Uneven Grace

Last night we got into the discussion of why bare feet is better than wearing those cushy Nike Shox when weightlifting. So I wanted to repost an old blog reiterating what we talked about....

When we coach heavy strength days, often times we will tell people to take off their shoes. Footwear or lack thereof is a valuable tool for optimizing workout performance. Why? Our response is to 'get back to nature and get rid of the cushy padding that makes you wobbly.' But, being a teacher, I can best explain this through Newton's third law of motion: "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." So, think of it this way, while you stand on the ground, you are pushing down on the ground and in return the ground pushes back on your feet. Following me so far? So to optimize our lifts while we are working out, we want to get back as much as possible of that energy back. More energy returned equals a stronger lift.

This in turn leads us to the second use of physics; harder surfaces and materials transfer energy better than softer, cushy surfaces and materials. So, think about it, when you are standing on the hard ground in cushy tennis shoes, there is a larger buffer that will absorb the transfer of energy. Whereas, barefoot, there is no little to no buffer for the transfer of energy. Not to mention that lifting in bare feet helps to create stability and flexibility in some joints and muscles. Lon Kilgore and Mark Rippetoe argue this point by stating that "there is an increased chance for a balance or stability loss-induced injury while lifting heavy weights, since perfect balance cannot be assured on an imperfect surface". Bare feet bring more stability and increased force transfer, which yields stronger lifts. So, take those shoes off during heavy lifting days!

WOD-
Squat Clean 3x3
Then....

"Uneven Grace"