Hey Everybody, Minimalism WORKS!

I have been telling people that Minimalism works for DECADES, but certain feminist critics and the paranoid "anti-fascist" people keep trying to rain on my parade. Hey haters--the intellectual rigor implied in Minimalism will continue to seduce young and old aesthetes alike as long as there is an intellectual element to connoiseurship, which is to say forever. BOOYAH!!!!

FS

have a friend who's trained and raced exclusively in nike waffle racers since the mid-1970's.

no problems.

me? i prefer shoes with the most luxuriant forefoot cusioning possible.

i think anatomically efficient lightweight people tolerate minimal shoes much better.

Yes most of us whities grew up on shoes and didn't have the luxury of running 5 miles to school barefoot everyday to strengthen are feet and adapt to barefoot running. It is like crack. Shoes are addictive.

Asics representative wrote:

Hi, I represent Asics, and it seems like you a have extensive knowledge of human physiology, engineering, and the sport of running. We need more experts like you in the shoe business, and your obvious experience would make you a valuable asset to the Asics team. Please consider a job as one of our head researchers, the offer is on the table.

So I guess you won't need all those Hyperspeed 2's - wanna send me extras? 10.5 please!

Yes minimalism works for normal runners with normal sloppy strides. When they switch to minimalistic shoes they become more efficient and learn how to strike the ground in a proper way. So we can say it's a substitute for not having run barefoot enough as a child.

For Kenyan elite runners it doesn't really matter if they do their training in minimal shoes or in ordinary bulky trainers. They run with their "minimalistic technique" in bulky trainers which means fast turnover and perfect foot-plant.

So it's not really about the shoes once you master the proper technique. When you are fully adapted you can choose any shoe you like. I like comfortable running which means bulky shoes on harder surfaces and more minimalistic on softer surfaces.

Bulky shoes shouldn't compensate for lack of proper technique ONLY for lack of natural soft surfaces.

"If you could please provide some studies to reinforce the claims you've made. For example, what defines the right way to land? How much less do barefoot runners get injured?

Also you seem to be contradicting yourself. First you said that high cushioned shoes make you more injured then you said that they only fail to decrease injuries."

Here you go, sir.

http://www.unshod.org/pfbc/pfrossi2.htm

^ That one is much more in-depth about shoes

http://www.quickswood.com/my_weblog/2006/08/athletic_footwe.html

^ This one is a good place to start.

Please respond with some articles explaining why training shoes are the way to go.

What about the large persentage of people that have developed poor biomechanics in there foot, ankle and lower leg? These people need some sort corrective aspect to their footwear.

I am not saying the minimalism does not work. I'm just throwing out that it doesn't and can't work for everyone. If you look at the vast majority of runner that have success with a minimalistic approach to footwear, they will have very good biomechanics.

I have wore trainers for all 15 years of my competitive running career, and I have never developed an injury that can be attributed to my shoes.

Those are supposed to be studies that reinforce your point? Opinion pieces from random doctors in obscure publications don't constitute valid evidence. You might have more credibility if you gave peer-reviewed articles that presented scientific conjecture in the form of statistical studies showing a clear link between running barefoot and a lower incidence of injuries or at least some kind of biomechanical analysis demonstrating lower impact forces in all the support structures in the leg.

The best of both worlds: It seems to me when you're doing the majority of your runs which is at a slow pace then wear the trainers. When you're doing your hard stuff wear the flats. Anything else class?

Howard Cosell wrote:

If you were truly minimalist, you would spell guess with only one U.

This is the only intelligent and worthwile post on this thread.

(ok, except maybe the one calling out the 'evidence' for not actually being scientific, but skepticism doesn't make for a good post)

220112477 wrote:

I have wore trainers for all 15 years of my competitive running career, and I have never developed an injury that can be attributed to my shoes.

Bull shit

guuess what wrote:

Run barefoot, the way we were created, and you will not get injured.

Please stop using clothing. Let your body warm you naturally. If you just stop using clothes you'll soon be hairy like an ape and never need to purchase clothing again.

A study was published, some years ago, that compared the injury rate of runners wearing "high tech" running shoes you find in running stores and those of runners wearing "low tech" running shoes you find in retail stores like Wal-mart. The injury rate was the same. Good luck finding a $100 running shoe at Wal-mart.

Overpronation of the foot is a learned activity. Anything that can be learned can be unlearned. There are also people, the vast majority of runners/walkers in this Runnersworld Nation, who are simply not biomechanically built to run long distances. This includes the vast majority of females (high Q-angle). You have to be fit to run, but you don't need to run to get fit. Basically in order to run long distances without getting hurt, developing shin splints and other ailments, you need to be built a certain way. You need to be pretty biomechanically effecient. If you've gone so far as to compete on a high school team, college team, or continue to run years afterwards then it is safe to assume you are biomechanically effecient enough. I know people who barely creep along at 10 minute pace for 20-30 miles a week who simply cannot go 6 months without something hurting. This is not the fault of their shoes or their training but of their biomechanics.

Our feet are designed to take in information and transfer forces so that one joint or one muscle is not taking in the full force of the impact. The problem with big cushy shoes or stiff shoes is that it interfers with the information sendback and the transfer of forces. By running on a pillow of air or some other soft surface, basically every cushioning "system" out there, you are tricking your brain and the information that is being sent back from your feet. So, the information being sent back is underestimating the impact forces. What happens during the day when you are running along and you run off a steep ledge? You are prepared for it. It is not a jolt. What happens when you do the same running a night and you can not see the ledge? You make a loud and painful thud. By running in shoes with minimal cushioning/support you are strengthening your feet and allowing them to do their job. Your stride begins at your foot. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. By allowing your foot to be closer to the ground, by allowing your foot to take on more impact forces you are allowing your foot to send back information and transfer those forces more effectively thereby creating a more powerful stride AND better adaptations to prevent injuries from happening.

If you decide to do all of your running in flats or lightweight trainers it would be wise to do most of your daily activities in such lightweight shoes as well. It does no good to run an hour or two a day in light shoes if you are spending most of the day in big fat shoes.

Alan

a miler wrote:

You might have more credibility if you gave peer-reviewed articles that presented scientific conjecture in the form of statistical studies showing a clear link between running barefoot and a lower incidence of injuries or at least some kind of biomechanical analysis demonstrating lower impact forces in all the support structures in the leg.

Somebody's got to do it (couple of abstracts in the following link, scroll down a bit). ;)

Few prominent biomechanists who have done shoe/barefoot studies:

RM Alexander:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=search&term=alexander%20rm

EC Frederick:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=search&term=Frederick%20EC

SE Robbins:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=search&term=Robbins%20SE

BM Nigg:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=search&term=Nigg%20BM

J Hamill:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=search&term=hamill%20j

D De Clercq:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=search&term=De%20Clercq%20D

hi, how do i purchase wholesale asics in large quantities? i'd like to open an asics only store. thanks

I agree. However, a word of caution. If you have been running in big clunkers for a number of years, be careful about how quickly you transition into minimalist shoes or run barefoot. After years of running in traditional big bulky trainers, I tried to switch to barefoot running and light racers for training too quickly and came up injured. Many years of running in heavy training shoes had caused my foot muscles to atrophy, resulting in injury.

miscorrectly