Do you think minimalist footwear is just a fad that will pass?

i thought minimalist shoes caused fewer injuries

If its a fad, its been around for quite a while. I think we've all come to the conclusion that it really depends on the runner if its a good idea or not. Some people, myself included, prefer training in flats. Some people don't like it or get hurt from it.

actually i'd say them heavy clunkers we call training shoes are the fad. they've been around for what like 30-40 years. minimalism meanwhile has been around for the entirety of the sport preceding that. minimalism is the norm, and rightfully so. those foamy clunkers are the fad whose popularity is just starting to deteriorate after a few decades of misguided ideas and ignorance.

now that the misguided ideas behind shoe "technology" is starting to be exposed as it has been over the past few years i think in the next generation, kids who start out running are gonna be exposed to the realities of the natural way to run and it will be a devastating blow to those clunkers.

Maybe the fad is not so much minimalist shoes in general as those much-hyped "five finger" shoes.

Overuse causes injuries. The shoes have very little to do with that.

I always thought the idea was to train in heavier shoes and you would run much faster when you put on the lighter shoes for a race. Isn't that why baseball players use a donut on the bat when they are in the on-deck circle?

different question -> dont you need some shoe to run fast? barefoot runners dont run as fast

HELL YES!!! Most of the ppl out there where the toe shoes and stuff are not repeat ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH to be wearing them...and yeah I have sells person after sells person tell me I am wrong. Only elite can use these and it still depends on building up to using them.

When I started running just for running about 5 years ago now, I figured I might as well look into what good form might be before I got going and then would have to go through changing my form or some such thing. I came to the conclusion that it made sense that those big clunky shoes would not allow a natural running motion and so I started with flats. Now, if my flats wear out and I do any time in anything with too much of a heel or something it just about kills me. I cannot strike with the forefoot easily or naturally, and just below my right knee becomes terribly painful.

Minimialist shoes have always been around. We called them racing flats.

Brent. wrote:

Now, if my flats wear out and I do any time in anything with too much of a heel or something it just about kills me. I cannot strike with the forefoot easily or naturally, and just below my right knee becomes terribly painful.

If this is a problem try to find a shoe where the heel is not elevated more than the toe. There may be a thick rubber sole, but it will be the same thickness below the toe as the heel. This will make it easier to strike with the forefoot. The Adidas Classics, Samba and Gazelle, both have this feature, though they are narrow in the toe box.

Five Fingers are definitely a fad

No. There have always been people who do all of their running in racing shoes because unlike you they get injured in the shoes that you say keep you injury free. As long as companies make racing shoes some of us will buy them and use them all the time.

It may be that some of the more extreme forms of miminmalism that are around right now will disappear. I really don't think barefoot running is practical enough in the northern,urbanized world for most people to do except perhaps for some strides on a track or grass field. Few of us do much of anything in bare feet so I really don't think many of us will do a lot of running that way.

MiZungu on EPO from Al Qaeda wrote:

Do you think minimalist footwear is just a fad that will pass? i mean i can understand doing hard workouts in minimalist gear but if you're running 80+ mile weeks id rather stay injury free by running in relatively clunkier shoes (like 10-11oz) on my easy days as opposed to flats, especially for easy runs on pavement. any thoughts?

I run 100 mile weeks consistently in nothing but racing flats. I'm trying to work in some barefoot running a couple times a week, just to build lower leg strength.

Going to minimalism has really helped my running. I used to get injured all the time from running longer races in spikes because my lower legs just weren't capable of handling it; now, I haven't had any sort of injury in over 8 months of consistent high mileage.

It's something of a fad right now, but I think shoe companies will eventually realize the mistake they've made by putting medial posting in every shoe and overbuilding everything.

OH! TRACKSHARK! Where art thou in our time of need.... rain thou'st vengeance upon the non-minimalist unbelievers.

Even though ye, Trackshark, betray us by running 18 flat using minimalism...

Swizz Beats got hottie Alicia wrote:

different question -> dont you need some shoe to run fast? barefoot runners dont run as fast

Tell that to Chris Kosgei!

I just recall my Nike Pegasus from the late 80s being way more minimalist than the Nike Pegasus of today. I just can't run in todays running shoes without my achilled hurting after one run.

And then they changed and added more heel support for the Lunarlite racers and I am so bummed.

I think all the shoe companies are moving towards some more light weight trainers and away from the bulk.

Vibrams and barefoot, now THAT is a fad that will soon pass.

MiZungu on EPO from Al Qaeda wrote:

Do you think minimalist footwear is just a fad that will pass? i mean i can understand doing hard workouts in minimalist gear but if you're running 80+ mile weeks id rather stay injury free by running in relatively clunkier shoes (like 10-11oz) on my easy days as opposed to flats, especially for easy runs on pavement. any thoughts?

8 ounces for racing and hard training, 10-11 for easy days?

Sure, why not?

I really enjoy running a few miles barefoot on well groomed grass fields. Besides that, running barefoot is completely impractical. I dare anyone to try to run trails along the front range in Colorado barefoot. Good luck not bleeding to death in the first half hour.