[whalesalad]

Transitioning to barefoot style footwear has changed my life. My feet are stronger. My posture is better. I’ve been slowly retraining my body from a life of sitting and cycling, which has totally thrown my entire body out of whack.

Gotta start with your feet. They need to be able to be feet, not constrained to a tight little shoe.

I can squat heavy weight barefoot now!

Highly recommend the book, it’s a great read. (I don’t enjoy reading, so this is saying a lot)

[comicjk]

Barefoot squatting is safe and easy compared to barefoot running. Running imposes stresses of 3x body weight, which is a lot more than most people can squat. As a person who got a runner's fracture using barefoot-style footwear, I still use them for weightlifting because the added control is important there and the forces are actually less.

[arcticbull]

People with running shoes tend to heel-strike increasing the amount of force dissipated into your joints. People who run barefoot tend to forefoot-strike, distributing a lot more of the impact into the calf muscle instead. The calf is also naturally springier than the cartilage, which makes it easier to run also -- and calf muscle grows back, cartilage much less so.

[comicjk]

My runner's fracture is in the forefoot, just where I was supposed to land. Take my word for it, it's not a complete protection. I agree that you don't want a whole lot of foam between you and the ground under any circumstances, but you can run with good form in many kinds of shoes.

[arcticbull]

Runner's fractures in the fore-foot were something that came up when I was researching running with toe-shoes. You're definitely right that it's a risk. I've heard of it mostly happening when people don't ramp up slowly, as bones, like muscles, become stronger when you use them [1].

Switching to Vibrams and then running further and harder than usual may well cause stress fractures, though I think that has to do with the changeover from cushioned shoes, not intrinsic to the shoe or running style -- it's common for many folks in Latin America and Africa to run barefoot by default without higher incidence of fractures.

[1] http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/bonehealth/conditioni...

[ulisesrmzroche]

Chuck Tees are the official squat shoe. Anything else is blasphemous.

[SketchySeaBeast]

https://www.roguecanada.ca/adidas-powerlift-4-mens-core-blac...

While you wanna dead in low heel, hard sole shoes, I find that an elevated heel helps with depth, and that's not blasphemy, that's personal preference.

[whalesalad]

I have a pair of Nike Romaleo’s that are collecting dust. Can’t imagine ever wearing them again. I miss the feeling of the hard sole doing cleans but the toe box is just so tight.

I would definitely not do deadlifts with an elevated heel. If you struggle with depth, I would address that muscle tightness issue.

[ulisesrmzroche]

Adidas? You serious? Why?

No on elevated. Definitely not lifting heavy then.

[SketchySeaBeast]

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Look at these pictures: https://9for9media.com/10-burning-powerlifting-questions-201...

With the exception of Ray, everyone is squatting wearing shoes with a lifted heel.

[ulisesrmzroche]

It’s a common lifting joke, you nerd

This is I what I get? Look, guy, you need a little heel height if you got some messed up rusty hips, stiff ankles, or some mobility problem. I’m not like that.

If you really think you have to wear a little higher heel because it makes your numbers better, then yeah, I suppose I forgot I'm on HN

[starpilot]

I switched to Vivobarefoot shoes for work. So much more comfortable in the office and taking walks during lunch.