New Balance
New Balance has been in the business of making running shoes since 1906. While traditionally known for making high quality padded and supportive running athletic shoes it was only a matter of time before New Balance came out with their own “barefoot” running shoe line, the New Balance 800. Their first shoe, the New Balance MR800, is similar to Nike Free and Vibram FiveFingers shoes as it is designed to allow runners to run with a midfoot strike, which is a core principal and technique in ChiRunning and ChiWalking. The benefit of this midfoot strike technique is this allows your feet to move more naturally, thereby strengthening the feet and lower body and preventing injuries. If you would like to see how they compare to the Nike Frees, check out out review of the Nike Free versus New Balance article.
Introducing The New Balance 800
Benefits of Wearing New Balance 800 Shoes
- Strengthens Muscles in foot and lower body.
- Improves flexibility and range in motion in ankle, foot, and toes.
- Improves balance and and body awareness.
- Helps alleviate problems related to the impact of running on the knee
- Extremely light and comfortable.
Why New Balance 800 Shoes or Barefoot Shoes?
By walking and running barefoot we allow our body to move how it was initially designed. By wearing shoes, however, we change the natural way we walk and run which can lead to sprains, shin splints, and other common foot injuries. The New Balance 800 running shoes attempt to mimic barefoot running by adjusting the shoe design to allow a person’s foot to strike in the middle part of the foot, often referred to as a midfoot strike or forefoot strike. The advantage of this is that there is less stress and impact on your legs and feet.
Dr. William Rossi in a 1999 article in Podiatry Management said it best with regards to going barefoot :
“It took 4 million years to develop our unique human foot and our consequent distinctive form of walk, a remarkable feat of bioengineering. Yet, in only a few thousand years, and with one carelessly designed instrument, our shoes, we have warped the pure anatomical form of human walk, obstructing its engineering efficiency, afflicting it with strains and stresses and denying it its natural grace of form and ease of movement head to foot.”
New Balance News
- New Balance Doesn't Oppose the Barefoot Movement
- More Research Results: Shoes Bad, Barefoot Good
- Study Shows Running Shoes Cause Damage to Knees, Hips, and Ankles
- Best Barefoot Running Shoes 2009 Reviewed
- Barefoot Running: Running Barefoot is Still the Way to Go
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