily to strengthen the body as a whole. That's why programs like P90X and CrossFit are so successful. Shaking up the body with this so called muscle confusion, which accelerates the results process by constantly introducing new moves and routines so your body never plateaus, and you never get bored. Sounds good to me!
Your feet deserve the same love - as we put tons of pressure on them all day long.
When you first put these on - you'll notice your toes fighting you on being separated, but once you walk around and your foot warms up - you'll feel a sense of freedom. If you are like me and wear flip flops a lot - these feel way more solid, more comfortable and like a little kid again. The cushioning on the bottom of my particular pair (Bikila: Built on an entirely new platform, the Bikila features a Dri-Lex® covered 3mm polyurethane insole (thickest under the ball) and a 4mm anatomical pod outsole design that offers more plating protection, and distributes forefoot impact without compromising important ground feedback essential to a proper forefoot strike running form), which is best to run in.
I walked this morning in them for 2 miles and felt great. In fact, I still have them on and walked the dogs again with no problems. Next week I'll begin to add running in the mix - but for now, so far so good!
Vibram suggests - there is a bit of a break-in period and I suggest you take a week or two to just walk and get your feet used to being "barefoot" all over town. I totally love them and am happy to share my thoughts while building up my mileage in them.
