Barefoot Running, a Natural Movement Skill
If you try, you can take most of the movements you make throughout the day and describe them as some sort of skill. And by skill, I mean the learned capacity to perform some kind of action with predetermined results.
Think about it, brushing your teeth or getting dressed are skills. Nobody comes out of their mother’s womb knowing how to brush their teeth, or how to tie their shoelaces.
These are movements that are practiced and learned, until we can achieve the same results effortlessly over and over again. Besides the mundane things we do while preparing for the day, moving around and maneuvering our body through the world are also skills.
How is just moving around a skill?
Walking and running are both natural movements that you had to learn as a baby or small child. In the beginning, you were very clumsy and probably ran into things or fell down a lot. But, eventually with practice you would be able to run all around the neighborhood and play all of the crazy games that kids invent.
Those skills don’t lose their importance as you get older. Even if you spend most of your day sitting at a computer in a cubicle, you still probably had to walk to your desk or run to catch the bus.
It may be hard to believe, but many adults don’t know how to walk or run efficiently. Maybe they stomp around heavily in thick shoes, or waddle as they walk with terrible posture. Or they heel-strike as they jog with their arms flailing about their sides. They’ve all forgotten how to move around gracefully in their own body, and maybe they never really knew how in the first place.
One shouldn’t have to be a ballerina or athlete to appear confident while moving. Walking and running are skills which we should all excel at, regardless of our vocation.
When done efficiently, you should be able to move with less energy expenditure and probability of injury. You can easily imagine that running in a way that your body wasn’t engineered could increase your chance of injury. All it takes is a poorly chosen step and the full extent of your body weight to sprain your ankle.
As well, your movements should occur with the least amount of effort, since a cardinal rule of survival is to conserve energy. Burning calories (for the sake of burning calories) through inefficient movements is a waste of time and effort since it trains skills which are useless to you in serious situations.
Why is running properly such a big deal?
Have you ever felt that just going for a simple run around the block was just too much effort? Perhaps you get sore knees or feet every time you go running, so that now you can’t seem to summon the motivation to put yourself through the agony of another jog.
If that sounds like you, then chances are you are somebody who could benefit from improving the efficiency of your running ability. After all, the act of running as a human is something which our species has uniquely evolved to do.
Whether it was running for long distances while persistence hunting in the savanna, or sprinting out of the bushes to ambush their prey in the jungle, humans were built for running and that hasn’t changed. Excluding the unfortunate circumstance of being born with limited physical capacity, for most people running should be a completely natural and exhilarating experience.
I love the rush of wind by my ears as I race up and down a hill. I don’t think it’s surprising that testosterone levels increase from exercises like this. It’s as if our body is urging us to pick up our feet and go.
No matter what, don’t stop moving.
Moving is so ingrained in the genetic code of our species that a prolonged sedentary lifestyle leads to severe negative effects on our health. Unfortunately, many of the occupations in modern life prevent one from moving for much of the day. To combat this you have to be proactive. If you absolutely hate running or exercising, then maybe just go outside for a nice long walk. The worst thing you can possibly do is just nothing at all.
If you suspect that your dislike for running potentially stems from poor natural movement skills, then do a little bit of research. Check out programs like Erwan Le Corre’s MovNat or running methodologies like POSE or Chi Running. Consider trying out barefoot running, as it is a simple way to let your body relearn how to move the way it was intended to.
I believe most methods end up with the same result, they just take a different road to get you there. You need to determine which school of practice best fits your mentality.
Learning how to move effortlessly and gracefully is an endeavor worthy of your time. Don’t let age, discomfort, or occupational constraints keep you from experiencing your birthright. There was a time when all humans were robust specimens of physicality out of necessity for living in a harsh world. While our lives have become less severe, I believe we all have the chance to become the remarkable animals we were born to be.
How important are natural movements to you?
