I love running, so when I was offered a chance to test and review a pair of new Swedish-designed Airia Ones, I was totally pumped. My current shoes have a hole in the toe, so this was going to be a big upgrade. Also, I have come to trust the Swedish and their principles of design. (Note: the shoes did not require assembly.)

Shoe Specifics

The Airia One is certainly unlike any other shoe that you will find on the market. The heel is round, which the company points out to be a feature that can accommodate a variety of strike patterns. The sole features different bumps and angles – “Newtonian angles,” as Airia puts it – that are meant to create an “energy flow” that translates into faster, more efficient running strides. “You will unleash the hidden power in your running step” is a phrase the company uses in their product marketing.

The rubber Vibram sole features an uneven heel drop when comparing the heel to the inside of the midfoot (6mm) and the heel to the outside of the midfoot (0mm), which is meant to play into the “flow of energy” design. The shoe is wrapped in a thin, bone white breathable mesh that makes them quite light overall. But buyer beware. As I will discuss later, this is one of the features that ultimately makes these shoes outdoor- and weather- unfriendly.

The first thing that stood out to me when starting to jog in the Ones was how odd they felt as compared to the minimal footwear I have become accustomed to over the past couple years. Also, you can’t walk in Ones. I mean, you can, but they aren’t well-suited for taking a morning stroll. The company advises consumers that the shoes are not suitable for casual wear because of a design that is meant to optimize a runner’s stride:

Uniquely designed irregular and sharply angled sole and upward-pointing toe harness the untapped power of the human body and doesn’t leak energy like other running shoes … Every tiny push into the ground is optimized to advance you through to the next running step[.]

Ultimately, what Airia sought to design was a performance-enhancing shoe that exists outside of the traditional running shoe paradigm, and they certainly accomplished the latter.

I Must Bare My Sole to the Readers

Before I go any further with this review, I must disclose something about myself: I have flat feet. My running mechanics are different than the average runner. I do spend a lot of time trying to develop better foot strength and proprioception along with hip and core stability, but my gait pattern, especially when fatigued, is less than ideal.

“I could see them being a potential middle ground between traditional running shoes and minimal shoes for someone who would be willing to experiment.”

Here is the thing, though – yes, running is a skill that can be developed to a certain point, but our ability to run well is predominately dictated by the structure of our bodies. Strength coach Mike Boyle mentions in Advances in Functional Training: “You can’t run to get a runner’s body. You have to have a runner’s body to survive running.” I am not built to run well, and honestly – I don’t. I just do it because I love it.

This is why I encourage you to look at any claim of “faster running” with a giant glass of incredulity. Are these “bad” shoes? No. Despite my teasing, there are some people out there who might really enjoy wearing the Ones. They are wide, the interior features a comfortable Ortho-lite sole, and they are much lighter than any other shoes I have tried (240 grams for a US men’s size nine). I could see them being a potential middle ground between traditional running shoes and minimal shoes for someone who would be willing to experiment.

But for me, and for any other person who has flat feet, or for any woman (or man) who has wider-than-average hips and naturally pronounced knee valgus, I strongly encourage you to steer away from these shoes. In general, shoes remove a major proprioceptive information center from our body. For many people, the wrong shoes can make everything worse (which is why I am vehemently anti-orthotics and pro-barefoot strength development).

“Ultimately, what Airia sought to design was a performance-enhancing shoe that exists outside of the traditional running shoe paradigm, and they certainly accomplished the latter.”

The inward-sloping design of the sole caused my ankles, tibias, and knees to collapse and rotate even more so than usual. I felt unstable and uncomfortable, especially when running on the varied terrain of the Baltimore harbor – bricks, docks, and cobblestones. I often had to stop out of fear that I might turn an ankle. A research aside: the product study by Airia using 100 runners was conducted on an indoor track.

My results? The Airia ones caused me to run slower. I wear a Fitbit Surge when I run. I generally aim for a total of two to four miles, and my average one-mile pace is between 9:00-10:00 per mile. Very average. With the Ones? During about nine total miles of running, my time dropped to a barely-jogging 12:00. After my fourth “run” in the Ones, I actually turned off my Taylor Swift playlist, walked back to my house (it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be) and put on my old shoes to finish my workout.

A Shoe Is Just a Shoe

Just like my Shaq Instapumps during the 1990s didn’t get me any closer to the NBA than my 5’3” female frame would allow, there is no shoe on the market that will make you a faster or more efficient runner. “Good” running is a combination of great genetics, core strength, hip stability, well-coordinated contralateral patterning, and, of course, excellent conditioning. Shoes don’t do that. Training does that (along with your parents).

“In general, shoes remove a major proprioceptive information center from our body. For many people, the wrong shoes can make everything worse (which is why I am vehemently anti-orthotics and pro-barefoot strength development).”

In the end, if you find yourself looking to equipment as a way to increase performance, I will encourage you to re-orient your mentality towards strength training and improving your posture, stability, and motor control. Spend some time barefoot to create a stronger foundation.

