August 19, 2025
Why modern running shoes are destructive, the benefit of going barefoot, and why you should be like a dandelion.
This week I’m going to invite you down a bit of a rabbit hole with me on a topic that I think needs to be addressed.
It all begins with this meme/graphic that popped up in my newsfeed last week.
To be completely frank, this made me cringe.
This “evolution” in running shoes is absolutely terrible for us, as these shoes are built for absolute comfort, and in the process they are destroying our ankles, heel chords (where your Achilles tendon inserts into your heel), knees, and back.
I’m not one for mincing words, as I always try to tell it to you straight, and this is one area where I especially will not hold back.
Since I clicked on this post to save this graphic, the algorithm then naturally thought I was interested in these kinds of shoes (even though I follow multiple “barefoot” shoes pages), and then started sending me ads and more graphics.
Later that day, I got this…
No, no, no…so much NO to all of them.
If that initial graphic made me cringe, I don’t even know what this one did to me.
Sure these shoes when you put them on may feel more comfortable, but with the thicker and thicker heels (they seem to get thicker by the year) and the curved front end, these are shoes that do the work for you, and thus, your feet aren’t moving properly and pushing off the ground to propel you.
This causes tight heel chords, tight ankles, your knees to then absorb more unnecessary pressure, which then throws your hips out of alignment, and next comes your back.
The way the human body is designed, your toes are meant to spread out and actually grip the ground and then push off to propel you.
In shoes like these, your feet are so far removed from the ground, and with the front being so sloped, there is absolutely no gripping of the ground as the shoe is meant to “roll” into the next step, rather than you pushing off.
This idea that your running shoes should be built for maximum comfort on the surface is a terrible trend.
And I know some, maybe many of you reading this, may be runners and have these shoes, or maybe just train or walk in shoes like this, so this might be hitting you where it hurts.
But I’m willing to bet that if you are running in shoes like this, your knees, hips, or back hurt, or maybe all of the above.
Maybe you even deal with plantar fasciitis, an inflammatory condition from the tightening of your heel chord.
And it’s easy to chalk it up to “running” or “age”.
And sure, those are real things, as time does take its toll, however, this thinking also helps you avoid thinking critically about how much better you could feel.
I’ll use myself as an example.
I’m 6’4”, 270lbs, so gravity is working very hard against me. I also have some very serious sports injuries, including a knee injury so horrific when I was 18 that I was told I’d never play football again, and I ended up having a full college career.
I put on about 20,000 steps in a day as I walk a lot, and do a lot of sprinting, and I have zero knee, hip, or back pain.
As always, I try to be solutions focused, so I’m not here to just rag on what I see as the destructive “evolution” of running shoes, but to offer up insights on how to live better, or at minimum, arm you with more information so that you can make more informed decisions for yourself.
Minimalistic is the way to go, because after all, we are truly meant to be barefoot (or else we’d have come into this world with shoes on), and the way running shoes are evolving is that they are getting us further and further away from the way the human body, and our feet especially, are meant to move.
We are designed to be barefoot.
As mentioned above, you did not come into this world with shoes on.
Your running or training shoes could actually be the root cause of your back pain, your knee pain, your hip pain, foot pain, and could cause poor breathing, posture, and other issues over time.
The foot is a wildly complex part of the human body. It has 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles.
In short, it’s designed to be all the support you’ll ever need.
At the most reductionist level, you were designed with incredible intelligence, including your feet. Why would you want to wear shoes that pull you further and further away from that intelligent design?
Your foot was designed to absorb this impact, and the more you remove this kind of pressure, the less the bones and muscles in your foot work, and the more you start moving improperly.
As with all things in the body, if you don’t use it properly, you lose it over time.
Which means, these shoes that are built for comfort and support, over time, can actually create lots of discomfort throughout the body, in the form of foot, knee, hip, and back pain.
Furthermore, you have these receptors on the “balls of your feet” called “proprioceptive receptors”.
These receptors, when stimulated, send instantaneous signals to your central nervous system correcting posture as needed.
The more “removed” your foot is from natural movement, due to all that extra “support” from a running or training shoe, the less likely you are to stimulate these very necessary receptors.
These corrections are not conscious, you don’t realize they’re happening, which also means, if these receptors are not being properly stimulated, you don’t realize the slow, subtle changes to your posture over time.
A lot of the process in reversing these issues can begin with some self care in correcting how your feet move and function.
Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox. 😊
Again, we’re solutions focused here.
The reality is, we don’t live in a perfect or ideal world.
Ideally, in a more perfect world, we would all work, train, and live barefoot.
