Running with Flat Feet

There are a great deal of people out there with flat feet. In fact, up until today I thought I was one of them. If you get pain in your heel, pronate your feet (rotate them inward at the ankle when walking), or standing for a few minutes or more hurts, you just might have flat feet. A great way to know if you have flat feet is to do this foot test where you dip you foot in water then place it on a thick sheet of paper. If there is very little mid-section of your foot showing, you are average. If you have a lot of bare space in between your heel and ball of the foot, that is a high arch. Those with lots of wet between the ball and heel of the foot have flat feet.

People with flat feet have a tendency to pronate their feet, meaning that the ankles lean inward when running. These runners are also at a much higher risk of knee, hip, and foot injuries since their foot is not properly supported by the arch. If you get massive pain in the arch or heel of your foot, chances are you have a common injury associated with flat feet and the reason I found out my feet are flat at all.

Plantar Facialis is a condition often associated with flat feet where the tissue (plantar facia) running from the ball of the foot to the heel gets inflamed. This will cause a stabbing pain in either the heel or the arch of the foot. The best remedy is to ice the area injured and limit activities such as running until the pain is gone. Stretching the foot and massaging the inflamed area will also help decrease pain. 

If this form of pain has become associated with running for you, there are ways to help it. Shoes that are low in cushion but high in stability and support are best for those with flat feet. A shoe that have good arch support is also a must since those with flat feet will break arches like Chuck Norris breaks boards.

There is also a fair amount of research saying that barefoot running can help re-form arches in one's feet. Although I am not planning on barefoot running anytime soon, there are shoes that encourage the feeling of barefoot running without the actual barefoot or thin shoe bit. Shoes with a lower offset will replicate the feeling of running barefoot and encourage proper midsole strike.

The offset of a shoe is the difference between the elevation of the heel and the ball of the shoe. The higher the offset, the higher the heel is compared to the ball. Higher offsets encourage a strike closer to the heel while lower offsets encourage a strike closer to the ball of the feet. Personally, I like a low offset since landing on the heel of the foot causes me pain in my arch. Most running experts will also agree that a midsole strike is the best form to have when running.

As for the shoes that are best for flat footed runners, I will have a whole list of the ones others recommend along with my personal favorites tomorrow. Be sure to come back for that fun list along with pricing and reasons why arch support is so dang expensive.

Why Try Barry's Bootcamp

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So, this past weekend my cousin enlisted her sister and I in the Barry's Bootcamp experience that she has fallen in love with in West Hollywood. As a fitness blogger and overall fit junkie, I was automatically interested in this new form of fitness that promises a massive calorie burn, but I was also interested on a personal level. Since my cousin started going to Barry's, she has had a massive transformation. Jessica has some of the most perfect legs around and is known in our family as having gams of a super model- whatever she is doing to get them, I am down for... Especially if it means getting my legs to look a bit more svelt.

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In case you are unfamiliar with Barry's, it is a massive cardio/weights workout that has been running since the late 90's and boasts clientele including Kim Kardashian, Amanda Seyfried, and Jessica Biel. Each class lasts about 50-minutes with sound barrier-breaking music and more sweat than you could imagine. Seriously.

The class had a similar flow to certain Orange Theory workouts with alternating 15-minute treadmill and weights workouts. Our fitness instructor/drill sergeant/man I began to hate, Derek DeGrazio (shown above), was relocated from West Hollywood to South Beach when this branch opened. He was a great introduction to Bootcamp since he gave great instruction and enough encouragement to last the whole class... Although he did make me feel like anything less than a 10 speed on the treadmill was child's play.

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Treadmill workouts were some intense intervals that range from a Sunday stroll to 10+ speed and 12% inclines. Weights range from 5-20+ pounds, but we were told to have women pick up the 8-10 and men get the 10-20. To be honest, I cheated and took the fivers about half-way through the second floor set. Of course, the intensity of the workout is completely up to you, but get ready to feel like a five-year-old sissy baby for not giving it your all.

I gave it my all. In fact, I was as drenched with sweat after the class as I am after a hot yoga class and had insta-sore abs. The workout is for sure intense and the promises of burning 1,000 calories in 50-minutes are no snake oil lies. Sadly, my HRM broke right before the trip, so I was unable to know exactly how many calories were toasted, but knowing my body and how it feels after certain workouts, I would say we were right around 800 calories burned. This is massive, especially since it was a toning workout as much as a cardio, fat burning session. This is seriously great for all those girls (and guys) who like to feel like they left it all on the mat. If you enjoy a massive sweat session that leaves you feeling inta-sore with an internal fat incinerator, you will like this.

No, I am not able to go to Barry's every day, or even, once a week, but I will be making this a regular class when visiting Miami, London, Norway, Sweden, or L.A.

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All gym equipment, mats, mirrors, and floors are seriously wiped down and deodorized by the fine Barry's staff, so you have to worry about absolutely no clean up. This is super great considering that I was way too tired to properly clean everything and way too much of a pessimist to think the rando before me did a good enough job. I sincerely thank all of the Barry's staff for cleaning up the evidence of our hard work so that we do not have to! That is a job that I love, love, love someone else having!

Now, that I have tried Barry's Bootcamp, I am also inspired me to try the local Orange Theory- a similar treadmill/weights workout that promises between 500 and 1,000 calories burned per class. I will be sure to have a working HRM and seriously test that calorie burn.

Oh, and did I mention that all the lights have an orange hue so that you do not look like the giant red hot mess that you are? Yes, that is quite the massive perk to all those who turn the color of a raspberry at any cardio output.