Is sprinting barefoot bad for you and is there a big diffrence between sprinting with shoes or without them?

Question

i ask only that ppl who run track or have backgrounds with this sort of thing answer

Answer 1

yes, it does hurt your feet if you run barefoot on a hard surface but if your running barefoot on the track and your track isn't hard, pointy, and weatherworn, it probably wont do much. and don't run like you walk( land on heel, roll on foot, press off with toes) or else that could cause seriose damage and depending on where your running, shatter your heel if you hit it right or have been wearing it out. and shoes are made to cushoin and absorb the impact on your feet when they hit the ground so of course there's a big difference between wearing them and not wearing them. not wearing them while running, especially at an older age could do serious spinal cord damage.

Answer 2

Quite the opposite actually. It's highly beneficial to run barefoot.

Studies have shown drastically lower rates of acute and chronic lower limb injuries and increased running performance for those that do - due to the technical correction it imposes by forcing you to land on the balls of your feet rather than the heels thus decreasing ground contact time. It follows logic that shoes are an invention of mankind, we (humans) were built to run barefoot.

The only reason not to run barefoot are due to current injury issues, surfaces (i.e. spikes are generally required for grip on track and concrete is too unforgiving but for grass - provided the surface is firm/safe, barefoot running is great), extreme weather conditions and pre-cautions/hazards such as cut glass.

To progress to barefoot sprinting, I'd begin with walking barefoot, jogging/warming-up barefoot, running barefoot and finally sprinting barefoot - gradually increasing volume, before progressing to the next level in each instance.

Answer 3

Sprinting barefoot without a solid strength foundation will ultimately be detrimental. Basically, don't just go out there and sprint barefoot without any type of prior base building. Sprinting barefoot does increase the overall muscles in the lower legs and will ultimately help you run faster because of the gains. However, there are many proper ways to go about it, and probably the 'safest' way would be to purchase a pair of nike frees and do a sprint workout with them 3x a week. On the other days just run with your regular shoes.

Nike frees, if you are unaware, mimic running barefoot. Its basically the closest you can run barefoot without actually running barefoot. They are rated from 1-10, with 1 completely without any support (basically 'barefoot') and 10 with support. I know as of now, nike sells 3's, 5's, 7's, and 10's. I personally use 5 & 7's (the 7's have lateral support, while the 5's do not).

Answer 4

Sprinting barefoot is not necessarily "bad" for you, but you are more likely to get injured, especially when running on hard surfaces, and especially if you do it often.  Occasionally sprinting barefoot on the grass will probably not cause any problems.