Fitness!

[Krampus' #1 Diaper Baby]

Anyone have experience with Xero shoes or any other brand of minimalist shoe?

I know this is late but yes....

I switched to minimalist running about 15 years ago. I started by making my own running sandals. I'd buy the supplies from Barefoot Ted (if they're still around) and had a thicker soled/treaded pair for trail running and a thinner for the road.

About 10 years ago I stopped making them and switched to Skora. Really good brand and I enjoyed them. I still have one of my old pair in the garage and had about 3 altogether. A little expensive compared to Xero.

I switched to Xero maybe 5 years ago. I have their regular men's road ones and the trail. I prefer the trail ones even for the road and actually wear them as regular sneakers too.

The price point is good. The stitching sometimes leaves something to be desired. It comes undone after a bit but the way the shoe is constructed, they're still serviceable.

I like them a lot. And you can remove the soles if you wanna feel the ground a little more. All these minimalist brands tout that you can go sockless (Skora talked about how the goat leather they used would moisture wick, etc). You can but they'll get stinky like any other shoe.

I like Xero (or really any other minimalist/zero drop shoe) for the gym too. Basically, if you like flat, lightweight shoes at the gym (think wrestling sneakers or Chucks) then Xeros will suit you there too.

 

[LiamGallaghersBucketHat]

I know this is late but yes....

I switched to minimalist running about 15 years ago. I started by making my own running sandals. I'd buy the supplies from Barefoot Ted (if they're still around) and had a thicker soled/treaded pair for trail running and a thinner for the road.

About 10 years ago I stopped making them and switched to Skora. Really good brand and I enjoyed them. I still have one of my old pair in the garage and had about 3 altogether. A little expensive compared to Xero.

I switched to Xero maybe 5 years ago. I have their regular men's road ones and the trail. I prefer the trail ones even for the road and actually wear them as regular sneakers too.

The price point is good. The stitching sometimes leaves something to be desired. It comes undone after a bit but the way the shoe is constructed, they're still serviceable.

I like them a lot. And you can remove the soles if you wanna feel the ground a little more. All these minimalist brands tout that you can go sockless (Skora talked about how the goat leather they used would moisture wick, etc). You can but they'll get stinky like any other shoe.

I like Xero (or really any other minimalist/zero drop shoe) for the gym too. Basically, if you like flat, lightweight shoes at the gym (think wrestling sneakers or Chucks) then Xeros will suit you there too.

I don’t think I’d ever be a runner, but I was curious about them for walking.
I watched the Xero pitch video on YouTube and was intrigued. What the owner of Xero was saying went against everything i had heard the doctors(Podiatry) tell patients about shoe structure and support. I still watched a couple of comparison videos and then I stopped myself before things got out of control. I’m still kind of interested in trying out a pair so thanks for the feedback!!

 

[Krampus' #1 Diaper Baby]

I don’t think I’d ever be a runner, but I was curious about them for walking.
I watched the Xero pitch video on YouTube and was intrigued. What the owner of Xero was saying went against everything i had heard the doctors(Podiatry) tell patients about shoe structure and support. I still watched a couple of comparison videos and then I stopped myself before things got out of control. I’m still kind of interested in trying out a pair so thanks for the feedback!!

I'm not familiar with what the owners of Xero say (only because by the time I got to them I already knew what I was looking for and an advocate of minimalist/zero drop footwear) but I'll assume it's similar talking points of any proponent of this type of footwear.

Leaving the science to the side, I will say this as my own personal experiences with these types of shoes (keeping in mind I wear boots for my job and don't only wear minimalist footwear in my free time)....

I ran for years with your standard running shoes. Distance. I ran with the strides we are taught and that youre sort of forces into with a shoe that has a heel/ball differential....that is, land on the heel, coming forward and off with the ball.

Zero drops cause you to land on a full, even foot and to shorten your stride. I used to suffer from a gimpy left knee (never got it checked out but it felt like a tendon or something that was getting pinched and it would come and go) that would make running uncomfortable. I would intermittently suffer from shin splints. I had flattish feet. This was all in my early to mid 20s.

I haven't had a shin splint in about 15 years. My knee hasn't bothered me. Mind you, other shit bothers me but that is getting old and not my shoes. I've also developed an arch from the muscles in the top of my feet developing (traditional running shoes don't allow them to fully develop).

