In my humble opinion the FEET are the most important, yet most forgotten part of the human body. Our feet were created to function similar to our hands, but over the years we have shoved them into shoes and forgotten about them, me included. Until recently, I was one of those wannabe ‘runners’ that would just buy the best looking shoe or what seemed like the most comfortable shoe.
But then I came across a shoe that made more sense to me, being a movement expert and Doctor of Physical Therapy. I always believed in the ‘barefoot running’ theory in principle. However at the same time, this is not for everyone, and running or walking on trails with sharp rocky objects may lead to more injures down the road.
The body is made to follow the ‘pose” or “chi’ running principles which preach about a midfoot strike and small forward lean while running. The foot also needs space to function properly. In between the metatarsal bones of our foot are our intrinsic muscles which receive and provide our brain with important input and feedback. We tend to lose this feedback when our foot is jammed up in a traditional type of running shoe.
Again, the human foot needs space to be able to expand while running and needs a zero drop from heel to toe when we are running in correct form with a midfoot strike.
The Altra Running shoe has created this almost ideal foot-shaped toe box along with zero drop. Little to high levels of cushioning of the shoe are available depending on your desire as well as the types of surfaces you may be training on.
Be sure to take care of your feet on a daily basis, allowing the foot to move more naturally which will lead to improving your maximal performance as a trail runner.
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