How to Safely Transition to Barefoot Shoes

The benefits of barefoot-style movement can be observed by looking at hunter-gatherer tribes who, like our ancestors, develop strong foot structures by growing up barefoot or in minimal footwear [1].

However, it's unrealistic to assume that we can adopt a similar barefoot lifestyle instantly. For most, a gradual shift to barefoot shoes is necessary to prevent overuse injuries from overloading the tissues [2].

The Benefits of Barefoot Shoes

There are six primary benefits of wearing minimalist footwear:

Improved Toe Alignment

Barefoot shoes help maintain natural toe-alignment, preventing conditions like bunions [3].

Better Posture

Barefoot shoes are zero-drop, which keeps the feet in a neutral position and helps support better posture [4].

Increased Foot Strength

The thin and flexible soles of barefoot shoes strengthen the foot muscles, which is essential for maintaining a strong base of support for the body [5].

Decreased Pronation

Stronger feet, developed from wearing barefoot shoes, help control pronation, which conserves energy and prevents running-related injuries [6].

Higher Ground-feel

The thin soles of minimalist shoes enhance ground feel, improving ankle stability and balance [4].

More Efficient Stride

Barefoot shoes promote a natural running technique, where the feet land under the body's center of mass. This reduces braking forces, conserves momentum, and lowers injury risk [1] [7].

Despite the benefits that barefoot shoes offer, numerous studies have found minimalist footwear to be a risk factor for injury [8] [9].

However, these studies failed to include a proper transition period in their methodology [2]. This crucial step ensures that the body has time to make the necessary adaptations to barefoot shoes without risking injury.

How to Transition to Barefoot Shoes Safely

An effective transition mirrors a well-structured gym program — balancing exercise with recovery.

With over a six years of focused research in barefoot footwear, we've developed a straightforward and effective strategy for transitioning to barefoot shoes.

Starting the Transition

To ensure that the feet gradually adapt without overstraining, our transition plans include temporary use of arch-supporting insoles. These insoles reduce muscle activity, allowing for periods of rest and recovery while wearing barefoot shoes.

While any insoles can work, we recommend a specific Amazon insole for three key reasons:

1.  They have no significant heel elevation, preserving natural posture.
2. They provide minimal cushioning, allowing for sensory feedback.
3. They stop at the mid-foot, ensuring full mobility of the forefoot and toes.

*Birkenstocks or Crocs can also be used during recovery periods due to their supportive arch and wide toe box.

Basic Walking Transition Plan

For non-runners, those with flat feet, or those suffering from bunions, we recommend starting with our 42-day walking transition plan.

This plan customizes your transition based on your daily step goal. It is available as a downloadable Google sheet below.

The sheet will prompt you to input your daily step goal. it will calculate how many of those steps should be taken with and without insoles over the 42-day period. Insole use will gradually decrease systematically over the weeks until they are no longer needed.

Tracking your steps is easy using a smartwatch or smartphone. Setting a daily step goal can also help keep you accountable for your activity levels.

If you want to incorporate running into this plan, you can. Just ensure that, with running included, you do not exceed the limit set for steps without insoles.

Transition Plans for Runners

If you're a dedicated runner with healthy feet, only use insoles during runs. The following 24-week plans will recommend how they should be incorporated based on the structure of your running routine:

Simple Barefoot Shoe Running Plan

This plan is for runners who maintain a consistent mileage for each session.

The distance to be run with insoles will gradually reduce over the 24-week period.

For those more advanced runners, this plan can be condensed into 12 weeks by following only the even-numbered weeks of the plan. Essentially, you would skip the odd-numbered weeks, moving from Week 2 directly to Week 4, then Week 6, and so on, until Week 24.

Alternatively, if you find the progression too fast, you can slow it down by repeating certain weeks before moving on.

We have provided a barefoot running readiness test below to assist in selecting the correct duration.

Variable Barefoot Shoe Running Plan

This plan is for runners who frequently vary their distances, with insole use adjusted according to the length of each session.

