Foot excercises to strengthen for barefoot vivos

[bpro2001]

I work in the oilfield and currently run birkenstock qs700 barefoot boots. They are nearly as flexible as my new vivos but I cam definitely tell I need to strengthen my feet more for the vivos. I am super familiar with the musculoskeletal system so PT'S please be specific of what muscles I need to strengthen and good excercises to do it. Any videos would also be helpful to ensure I am doing them right.

 

[Larsonthegrind]

 

[Small-foot]

Hey,

Just came across this post. I’m a current PT and work in the outpatient setting among others. I also have had a fair amount of foot and ankle injuries in my past. Also for reference, I wear barefoot shoes about 90% of the time including the Vivo trackers while hunting.

When we consider the foot there’s 20+ muscles just across the top of your foot that are called the intrinsic muscles. They control motion, proprioceptive feedback to the brain about where your foot is in space and the position it is in, and more. This is important for stability when walking on uneven terrain, especially in less structured footwear. The ankle is the first reaction source for balance when we become unstable, then the knee, then the hip, then we take a step to recover if necessary. These intrinsic muscles and the arch are the two most important places to strengthen and train for stability, balance and protection against injuries. The picture attached is not my own or original, but it is the activities I use to train my own feet and ankles, as well as give to my patients. A lot of these are in the video posted above which shows a pretty dang good progression of exercises low to high load and intensity.

It sounds like you’re in a good place to transition if you’re coming from less stiff shoes, that are already zero drop. The one issue you’ll likely notice the most strain is coming from a Birk cork sole that have relatively stiff arch support into the Vivos that have legitimately no arch. This is where you’ll want to slowly transition if you haven’t already to control the increased strain on the plantar fascia to prevent the ever increasingly popular plantar fasciitis.

Feel free to ask any questions or let me know if you want more details.

Happy bare footing!

 

[bpro2001]

@Small-foot For the cork sole I would agree, I ditched that cork insole within 2 days. it's just a tight weave nylon, looks like Kevlar.

 

[Small-foot]

What do you wear for an insole now in them?

 

[bpro2001]

What do you wear for an insole now in them?

Absolutely nothing. I run them just as they are. I am excited to get my jim green barefoot steel toe boots soon.

 

[Small-foot]

that sounds less than comfy, but good on you man. If you want a good alternative, I’ve actually really liked the low cushion super feet. Get them a size up and trim to fit your toe box and they’ve been good to me. You’ll have to report back on the Jim Green’s, I’ve been eyeing up a pair for a while. The Vivo trackers have been good to me so far though so until I run these ones down I’ll probably wait on the JG’s. Glad you found something though!