Working out Barefoot: Helpful or Harmful

By: Kelsie Mazur, DPT 

If you’ve seen people training barefoot at the gym and wondered why they’re doing it, you’re not alone. While it may seem unusual at first, working out barefoot offers several benefits that can improve both your movement and performance. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I often recommend barefoot training for its positive effects on foot health, balance, and overall fitness.

Here’s why working out barefoot might be a game-changer for your workouts:

Our feet contain 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles and ligaments, yet most of us don’t give them any attention. Shoes, especially those with cushioned soles, can restrict the natural movement of your feet. Training barefoot helps engage the small stabilizing muscles in your feet, improving strength and mobility. This can help alleviate issues like plantar fasciitis and stiff arches over time.  

Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense its position in space, and it’s key to balance and coordination. When you train barefoot, your feet are more connected to the ground, providing better sensory feedback. You will naturally strengthen foot stabilizer muscles which helps with balance, an important biomotor ability that tends to decline as we age. This helps improve your posture and balance during movements like squats, lunges, and deadlifts, ultimately making you more aware of your body and its alignment. 

Training barefoot encourages natural movement and can help you find proper foot pressure during exercises like squats. Instead of “driving through the heels,” barefoot training can help you maintain a more balanced, tripod-like pressure across the heel, big toe, and pinky toe. This leads to better form and reduces compensations that could lead to injury. 

Working out barefoot increases flexibility in your feet, ankles, and calves by allowing full toe flexion during exercises like lunges and push-ups. This can help improve ankle mobility, which is especially beneficial for preventing tightness or discomfort from conditions like plantar fasciitis. 

Being barefoot forces you to focus more on your movements. Without the cushioning of shoes, you become more aware of your body’s position, posture, and alignment, which enhances overall movement quality. This heightened awareness builds confidence in your ability to perform exercises with good form, which is key in injury prevention. 

Getting Started with Barefoot Training

While barefoot training offers many benefits, it’s important to remember that it’s not a good idea to jump into your next workout without shoes right away. Just as your feet need time to adjust to a new pair of shoes, they also need time to adapt to training barefoot. After years of relying on the support shoes provide, your feet may not be conditioned for the same level of activity without them. Give your body time to adapt. If you’re new to barefoot training, start slowly. Try removing your shoes during your warm-up or perform bodyweight exercises without shoes to build foot strength. As your feet adapt, you can gradually incorporate light weights and more dynamic movements. Focus on control and form, not lifting heavy loads. 

Pro tip: Try tempo exercises (slow reps) to improve foot strength and proprioception during your barefoot workouts.

What if Barefoot Training Isn’t for Me?

If barefoot training isn’t feasible, there are still ways to strengthen your feet. Try walking barefoot at home, or dedicate a day to a barefoot bodyweight workout with your trainer at Wattage. Even small changes can help improve foot strength and mobility over time.

Barefoot training offers numerous benefits, from stronger feet and better balance to improved movement patterns and flexibility. By giving your feet the attention they deserve, you can improve your overall performance in the gym and reduce the risk of injury. So, next time you train, consider kicking off your shoes and giving barefoot training a try.

Are you experiencing foot pain or trying to come back from another type of injury? At Wattage, we recognize there is more to rehab than simply giving you a list of exercises and sending you on your way. Interested in learning more about barefoot training? Looking to rehab from an injury? Reach out to me, Kelsie at kelsie@wattagept.com to get in contact with me!