A singular piece of equipment is not going to be solely responsible for bringing about the physique you’re looking for

It seems as though people have really gotten carried away with all of this barefoot training or the wearing of minimalist shoes to the point where they’ve come to believe that you somehow cannot move properly or train effectively if you’re wearing anything different.

So let’s clear that up…

They are JUST shoes (or not shoes as the case may be).

Suggesting that a special brand of shoes will somehow magically change your training outcomes, improve your movement dysfunctions (whatever that means), or cure all of your ailments sounds a lot like you’ve been suckered in by some really good marketing.

Are Vibrams, New Balance Minimus, or Nike Frees decent, comfortable shoes? Sure.

Are they inherently going to improve your training in a truly meaningful way such that it is going to drastically impact your physique? I doubt it.

I’m not denying that normal soft soled shoes are different from minimalist shoes. And I’m not saying that the force transmission to the ground is the same.

What I AM saying is that if your goal is to look better, I’d bet that at the end of 5 years you would not visually be able to tell the difference between people who trained in minimalist shoes versus normal running shoes. And I’m betting that the injury history wouldn’t be much different either.

Personally, I have a pair of Nike Frees that I like to train in. I like them. They are comfortable and I like wearing them. But they aren’t magic.

The big point here is that there isn’t a singular piece of equipment that is going to be solely responsible for bringing about the physique you’re looking for.

And at the end of the day, they’re just shoes.