{"id":6076,"date":"2013-04-15T08:03:09","date_gmt":"2013-04-15T07:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/?p=6076"},"modified":"2013-04-13T13:05:27","modified_gmt":"2013-04-13T12:05:27","slug":"should-you-dare-to-go-bare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/achieve\/should-you-dare-to-go-bare\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you dare to go bare?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Melodie Manners, Editor at The Good Cornwall Guide (found tweeting here<\/span><\/a><\/span>)<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Barefoot that is. If you are just limbering up for the London Marathon you may have suffered from shin splints, gammy knees and general sore feet. Blame the Olympics, post indulgence or even just a love of exercise; whatever motivated you to get up and get out pounding the streets has got to be a good thing. But what should you wear? Seasoned runners and sports therapists insist on the correct footwear to prevent injury and to maximise the session.<\/p>\n

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Correct footwear however is a pretty innocuous term and the goal posts seem to have changed both in fashion and sports science. It led me, road and trail runner in marathon training, to ask the question; is it better to go barefoot?<\/p>\n

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A session with a VivoBarefoot trainer in the autumn had me watching videos and running literally barefoot on a treadmill. This forced a natural gait. In fact it immediately cured my heel striking, because without my trainers it bloody hurt. The philosophy behind VivoBarefoot is that we are born to run. Our bodies have evolved into a masterpiece of technology; muscles and tendons provide\u00a0natural shock absorption<\/span><\/a><\/span>, the skeletal system provides\u00a0natural motion control<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and the nervous system provides\u00a0natural sensory feedback<\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0Their shoes are designed to protect the sole of the foot from sharp objects, but that is it with no additional support or cushioning.<\/p>\n

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For more expert verification I spoke to Nike. Launching this Spring is their new \u2018Nike Free\u2019 range designed to be more than minimalist. Over ten years of research have gone into the making of this new Nike technology. Extensive study of the foot has led them to create something pretty innovative: Their challenge was to create a sole that became an extension of the foot rather than a platform to rely on for protection, led to the unparalleled articulation of the Nike Free’s\u00a0flexible\u00a0sole \u2013 foldable, tactile, movable and natural in its movement.<\/p>\n

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Transtarsal midfoot grooves on running soles enhance\u00a0midfoot flexibility. For training shoes, multi-directional innovations like DiamondFLX expand that range of motion. Each Nike Free shoe flexes to make your feet do the work and, as a result, you engage and help strengthen foot muscles that are often ignored.<\/p>\n

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Seemingly not just a trend, scientific research is pushing runners towards a freer and barefoot shoe. Invest in expert knowledge with the new Nike Free 5.0 (RRP \u00a380) or Vivo Barefoot Evo II Mens (RRP \u00a389) shoes and see how much time you knock off your next marathon.<\/p>\n

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For more details visit www.nike.com<\/span><\/a><\/span> & www.vivobarefoot.com<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elysium Magazine looks at the benefits of barefoot running as Melodie Manners picks out two trainers from VivoBarefoot and Nike that’ll help the discerning gent in this fitness pursuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[274,276],"tags":[1761,1762,456,553,1286,1766,1768,1769,1767,1474,1763,555,1150,1765,1764],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t