Review of Vibram FiveFingers
May 11, 2010
A quick review on the FiveFinger shoes that arrived in the mail three weeks ago.
I have a rule against spending way too much money on shoes, but this was an exception. It was in line with my view of training without shoes on. These particular pair of shoes FiveFingers by Vibram has allowed the barefoot minority to explore even more activities available.
I tried running and jumping yesterday up Mount Street Kings park and today everything from knee down copped a feel of D.O.M.S. including the gastrocnemius, tibialis anteriors and plantar fascia. It may be a build up from the Leg training the leg before, but tibialis posterior also felt worked.
The freedom it allows is amazing. Being able to grip the terrain with your phalanges is something else extra. Traditional shoes have a large layer of cushioning on the sole of the shoes which does not allow too much force production from toe flexion. But in the case of the FiveFingers, more force generated from toe off improved stride length and also stride rate.
Looks wise, it is a very peculiar looking shoe and shaped like your foot, it will generate a lot of interest. There is not anything like it in the market at the moment.
Training and exercising with the FiveFingers is a different feeling altogether because you are able to connect with the floor and closed circuit training becomes a lot more ‘feelable’. Do ask your gym or centre if these shoes are allowed, because I have heard of certain centres who have restricted the use of these shoes on the premise that you could ‘injure your feet if you dropped some weights on your toes’. Poor excuse when you will injure anything if you drop any weight on your toes unless you are wearing steel caps.
I tried them on last week for Pilates and they were fantastic! Just like not wearing shoes. Not that I do my pilates with shoes on.
FiveFingers can also be used in outdoor training, rock-climbing, bushwalking, swimming, jogging, trekking and yoga.