As far as the Airia Ones, all I can do is give them ye olde sideways thumb. I can neither approve nor disapprove, because you are the only one who can ultimately dictate what is comfortable. If you have an ideal runner’s body, if your feet already have a lot of miles on them – by all means, try the Ones. You might love how light they are.

Other than that, all I can do is advise you of this: a shoe is only a shoe. It takes a person to make an athlete.

Airia Ones are available on AiraRunning.com for $99.00.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• 2 Critical Exercises to Prepare Your Feet for Minimalist Footwear
• The Simple Path to Minimalist Running
• Barefoot Running and Choosing the Right Shoes for You
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

The post Minimalist Running, With a Twist: The New Airia Ones appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

While the evolution of running shoes to minimal drop models is a massive positive for improving the way we run, it has also resulted in a big negative: an increase in running overuse injuries associated with the transition to minimalism.

In this article, I will give you the lowdown on the pros and cons of minimalism, as well as a step-by-step running plan to transition you to minimal shoes safely and without injury.

RELATED: What Forefoot Running Actually Means

Minimal Shoes Explained

For the uninitiated, minimalism is a catchall term referring to the redesign of shoes to create a more natural running experience. This is primarily done by reducing a shoe’s heel-toe drop (also called the heel-toe offset or heel-toe differential).

New Balance Minimus Hi-REZ zero drop shoe 

The heel-toe drop is the difference between the midsole heel height (rear of the shoe) and the midsole forefoot height (front of the shoe). Thus, a 4mm drop shoe means when your foot is in the shoe, your heel will sit 4mm higher off the ground than your forefoot. A minimal drop shoe is generally classed as anything between 0-8mm.

RELATED: What You Need to Know About Buying Running Shoes

Pros of Running in Minimal Shoes

1. Noticeable Improvements in Biomechanics and Gait

The closer you are to zero drop, the closer you are to aligning your biomechanics and gait to the way nature intended for you to run. In particular, this tends to shift you into a more mid-foot or forefoot foot strike (as opposed to a heel strike), which can significantly reduce impact forces (read: likelihood of injury) and improve your running efficiency (see also point number four).

2. Less Restriction in the Ankles and Lower-Leg Tissues

The higher your heel-toe drop, the more you restrict range of motion in your ankles and lower-leg muscles. As running by nature involves thousands upon thousands of repetitions, your ankles and body will quickly adapt to this restricted range. Tight ankles and heel cords dramatically increase your likelihood of soft-tissue overuse injuries (e.g. Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis).

“The higher your heel-toe drop, the more you restrict range of motion in your ankles and lower-leg muscles.”

3. Functional Strengthening of Lower-Leg and Foot Muscles

This is closely aligned with point number two. Running in minimal drop shoes forces the lower-leg and foot musculature to work harder by moving through a greater range of motion. The end result, if you transition to minimal shoes properly, is huge functional strength improvements in the lower-leg and foot muscles. This significantly reduces your injury risk, as well.

4. Improvements in Power and Economy

From my own experience, I have found the lightweight and more natural feel of minimal drop shoes noticeably improves my running power by reducing my ground contact time. It also improves my running economy by making it easier to maintain a higher cadence. For me, both of these variables noticeably degrade when I run in shoes with higher drops.

RELATED: The Pros and Cons of Barefoot Running

5. Better Ground Feel and Subjective Enjoyment

Nearly everyone who runs in minimal drop shoes will tell you they feel awesome on your feet and give you better ground feel. They make for a much more enjoyable running experience that makes it very hard to go back to a bulky higher-drop shoes.

Cons of Running in Minimal Shoes

The biggest con of running in minimal shoes is the significantly increased likelihood of injury if you don’t transition correctly. As highlighted earlier, running in minimal drop shoes forces your lower-leg and feet musculature to work harder by moving through a greater range of motion.

“The biggest con of running in minimal shoes is the significantly increased likelihood of injury if you don’t transition correctly.”

For those coming from a higher-drop shoe or who haven’t run before, this increased range of motion places huge stress on your feet and calves. This increased stress will lead to pain and injury unless you patiently add minimal drop loading and ensure you body has adapted before progressing.

The 12-Step Minimal Shoe Transition Plan (12MSTP)

What follows is a twelve-step running program I put together that will allow you transition smoothly into a more minimal shoe and/or barefoot running. Better still, it also works extremely well as a starting program for new runners or for those returning to running after a long lay-off.

As you will see, it incorporates the progressive use of run/walk efforts. While some running purists may consider that conservative, trust me when I tell you that transitioning to minimal drop shoes/barefoot is brutal on your lower limbs and you will be rewarded by adopting a patient approach.