I don't know what kind of benefits you'd get as a walking shoe. I've toyed with the idea of even trying their hiking boot which night make a nice walker.

 

[ByersVinyl]

Anyone have experience with Xero shoes or any other brand of minimalist shoe?

I run weekly just for additional cardio /Fun. I dont know why i added "fun" - Running is hard. Unless you walk

Anyhow I digress, I tried a pair of good running shoes last week (these were saucony) It was an eye opener, I now am closer to understanding the furore about athletes gaining advantages with latest tech.
Those shoes felt like they were making me run - I felt the forward momentum with each stride ! - If I was really into PBs etc Id grab a pair. As it is I buy bargain basement shoes that I can regularly swap out.

 

[nolalady]

Zero drops cause you to land on a full, even foot and to shorten your stride. I used to suffer from a gimpy left knee (never got it checked out but it felt like a tendon or something that was getting pinched and it would come and go) that would make running uncomfortable. I would intermittently suffer from shin splints. I had flattish feet. This was all in my early to mid 20s.

I haven't had a shin splint in about 15 years. My knee hasn't bothered me. Mind you, other shit bothers me but that is getting old and not my shoes. I've also developed an arch from the muscles in the top of my feet developing (traditional running shoes don't allow them to fully develop).

I don't know what kind of benefits you'd get as a walking shoe. I've toyed with the idea of even trying their hiking boot which night make a nice walker.

I stopped running, partially because I didn't really enjoy it much and partially because of the shin splints I was getting. I guess it never really dawned on me that my shin splints are likely the result of years and years of ballet and how that affected how I contacted the ground as I put my foot down--toe down first and sometimes the toe and ball of the foot were the only part of the foot to contact the ground.

 

[RowBearToe]

I went ahead and created the Challenge for September and sent out the invites, be sure to join! 2 days left in August to get some time in!

 

[mrjoshuamccormack]

I forgot to join the challenge for August until now. Oops. Here's to September and me remembering to turn the app on for all the workouts!

 

[Corycm]

I forgot to join the challenge for August until now. Oops. Here's to September and me remembering to turn the app on for all the workouts!

You can manually log your time/distance/activity too. I almost always wind up logging my workouts after I get home. Click the little clipboard for your workouts, then “Log” at the top.

 

[Corycm]

“Deadbugs until right before you feel like you’re gonna barf”

How many is that? Turns out? Not really that many. Woof.

 

[ByersVinyl]

So i just joined Sept challenge and checked in on August results. i had a 2 week holiday and defo eased off, Suprised myself hitting 20hrs!
But no way was I hitting 38 hrs either way. @Ginormousthumbs (why can’t i get that name link working?) went big this month A deserved winner i’m sure.

With some Sherlock standard sleuthing ive discovered a username change @LiamGallagher’sBucketHat

 

[LiamGallaghersBucketHat]

So i just joined Sept challenge and checked in on August results. i had a 2 week holiday and defo eased off, Suprised myself hitting 20hrs!
But no way was I hitting 38 hrs either way. @Ginormousthumbs (why can’t i get that name link working?) went big this month A deserved winner i’m sure.

With some Sherlock standard sleuthing ive discovered a username change @LiamGallagher’sBucketHat

I currently have a lot of free time as I’m not working. I have no doubt that if I was working, I wouldn’t be anywhere close to what I am this month.

 

[mrjoshuamccormack]

You can manually log your time/distance/activity too. I almost always wind up logging my workouts after I get home. Click the little clipboard for your workouts, then “Log” at the top.

I'll have to remember that for any kind of resistance workouts. I tend to just do body weight exercises sporadically during the day, and I doubt I'd remember to turn the app on/off, so I'll have to just keep track of the time myself.

 

[ByersVinyl]

I'll have to remember that for any kind of resistance workouts. I tend to just do body weight exercises sporadically during the day, and I doubt I'd remember to turn the app on/off, so I'll have to just keep track of the time myself.

I got myself a garmin watch - the one I chose was able to download Spoti Playlists and I could run / exercise without my phone. BUT ALSO I CAN EASILY LOG WORKOUTS WITH A CLICK OF THE WATCH BUTTON. Ooops sorry about those caps.