Unfortunately, for 99.9% of us, that’s just not possible.
My aim is to provide you with better information, better solutions, oftentimes, to arm you so that you are more well equipped to undo the negative effects living in our modern society can have on us.
This segment is just that.
I recognize many of us wear high heels regularly for work, or ill fitting dress shoes with a heel.
I recognize that society, or our employers, may expect this kind of more formal dress from us.
Let’s dive into some solutions and resources that will help you combat the constraints of our modern world.
This may sound obvious, and some of you may do this already, but becoming more conscious of not throwing shoes on to go outside is a huge step forward.
Remember those proprioceptive receptors on the balls of your feet that help your central nervous system control posture and adjust to changes in posture?
As mentioned, they NEED to be consistently stimulated to function and send proper signals to your central nervous system.
The easiest way to do this is to walk barefoot outside, especially on ground or terrain that isn’t so uniform, and is more stimulating.
Your grass, gravel, anything that is less uniform will stimulate these receptors.
Furthermore, quite a bit of research has been done on the benefits of “grounding”, which simply put, is the act of connecting your bare feet to the ground/earth.
In short, the human body runs on, and produces an electrical charge that is the same frequency of the Earth. By connecting to this native charge of the Earth (bare feet in the grass), you can reduce inflammation, pain, and even boost immune system function.
Here’s a scientific paper on the subject, The effects of grounding on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Alas, the constraints of our modernized society don’t allow for us to go barefoot all the time. Here are some tips and resources to stay as close to barefoot as possible, and to do some self care to work those feet back into shape.
I mentioned above that many of us wear high heels, or ill-fitting dress shoes for work or events, and then on top of that, we then train in shoes with thick, overly cushioned heels that further pull us away from mimicking going barefoot.
There are now multiple companies that make barefoot or minimalistic shoes.
Here are our top picks.
Micaela absolutely loves all things Vivobarefoot. They are getting wildly popular, as more and more people are going “barefoot”, so they can be tough to get. CLICK HERE to check them out.
You can even find shoes from brands like this now that are barefoot and can easily pass as dress shoes.
Nike has a line of shoes called “Nike Free” that are supposed to be minimalistic, however, even those are getting to be far from minimalistic.
I personally wear Nike Free 2018, and only the Nike Free 2018, as you have to go all the way back to their 2018 shoes to find true minimalistic shoes.
If you want a tougher, beefier shoe for cross training, or heavier lifting, the Born Primitive Savage is a great minimalist shoe that is also more sturdy. I wear these when doing a heavy lifting workout, and then I run and walk in the Nike Free 2018’s.
Graham Tuttle, also known as “The Barefoot Sprinter” on social media, is a tremendous resource and well worth following. He also has programs available online to help you get your feet, hips, and back back, and correct posture naturally, through movement.
Check out the @thebarefootsprinter on Instagram. Honestly, this guy could change your life!
CLICK HERE to check out his programs online.
Finally, Posture Pro, founded by Annette Verpillot, offers great products for your feet, such as insoles with discs that stimulate those proprioceptive receptors, along with other tools to do so.
CLICK HERE to check out Posture Pro Shop.
I have zero affiliation with any of the above recommendations, and they are all genuine.
This is a great practice as part of a consistent bedtime routine, or as needed, when feeling overwhelmed and/or stressed out later in the evening, and when dealing with a racing mind.
The idea is to get out whatever you need to get out, on paper, before you lay down for bed.
This can be as simple as writing down a to-do list for the next day, or it could be writing down your thoughts, feelings, emotions from the day in a journal.
For me personally, I like to write down the good things from the day, as no matter how bad the day, you can always find good in it. I also like to think about, and write down what I am grateful for as I get ready for bed.
Lately, I’ve had even more on my plate/mind than usual, so I’ve been making an even greater effort to take time out at night to mentally focus on compartmentalizing, which has also been an effective strategy.
Whatever you feel you need to do, or what is best for you, is what you should do. The idea is that you are getting out whatever needs to get out or sorted out, and off your mind, before you go to bed, allowing you to rest more soundly.
Dandelions don’t cling too tightly to their seeds.
Rather, they let them go, throwing caution to the wind (quite literally in many cases), knowing that somewhere, some of those seeds will stick.
And guess what?
They do.
Before you know it, that dandelion has created new dandelions everywhere, even in the cracks of a sidewalk.
We could all learn from the persistence of dandelions.
Take action.
Go for things.
All the things.
Throw caution to the wind.
Not everything will work out, not everything will stick.
But, I’m willing to bet the more you go after, the more you act like a dandelion, the more you’ll amaze yourself with what you’re capable of.