Similar to the simple running plan, the insole-use reduces over the 24-week period.

For a faster, 12-week transition, you would again follow only the even-numbered weeks while skipping odd weeks. If you need more time, you can repeat weeks to slow down the transition.

*Please Note: Both plans reduce total running volume for the first 20 weeks to prevent overuse injuries

Barefoot Running Readiness Test

The Barefoot Running Readiness Test provides an objective assessment of lower limb strength and stability, which are critical for barefoot-style running.

You can use the feedback (from the test) to determine at what pace you should follow the chosen running plan.

This test also provides a benchmark for tracking progress. By re-testing at different stages of your barefoot transition, you can clearly track improvements in lower limb strength and stability.

Things to Keep in Mind When Transitioning to Barefoot Shoes

Initial Performance Decrease During Runs

Barefoot shoes change movement patterns. For instance, research has found that people who switch to barefoot style running tend to change from a heel striking to a forefoot striking gait pattern. This change happens because the lack of cushioning in barefoot shoes make it uncomfortable to heel strike, prompting the runner to land on the forefoot instead [10].

In the long term, forefoot striking is a good thing, as it reduces impact forces and increases running cadence — two important metrics for running efficiency [1].

But, in the short term, the change in movement pattern can feel unfamiliar to runners, possibly affecting their initial performance and making runs feel more strenuous [2]. This is a very normal part of the adaptation process, and will be overcome with persistence.

Muscle Soreness

When highly supportive footwear is replaced with minimally supportive barefoot shoes, this shift places extra demands on the body’s own supportive structures, such as the muscles and connective tissues in the feet and legs. So soreness and fatigue, especially in these areas, are normal during the transition period [11].

This should be encouraging – it's a sign that the muscles are working harder. But, of course, it's important to use good judgment regarding how one feels. If significant muscular soreness is experienced, the transition should be slowed down to avoid chronic overuse injuries [12].

Heel Pain

From experience we have found heel pain to be a commonly reported complaint. This pain can be derived from two sources: plantar fasciitis and excessive heel striking.

Plantar Fasciitis:

Plantar Fasciitis is inflammation in the plantar fascia – a band of connective tissue that ties onto the heel bone and functions as a secondary arch support [12].

A sign that the plantar fascia is causing the heel pain is if most discomfort is felt first thing in the morning and then progressively improves throughout the day [12].

The cause of plantar fasciitis is usually due to overuse [12]. In the case of minimalist footwear, this makes sense, as they provide little external support to the feet, forcing the body to rely on its inbuilt support system.

From our experience, the use of arch support is the best immediate response to address plantar fasciitis. Insoles passively support the foot arch, reducing the demands on the plantar fascia.

Once the pain subsides, the use of inner soles can be reduced.

As an additional step, ankle mobility exercises have been found to be an effective protocol for addressing plantar fasciitis by releasing tension in these tissues [13].

You can learn more about how to improve ankle mobility here.

Heel Pain Caused by Excessive Heel Striking:  

When the heel strikes the ground first, it creates a collision force that travels through the heel bone called the “impact transient” or “first impact peak”. In cushioned footwear, these forces are absorbed by the padding, shielding the heel [14].

However, minimalist footwear lacks such cushioning, allowing the wearer to feel the full force of impact in the heel. While this might initially seem like a disadvantage, the lack of cushioning can actually promote better movement patterns [7].

Rather than relying on padding to absorb shock, minimalist footwear encourages wearers to modify their stride to a more natural, forefoot-first striking pattern that reduces the excessive impact on the heel [15].

However, if the barefoot shoe is thicker than typical minimalist shoes or the wearer is used to heel striking, they should consciously adjust their stride.

Adjusting to a forefoot strike, particularly while running, eliminates the sharp "first impact peak" typically associated with heel striking [15] [16].

To achieve this, runners and walkers should focus on shortening their stride length and increasing their step rate. These adjustments help reduce over-striding and minimize the force transmitted through the heel, ultimately reducing the risk of pain and injury [2].