Have you noticed everyone wearing those funky toe-shoes lately? The “shoes” made by Vibram, known as “Five Fingers” or “VFF’s” are the premiere brand in a new trend in minimalist footwear.  First embraced by the running community as the perfect combination of freedom and security, running in FiveFingers  provides you all of the biomechanical and musculoskeletal benefits of running barefoot, with none of the discomfort or concern about sharp objects puncturing your soles.

Think of them as gloves for your feet.

But for all the recent buzz about running barefoot, it’s not exactly breaking news; coaches, scientists, and runners of all abilities have long known about the benefits of natural running. The difficulty has always been the impractical and potentially risky aspect of actually removing your shoes in modern society. Our ancestors might have evolved to run barefoot, but they probably didn’t have to worry about the today’s common debris; broken bottles, stray shards of metal, hard concrete, or countless other hazards that might ultimately require antibiotics and a tetanus shot.

I have also been surprised by the number of different uses for the footwear. Depending on the variant of VFF, I’ve seen people running on pavement to rock climbing to performing Olympic lifts.  It seems like it truly is an all-purpose shoe excellent for running, general fitness or even travel.

That being said the shoes do take some getting used to.  Some have reported soreness in the ankles, toes and arches of their feet.  In my experience, the discomfort was mild but I did wear them around the house like slippers before incorporating into my exercise routine.  But after broken in, the Vibram FiveFingers have become a indispensable part of my exercise gear.

Jeremy Hebert

Personal Trainer, CSCS, CFL1