I don?t like shoes.

I think they look silly and I think our society gives them too much power. Their main purpose is to provide protection for our soles when we are walking outside on rough terrain but why can?t it end there?

Why do business men and women feel the need to have to wear these silly things all day long? They?re not comfortable.

I spent most of my life as a child not wearing shoes and it?s continued that way into my adulthood. Sure sometimes I get strange looks in the gym but it?s actually been a pretty fun conversation starter. It also allows me the opportunity to teach people a thing or two about their own body.

Why I don?t wear shoes when I workout.

Shoes are designed with the best intentions, protecting our ankles and feet. Unfortunately they put a lot of limitations on our ankle mobility. When our bodies move we create force from the ground up. Our body movements rely on a delicate chain of actions from our ankles, to our knees, to our hips and so on and so forth. If you throw restrictions into the bottom link of that chain, that ground force energy then travels a different path then the rest of the body intended for. Of course you won?t notice this. It happens on a microscopic level. But over time that small energy leak in the system will eventually show itself. It could be in the form of sore knees, tight hips, back pain etc. The average gym goer will pass this off as being from old age, or just some regular wear and tear that we have to deal with when it comes to working out hard.

Sure, I still have a lot of my clients train in shoes. Usually they?re more comfortable that way. A lot of them are also athletes and the wearing of shoes can?t be avoided. If they?re going to play the sport in their shoes then I?m definitely going to train them in their shoes. It all really comes down to what your goals are in the gym. Sports aside, for general health purposes and definitely for rehabilitation I suggest people start working out in their socks and ditch the Nike high tops.

Jamie Nischan owns and runs a successful fitness coaching business in Stamford CT. Through the use of posture correction and exercise he treats pain often associated with excessive use of computers. More about Jamie can be found at www.thebuffgeek.com.

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