Vivobarefoot (Primus Lite III) - 90 Day Review

I naturally overpronate, so much so that I thought I had flat feet, so I knew that switching to barefoot shoes would mean that I have to change all of my mechanics. When I first learned about the shoes and foot health, I watched as many videos as I could to make sure that I'd transition safely. Education is more important than the shoes, because the shoes just protect your feet, they're meant to stay out of your way otherwise. I would walk around the neighborhood every day for about 20 minutes, initially focusing on holding my ankles up and putting my weight on the outside of my feet rather than the inside. I also chose to stop heel striking, going for more of a flat approach, which also prevents overstriding. Heel striking allows us to lock our knee straight so our heel is way out in front of us, our heels also aren't very good at absorbing impact, so the shock of our heel hitting the ground goes straight up to our knees. Midfoot or forefoot walking stops us from overstriding because our leg can't get into that locked position, and the impact on the ground gets absorbed by the tissue on the outer edge and ball of the foot. It's caused me to walk slower because my steps are shorter, but I'll take that over banging my heels on the ground and hurting my joints. I hope you get your pain sorted! Edit: It's not been sunshine and rainbows though, I've definitely had some issues come up because of how weak my feet were. I sprained my left foot in 2016 and never did rehab for it, so my left leg is a lot weaker than my right. It gets better though, I'm only about 10 months in myself and don't plan on stopping, I'm all in. XD

Well done, Joab! Had you not said this was your first video, I would have never known. Excellent presentation and production values. I would like to see an update in another 3 months. Best of luck, and I hope you get the knees sorted!

I made a decision back in the day--about 15 years ago now--to go all in on minimalist shoes. I experienced some discomfort in the calves at first as I adapted to the new movement pattern but that faded soon enough. I wish I'd tracked the actual function of my feet over that time because these days I have excellent ankle and toe mobility and my arches are a lot more pronounced than I remember from when I was a teenager.