 

[RowBearToe]

Great job in August everyone! With 11 participants we put up some pretty huge numbers! Congrats to @LiamGallagher’sBucketHat on their first monthly challenge victory ! Here are the final standings:

1. @LiamGallagher’sBucketHat - 39:15:22
2. @debianlinux - 34:55:00
3. @ByersVinyl - 21:58:37
4. @Corycm - 14:07:00
5. @nolalady - 13:30:00
6. @RowBearToe - 12:23:37
7. @Kris - 10:34:30
8. @LeSamourai - 9:41:49
9. @bfly - 7:57:18
10. @trickyseven - 6:03:39
11. @mrjoshuamccormack - 4:05:57

Be sure to accept the invite and join the September challenge!

 

[LiamGallaghersBucketHat]

This month has really been fun and academic for me. I know there were times that I pushed myself and my body let me know it. The mental state is the biggest hurdle and I feel that I’m back in the zone I was in prior to the pandemic.
I starting using the Lose It app and have been pretty happy with it so far. I don’t take it to be 100% accurate, but it has definitely helped.
My main vice for August was walking with some free weight training and resistance band training. Later in the month I threw in a few bike rides. For September, I will now have a schedule in place that will also include core training. I was mostly winging it for August.
My starting weight on August 1st was 263.8 lbs. On August 16th I weighed in at 258.2 lbs. This morning, September 1st, I weighed in at 251.2 lbs. . Pre pandemic I was at 245 and then stopped going to the gym when things were locked down and I didn’t return. My first goal is to get to 223 and then hopefully to 200 lbs. I can’t remember the last time I was at that weight but my guess would be sometime during my teenage years.
I’m thankful for this thread and for the challenge group, it makes getting motivated easier. So thanks to everyone in here!


P.S. I don’t know if I have the determination to win this month’s challenge or any month in the future, but I wanted to get at least one under my belt. @debianlinux is exhausting

 

[Corycm]

That “just finishing the last rep of the last set of your workout but then Spotify plays that one really kickass song so you can’t waste it so let’s crack out another set and oh god everything burns and I’m gonna die damn you Spotify” feeling followed by hobbling down the stairs with real questions about how much you need the handrail today.

Because apparently that’s how we start Sunday.

 

[nolalady]

That “just finishing the last rep of the last set of your workout but then Spotify plays that one really kickass song so you can’t waste it so let’s crack out another set and oh god everything burns and I’m gonna die damn you Spotify” feeling followed by hobbling down the stairs with real questions about how much you need the handrail today.

Because apparently that’s how we start Sunday.

Walking like a granny because you pulled your hamstring in yoga sort of Sunday....

 

[wokeupnew]

Anyone here have recommendations for running shoes for wide feet?

I am currently running in a pair of Mizuno shoes with the laces configured so they’re a bit wider. They’ve been fine for me for the better part of a year, but I think I want to upgrade. Before that I was in a pair of Nike, but haven’t been happy with any Nike shoes since. Even further before that, I was in a pair of New Balance that were easily the best running shoe I’ve ever used. None of those shoes were/are wide sized but I think I should be wearing wider shoes for me feet. I bought a pair of Asics Kayano in wide, tried them out this morning on a run but hurt like hell and had to lace them special again so they’d work. They are a wide but are still not good. I’m open to trying anything so I stop spending money on a new pair every half a year.

 

[Kris]

Anyone here have recommendations for running shoes for wide feet?

I am currently running in a pair of Mizuno shoes with the laces configured so they’re a bit wider. They’ve been fine for me for the better part of a year, but I think I want to upgrade. Before that I was in a pair of Nike, but haven’t been happy with any Nike shoes since. Even further before that, I was in a pair of New Balance that were easily the best running shoe I’ve ever used. None of those shoes were/are wide sized but I think I should be wearing wider shoes for me feet. I bought a pair of Asics Kayano in wide, tried them out this morning on a run but hurt like hell and had to lace them special again so they’d work. They are a wide but are still not good. I’m open to trying anything so I stop spending money on a new pair every half a year.

I find New Balance to be the best. I’ve tried a bunch and they feel the best and hold up the best. They have the best selection of widths, online at least. I can always find the half sizes and wide. They have extra and I think xx-wide.

 

[wokeupnew]

I find New Balance to be the best. I’ve tried a bunch and they feel the best and hold up the best. They have the best selection of widths, online at least. I can always find the half sizes and wide. They have extra and I think xx-wide.

That’s what I’ll probably end up going back to! I have a casual wear pair that are good and I used to always wear the 574s throughout high school and college. I never needed a wider width because they’re so roomy, but for a running shoe I want it to fit properly.