To wear shoes or not while exercising?

Question

I am going to work out on my eliptical and I want to know if I have to wear shoes or if I can just go barefoot or with socks. I hate wearing shoes. But I will wear them if I absolutely have to. Thanks

Answer 1

You do not need shoes. In my country PE is normally taught barefoot; I've never personally seen or heard of an accident due to that nor do kids here have a lot of foot fungus. Even running outdoors can be done barefoot, although you do have to build up to it a bit if you've always worn shoes.

Athletic shoes do not absorb as much impact as claimed, because people rely too much on the support and not on their own body, landing hard on their heel & relying on their shoe as a full shock absorber rather than landing on the ball of the foot & letting the body act as a 'spring'.

You may also actually be at a greater risk of ankle sprains when wearing shoes: "Ankle sprains are the most frequently reported acute sports injury, and 90-95% of these are inversion injuries causing partial or complete rupture of the anterior talofibular ligament and occasionally of the calcaneofibular ligament (Robbins et al., 1995; Stacoff et al., 1996). It is claimed that footwear increases the risk of such sprains, either by decreasing awareness of foot position provided by feedback from plantar cutaneous mechanoreceptors in direct contact with the ground (Robbins et al., 1995), or by increasing the leverage arm and consequently the twisting torque around the sub-talar joint during a stumble (Stacoff et al., 1996)."

Answer 2

I can't believe how many people really don't know what thier talking about regarding shoes.
FACT: "The human Foot, with its 26 bones, was actually designed to go barefoot..." Quote from Miami Herald.com 2-5-07.
FACT:Therapists and trainers are now using barefoot methods as a healing and training tool. McCall movement method 2005, Damien Howell Physical Therapy.
FACT: "...the average person who walks barefoot has much healthier feet... Dr. Paul W. Brand.
FACT: "Many people believe that arch support is an important contribution from shoes. A number of researchers and doctors are challenging this assumption." See extracts from "Why Shoes Make Normal Gate Impossible" by; Dr. William Rossi.
Essentially its the arch support that makes our foot muscles weak and dependant. Go barefoot and feel your foot muscles developing with all your other muscles.
FACT: "Barefoot walking significantly decreased dynamic loads at the knee...; Similar reductions in dynamic loads were observed at the hips during barefoot walking." & "...toeout angle were significantly reduced during barefoot walking." Vol. 54, No.9, Sept. 2006 pp2923-2927 "Arthritis & Rheumatism.
If researched even a little bit, loads of studies can provide the information that shows the ill-effect of shoes. Excersise barefoot, or anything else you'd like to do barefoot and be healthier. Also a side benefit - Being barefoot is fun and care free, enjoy it.

Answer 3

If you don't do squats or deadlifts, skateboarding shoes would be fine. If you do, they can be the precursor to back problems and a failure to balance the muscular strength and mass in your legs. For example, running shoes and skateboarding shoes are terrible for squatting and deadlifting because the soles cause your bodyweight to shift onto your toes more than your heels. This causes you to bend your back more when attempting a deadlift or squat with higher weight. It will also make your quadriceps stronger than your hamstrings and glutes, which is a downfall to increasing weight on each of these lifts. Answer: If you squat or deadlift, just do it barefoot. Or buy a pair of adidas superstars, my favorite squat shoes. :)

Answer 4

I do not understand the notion that exersice is best done with shoes on. What is the rationale for this reasoning? You should wear what you want to wear- it's not as if your muscles won't grow or you won't lose weight because of what you have or don't have on your feet. It really is up to you.

Answer 5

they say it is best to wear shoes while exercising ...but i am like you i hate shoes while exercising...i know many people that does not like shoes to exercise...i do like just to wear socks...a lot depends to on the kind of excercise you are doing...some high impact exercises would require shoes of course..

Answer 6

You should definitely wear shoes, preferably some kind of athletic sneaker, not casual shoes. Any type of aerobic activity is going to strain your joints to some degree. Wearing shoes will not only increase your traction, lessening the chance of accidents, they will also provide cushioning and stability for your ankles and feet. Your joints will be protected, and you will run less risk of injury overall.

Answer 7

It depends on what your doing. If you exercise by doing yoga or a form of martial arts then no I wouldn't suggest shoes. Though if your running or something else of that nature of coarse wear shoes.

Answer 8

Shoes will prevent you from slipping and support your feet. Wear the shoes.

Answer 9

Just two pair of socks.

Answer 10

you should wear shoes