You are POWERFUL. Act accordingly.
This “evolution” in running shoes is absolutely terrible for us, as these shoes are built for absolute comfort, and in the process they are destroying our ankles, heel chords (where your Achilles tendon inserts into your heel), knees, and back.
I’m not one for mincing words, as I always try to tell it to you straight, and this is one area where I especially will not hold back.
Since I clicked on this post to save this graphic, the algorithm then naturally thought I was interested in these kinds of shoes (even though I follow multiple “barefoot” shoes pages), and then started sending me ads and more graphics.
Later that day, I got this…
No, no, no…so much NO to all of them.
If that initial graphic made me cringe, I don’t even know what this one did to me.
Sure these shoes when you put them on may feel more comfortable, but with the thicker and thicker heels (they seem to get thicker by the year) and the curved front end, these are shoes that do the work for you, and thus, your feet aren’t moving properly and pushing off the ground to propel you.
This causes tight heel chords, tight ankles, your knees to then absorb more unnecessary pressure, which then throws your hips out of alignment, and next comes your back.
The way the human body is designed, your toes are meant to spread out and actually grip the ground and then push off to propel you.
In shoes like these, your feet are so far removed from the ground, and with the front being so sloped, there is absolutely no gripping of the ground as the shoe is meant to “roll” into the next step, rather than you pushing off.
This idea that your running shoes should be built for maximum comfort on the surface is a terrible trend.
And I know some, maybe many of you reading this, may be runners and have these shoes, or maybe just train or walk in shoes like this, so this might be hitting you where it hurts.
But I’m willing to bet that if you are running in shoes like this, your knees, hips, or back hurt, or maybe all of the above.
Maybe you even deal with plantar fasciitis, an inflammatory condition from the tightening of your heel chord.
And it’s easy to chalk it up to “running” or “age”.
And sure, those are real things, as time does take its toll, however, this thinking also helps you avoid thinking critically about how much better you could feel.
I’ll use myself as an example.
I’m 6’4”, 270lbs, so gravity is working very hard against me. I also have some very serious sports injuries, including a knee injury so horrific when I was 18 that I was told I’d never play football again, and I ended up having a full college career.
I put on about 20,000 steps in a day as I walk a lot, and do a lot of sprinting, and I have zero knee, hip, or back pain.
As always, I try to be solutions focused, so I’m not here to just rag on what I see as the destructive “evolution” of running shoes, but to offer up insights on how to live better, or at minimum, arm you with more information so that you can make more informed decisions for yourself.
Minimalistic is the way to go, because after all, we are truly meant to be barefoot (or else we’d have come into this world with shoes on), and the way running shoes are evolving is that they are getting us further and further away from the way the human body, and our feet especially, are meant to move.
GO BAREFOOT
We are designed to be barefoot.
As mentioned above, you did not come into this world with shoes on.
Your running or training shoes could actually be the root cause of your back pain, your knee pain, your hip pain, foot pain, and could cause poor breathing, posture, and other issues over time.
The foot is a wildly complex part of the human body. It has 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles.
In short, it’s designed to be all the support you’ll ever need.
At the most reductionist level, you were designed with incredible intelligence, including your feet. Why would you want to wear shoes that pull you further and further away from that intelligent design?
Your foot was designed to absorb this impact, and the more you remove this kind of pressure, the less the bones and muscles in your foot work, and the more you start moving improperly.
As with all things in the body, if you don’t use it properly, you lose it over time.
Which means, these shoes that are built for comfort and support, over time, can actually create lots of discomfort throughout the body, in the form of foot, knee, hip, and back pain.
Furthermore, you have these receptors on the “balls of your feet” called “proprioceptive receptors”.
These receptors, when stimulated, send instantaneous signals to your central nervous system correcting posture as needed.
The more “removed” your foot is from natural movement, due to all that extra “support” from a running or training shoe, the less likely you are to stimulate these very necessary receptors.
These corrections are not conscious, you don’t realize they’re happening, which also means, if these receptors are not being properly stimulated, you don’t realize the slow, subtle changes to your posture over time.
A lot of the process in reversing these issues can begin with some self care in correcting how your feet move and function.
Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox. 😊
Again, we’re solutions focused here.
The reality is, we don’t live in a perfect or ideal world.
Ideally, in a more perfect world, we would all work, train, and live barefoot.
Unfortunately, for 99.9% of us, that’s just not possible.
My aim is to provide you with better information, better solutions, oftentimes, to arm you so that you are more well equipped to undo the negative effects living in our modern society can have on us.
This segment is just that.
