Barefoot Workouts Gaining Ground

Many fitness instructors have made the switch.

Thanks to the influence of books like Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, barefoot running has become one of the most popular trends to hit the exercise industry. According to a report posted on the Reuters Web site, the concept of working out sans shoes is gaining ground in other fitness disciplines besides running–areas like aerobics and modern dance.

Ellen Barrett, an instructor out of Connecticut, conducts Pilates and yoga workouts with no shoes. “I’ve been teaching barefoot forever,” she said. “Shoes give you a false sense of a platform. You don’t connect to ground. So goes the foot, so goes the body. If your foot is balanced and strong the rest of the body is too.”

Barnett believes that shoe-encased feet need to ease out gradually.

Some instructors like Stacey Lei Krauss have been barefoot for over a decade. “Being barefoot is better than being in a cast, which is what your shoe is,” she explained. “If you’re in a cast your muscles will atrophy and your joints will be stiff.”

For More: Reuters