What is minimalist mountain footwear?
Minimalism, we know that the term is not alien to you and you are almost certainly already involved with this trend that seeks, in all aspects of life, to follow the premise of less is more. Therefore, when it comes to sports, the minimalist mountain footwear does not escape this.
As you know, basically the term minimalist refers to the simple and essential, which means that with the minimalist mountain footwear you go to the basics, which is the similarity of barefoot running. Barefoot running? Yes.
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Features of minimalist mountain shoes
For you to begin to identify a minimalist shoe, you need to know in the first instance that its rival, the maximalist shoe, is one that is heavier, bulkier, has a high level of protection and lots of cushioning.
So without further ado, let's tell you what makes a shoe minimalist.
• El minimalist mountain footwear has no cushioning and no special sole, which will help you tone your glutes, for example.
- Proprioception is the correct coordination between the brain, your nervous system and the skeleton. If your shoe allows proprioception, it is because it allows a natural movement of the foot.
- A good test to know if a shoe is minimalist is to bend it, if the material is so hard that you can't do it, continue your search, you will soon find the right one.
- Dropis the difference between the heel and the toe. Therefore, in a minimalist shoe what you should look for is that it is low, that is to say, that the heel is not elevated, which will allow you to move with a more natural posture.
- It must have a thin soleThis will allow you to feel the ground underneath it. In addition, the nerve endings in your feet will be able to transmit to your brain what kind of ground you are walking on, so that your body will know how to react and you will be able to maintain a correct position.
• El underweight is the ultimate when it comes to minimalism in footwear.
More and more models are appearing on the market, some brands such as Merrell are specialising in this type of footwear with various interesting models such as the Merrell Trail Glove 4 (Click to view)a fully minimalist trail shoe with an 11mm outsole and zero weight. dropor the Merrell Bare Access Trail (Click to view female model) with 15mm sole and zero drop halfway between minimalist and transitional shoes. Other models on the market with more aggressive soles include the Inov8 X-TALON 210 (Click to view).
Benefits of minimalist mountain shoes
Although there are detractors of the minimalist mountain footwearsuggesting that it could lead to injuries due to poor cushioning, for example. You should know that running, hiking or any outdoor activity, just as if you were barefoot, has some benefits to consider.
Studies have found that minimalist footwear can be beneficial by promoting favourable biomechanical adaptations.
- You will walk and run with greater stability.
- Strengthen feet and legs.
- You will be able to correct support more easily.
- It gives you link with your environment and the terrain you walk or run on.
- Te you anticipate to difficulties, as you will be able to blend in with the terrain and avoid stumbling or twisting.
Mistakes that will lead to injury in minimalist hiking shoes
As you may have noticed, using minimalist shoes can bring you important benefits, but before you start this transition you need to know that there are some mistakes that, if you make them, will cause you to suffer unnecessary injuries and consequently, you will end up agreeing with the detractors of minimalist footwear.
Therefore, you should avoid making these two mistakes at all costs in order to make running with minimalist shoes a pleasant experience.
- Make no changes to your running technique: When you decide to start wearing minimalist shoes you must begin to make three vital changes:
- Avoid heel-stepping
- Avoid overstriding (stepping too far away from the centre of gravity), the idea is to step in front of your hips with the leg that is on the ground very straight.
- Increase your cadence, 180 steps per minute is ideal.
- Do not transition: One of the most common mistakes that cause the greatest number of injuries when starting to use minimalist footwearis not to make a proper transition, thinking that you can change from one day to the next. Since the work on the muscles that act as shock absorbers is very different and you have to look for a progressive adaptation of the whole body.
Transition, the key to the correct use of minimalist mountain footwear
How long is the estimated time to transition to your new minimalist shoes and when will you know you're ready? The body responds much better to change when you give it the time it needs to adapt to it.
So, take it slow and listen to your bodyHe will gradually tell you what he needs. Each body is different and therefore the exact transition time may vary, however, the ideal is that you make the transition as we are going to tell you and you will see that doing it with the utmost caution will avoid future problems.
In order to make a successful transition from maximalist to minimalist shoes, it is important to apply the one-minute-plus-per-training ruleThe use of the new system, which consists of increasing the time of use with one and decreasing it with the other, for example:
For a 60-minute training session:
Day 1: 49 minutes in maximalist or cushioned shoes and 1 minute in minimalist shoes
Day 2: 48 minutes in maximalist shoes and 2 minutes in minimalist shoes.
So on and so forth until you feel that the maximalist shoe feels too heavy and the minimalist shoe feels too comfortable. That's when you'll realise that the transition is complete and you can start living your sporting adventures in a simpler and more connected way.