I recognize many of us wear high heels regularly for work, or ill fitting dress shoes with a heel.
I recognize that society, or our employers, may expect this kind of more formal dress from us.
Let’s dive into some solutions and resources that will help you combat the constraints of our modern world.
✔️ Go barefoot whenever possible, especially outside
This may sound obvious, and some of you may do this already, but becoming more conscious of not throwing shoes on to go outside is a huge step forward.
Remember those proprioceptive receptors on the balls of your feet that help your central nervous system control posture and adjust to changes in posture?
As mentioned, they NEED to be consistently stimulated to function and send proper signals to your central nervous system.
The easiest way to do this is to walk barefoot outside, especially on ground or terrain that isn’t so uniform, and is more stimulating.
Your grass, gravel, anything that is less uniform will stimulate these receptors.
Furthermore, quite a bit of research has been done on the benefits of “grounding”, which simply put, is the act of connecting your bare feet to the ground/earth.
In short, the human body runs on, and produces an electrical charge that is the same frequency of the Earth. By connecting to this native charge of the Earth (bare feet in the grass), you can reduce inflammation, pain, and even boost immune system function.
Here’s a scientific paper on the subject, The effects of grounding on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Alas, the constraints of our modernized society don’t allow for us to go barefoot all the time. Here are some tips and resources to stay as close to barefoot as possible, and to do some self care to work those feet back into shape.
✔️Go barefoot…shoes.
I mentioned above that many of us wear high heels, or ill-fitting dress shoes for work or events, and then on top of that, we then train in shoes with thick, overly cushioned heels that further pull us away from mimicking going barefoot.
There are now multiple companies that make barefoot or minimalistic shoes.
Here are our top picks.
Micaela absolutely loves all things Vivobarefoot. They are getting wildly popular, as more and more people are going “barefoot”, so they can be tough to get. CLICK HERE to check them out.
You can even find shoes from brands like this now that are barefoot and can easily pass as dress shoes.
Nike has a line of shoes called “Nike Free” that are supposed to be minimalistic, however, even those are getting to be far from minimalistic.
I personally wear Nike Free 2018, and only the Nike Free 2018, as you have to go all the way back to their 2018 shoes to find true minimalistic shoes.
If you want a tougher, beefier shoe for cross training, or heavier lifting, the Born Primitive Savage is a great minimalist shoe that is also more sturdy. I wear these when doing a heavy lifting workout, and then I run and walk in the Nike Free 2018’s.
Graham Tuttle, also known as “The Barefoot Sprinter” on social media, is a tremendous resource and well worth following. He also has programs available online to help you get your feet, hips, and back back, and correct posture naturally, through movement.
Check out the @thebarefootsprinter on Instagram. Honestly, this guy could change your life!
CLICK HERE to check out his programs online.
Finally, Posture Pro, founded by Annette Verpillot, offers great products for your feet, such as insoles with discs that stimulate those proprioceptive receptors, along with other tools to do so.
CLICK HERE to check out Posture Pro Shop.
I have zero affiliation with any of the above recommendations, and they are all genuine.
Compartmentalize
This is a great practice as part of a consistent bedtime routine, or as needed, when feeling overwhelmed and/or stressed out later in the evening, and when dealing with a racing mind.
The idea is to get out whatever you need to get out, on paper, before you lay down for bed.
This can be as simple as writing down a to-do list for the next day, or it could be writing down your thoughts, feelings, emotions from the day in a journal.
For me personally, I like to write down the good things from the day, as no matter how bad the day, you can always find good in it. I also like to think about, and write down what I am grateful for as I get ready for bed.
Lately, I’ve had even more on my plate/mind than usual, so I’ve been making an even greater effort to take time out at night to mentally focus on compartmentalizing, which has also been an effective strategy.
Whatever you feel you need to do, or what is best for you, is what you should do. The idea is that you are getting out whatever needs to get out or sorted out, and off your mind, before you go to bed, allowing you to rest more soundly.
Be like a dandelion.
Dandelions don’t cling too tightly to their seeds.
Rather, they let them go, throwing caution to the wind (quite literally in many cases), knowing that somewhere, some of those seeds will stick.
And guess what?
They do.
Before you know it, that dandelion has created new dandelions everywhere, even in the cracks of a sidewalk.
We could all learn from the persistence of dandelions.
Take action.
Go for things.
All the things.
Throw caution to the wind.
Not everything will work out, not everything will stick.
But, I’m willing to bet the more you go after, the more you act like a dandelion, the more you’ll amaze yourself with what you’re capable of.
You are POWERFUL. Act accordingly.
