America Peals

As Nick and I are on a running kick, I thought I would follow up his insightful post Paleo Running with an interview I did about a month ago.

When I initially wrote the post These Boots were made for CrossFitting… as deemed by CF coaches, I was in contact with Micah Vandegrift from Florida at Father Andrew’s Hot Body Gym. He responded to an inquiry I made on Twitter in mid April. The inquiry asked the CrossFit community at large whether or not they preferred to run with shoes or without  shoes.

Here is Vandegrift’s insightful endorsement for running barefoot:

I have been Crossfitting for almost a year now. Over the course of that time, I have drastically altered my diet, sleep habits, posture and general ways of life. One of the changes that has made a huge difference has been the choice to workout barefoot. In our small gym community, we read a lot of Crossfit/exercise blogs and literature, searching for the best ways to perform at the highest capacity, and losing the shoes has been one we generally agree on.

Practically for me, I can physically tell a huge difference in my balance during heavy lifts, momentum in gymnastic moves, and overall enjoyment of the workout experience when I am barefoot. My core stability is not limited by the padding and cushioning of my shoes, and therefore I really feel like I get a better sense of my physical limitations/extremes when barefoot.

The only time I still wear shoes if for long distance running, and simply because my feet are not yet used to terrain, although I plan to make that adjustment over time. There is something extraordinarily primal about feeling the force of gravity and 205 lbs pushing your heels into the concrete while dead lifting. There is also the feeling of utter rebellion against the “fitness industry” in saying “no, I will not buy those $75 dollar cross-trainers because I believe that the human body works better when allowed to adapt and adjust to the earth and weight and force on its own terms.”

For more on Micah’s primal running and thoughts on CrossFit, hit up his blog! -

My question to Micah is do you also endorse Pose Running Method? And, more importantly, what do you say to people who fear for their safety when ambling barefoot around heavy weights?

Do you run barefoot? How has this helped you CrossFit?