The Wild Movement Guide is a comprehensive self-guided program that is designed to help you regain a primal connection to nature and your body, and rediscover the wild, vibrant animal lurking inside you. You’ll learn natural movement patterns, barefoot running techniques, healthy diet regimens, and much more.
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9 Responses to Natural Movement Skills Are Essential for Health and Survival
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Great Post David.
I just started adding short barefoot cool downs to my trail runs. It is very hard to run “wrong” when there is nothing between you and the ground. I also switched to a much more minimalist shoe (the NB MT101) and really enjoy actually feeling the trail under my feet. Don’t know if will ever make the leap to all barefoot, but I can guarantee you that I am never going back to those thick heeled monsters I used to run in!
I also enjoyed the survival analogies. Survival, especially the wilderness variety, is kind of a hobby of mine. I think anyone who spends a lot of time outside being active should always have a survival mindset.
Chris´s last [type] ..A Week of Changes
Thanks Chris! And you’re right, one never knows when running for your life might be the workout of the day.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by naturalrunstore, David Csonka. David Csonka said: Natural Movement Skills Are Essential for Health and Survival http://su.pr/8S47ri #running #health #survival [...]
I think about this all the time. I do push-ups and arm exercises at Kung Fu, yet when I go to pull a sweater over my head, there is effort. Because no matter how much I’m training my arms, if I haven’t trained the functional motions that I need in order to merely put on my clothes. It becomes a chore, even if I’m fit in other ways.
Another movement I’ve thought of just doing over and over again is getting in and out of the car. No matter how strong my legs get from running and Kung Fu, I still feel like an old lady when I get in and out of the car. Getting in and out of the car gracefully seems like a worthy goal, but what a weird thing to rep. Yet there are so many times it could be done — like when you are waiting for a family member to come out of the store.
Frances aka “Barefoot Fresca”´s last [type] ..Kung Fu – Barefoot or Minimalist Shoe
Frances, it is funny to me that you should mention that because I have at one time spent a lot of conscious effort perfecting how I got out of my car.
It occurred to me that we often use our outside leg the most, and at awkward angles when getting out. I experimented with placing both feet first before getting up or using a more precise rising squat movement after planting my feet.
It seems like a silly thing to obsess over, but I felt it made the maneuver much more effortless. After reading how so many people tweak their backs from simple every day activities like this, I figured it was worth a little thought.
Awesome article Dave. I wrote a post for tomorrow about athleticism – and how most runners suck at being good athletes. I hope it inspires more runners to be able to move better. Many lifts, body weight exercises, and sprints can be so beneficial to distance runners if they took the time to do them. Good advice here, thanks!
Fitz´s last [type] ..The Four Hour Body- Can it Improve Your Running
i’ve been wondering if it’s important to try to find a barefoot running coach to help me. i used to run regularly (with shoes) when i was younger and thinner, now i’m about 40 lbs overweight and have a lot of arthritic symptoms in my back and hips. i’ve been walking barefoot when i can (about 2-3 times a week), and occasionally jog for a few minutes. i have a hard time telling if my body motions are any different than when i’m in shoes.
Susan, that depends on if you were predominantly a heel-striker when you ran in shoes. If you try to land first on your heel while running barefoot, it will hurt.
Your heel will touch the ground, but only after your forefoot has. The heel just lightly kisses the ground and then goes back up as you move forward into your next step.
Typically, once you remove external hindrances like shoes, your body will take over and “show” you how it wants to move, using pain as a way to discourage bad form. Just relax and let your body do what seems natural.
It may take time to forget bad habits from shoe wearing, but it will happen.
thanks david,
i have no idea if i was a heel striker in shoes or not, but i was able to run comfortably (if slow) for many years w/o injuries until my knees starting bothering me in my 40′s. it’s been all downhill from there! not sure what shifted at that time, but it’s sure been a struggle to get back in the groove of running again.
really hoping that trying it barefoot is the key! i’ll just trust my body at this point.