RELATED: 2 Rules For Beginning Barefoot Running (And Avoiding Injury)

The Program

1. 10mins (Run 1/Walk 1) x 5
2. 15mins (Run 2/Walk 1) x 5
3. 20mins (Run 3/Walk 1) x 5
4. 25mins (Run 4/Walk 1) x 5
5. 30mins (Run 8/Walk 2) x 3
6. 35mins (Run 10/Walk 1:40) x 3
7. 40mins (Run 12/Walk 1:20) x 3
8. 45mins (Run 14/Walk 1) x 3
9. 50mins (Run 15/Walk 1:40) x 3
10. 55mins (Run 17/Walk 1:20) x 3
11. 60mins (Run 19/Walk 1) x 3
12. Run 60mins

The Rules

1. You can either perform these sessions barefoot on the beach/soft grass or perform these sessions on the road/track in your preferred minimal shoe.
2. Concentrate on practicing good running form during these sessions, with a particular focus on maintaining a leg cadence of 180-185 steps per minute.
3. Only progress to the next run stage if you do not have any lower leg soreness in the 24-48 hours following the previous session. If you experience soreness, then you repeat the same stage the next time you run.
4. If these are your only running sessions, do no more than three of these runs per week. If you are currently running three or more times per week, than substitute one of these sessions for every second run you do (e.g. Sunday transition session, Tuesday regular run in normal shoes, Thursday transition session, Saturday regular run)
5. Don’t run on back-to-back days; always have at least one day between runs.
6. Perform any non-transition runs in your regular non-minimal shoes.
7. Either spend 10-15 minutes daily and/or at the end of every minimalist run working on the mobility of your ankle joint and the tissue quality/flexibility of your lower leg muscles (read gastrocnemius/soleus/tibialis anterior/plantar fascia).
8. When choosing which minimal drop shoe to transition to, I recommend dropping no more than 4mm from your current shoe. So, if you currently run in 12mm drop shoes, transition to a 8mm drop. Once you have transitioned to your new minimal shoes, you can follow this program again to transition even lower.
9. At the completion of the plan, you should be able to run in a more minimal shoe and/or barefoot for at least 60 minutes without soreness or injury. If you want to progress beyond 60 minutes in any one session, add cautious progression (10% per week). If you want to progress beyond 60 minutes for multiple sessions, I recommend you adopt this transition for each session you want to go minimal in.

RELATED: How to Reach Freak Level Fitness

Focus on the Long Game

At the minimum, this program will take four weeks to complete. For most, it will take between six to eight weeks. It will also require a fair degree of patience and humility. Remember, you have to focus on the long game. Going minimal is a means of improving your body’s natural function and your enjoyment of running for the rest of your life – not a quick-fix panacea to jump on a mainstream fitness trend.

Enjoy the process and let me know how you go. Please share your experiences with this program or any questions you have in the comments below.

Photo 1 “Gear of the Year 2013_Dr_naturalHealthStoreUS” by Carmen Rodriguez. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Photos 2 & 3 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post A 12-Step Plan for Transitioning to Minimalist Running Shoes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

A running shoe can be broken down into a few component parts. There are more and more bells and whistles appearing on shoes these days, but the basic parts remain the same.

The Outer Sole and the Longevity of Your Shoes

The outer sole is the bottom of the shoe. The most important function of the outer sole is grip and traction while running on varying surfaces. There’s obviously a trade-off between grip and how long a sole lasts, though.

Which leads to one of the questions I get asked most frequently: “How long does a pair of shoes last?” The answer depends entirely on how much and how often you run. While many manufacturers will make blanket statements about a shoe lasting about 500km (~300 miles), the reality is the type of surface you run on, how your shoes wear, how heavy you are, and even how far you run all have to come into consideration, so there is no simple answer.

The midsole (see below) of most shoes will generally start to wear out after around 500km, so that is a good rule of thumb to use. However, a better test is to look at the soles of your shoes regularly and look for wear. Once the pattern starts to degrade or the different sections get worn thin, then it is probably time to replace them. Another good test can simply be to put your shoes on a bench and see how flat they are or aren’t. A shoe that is close to worn out will be excessively curved up at either end.

For those wondering – 500km isn’t very long. It’s not uncommon for runners to go through a pair of shoes every two to three months if they’re logging decent miles. I know before my Ironman I was going through shoes every eight to ten weeks. While that may seem excessive, the alternative is a likely injury. So ask yourself if it’s better to spend a hundred dollars now on new shoes or spend five to ten times that amount on physiotherapy later?

The Midsole

The midsole is actually the heart of the shoe, and it’s the part you’ll notice most once you start running. This is the part of the shoe responsible for feeling soft or hard in the shoe. The main function of the midsole is to absorb the shock of the landing, whether that landing happens via heel strike or forefoot. To help with this, the midsole also acts to prevent excessive inward rotation of the ankle (pronation) as the foot lands and progresses towards a toe-off. It achieves this by flexing from a point about two-thirds from the heel, once the heel starts to come off the ground.

Older shoes were made of a compound called EVA rubber, initially developed by Brooks, which had tiny gas bubbles trapped inside the rubber. The downside to this was that after wear the gas is expelled and the EVA becomes harder and less likely to absorb compression. So if you were thinking that perhaps the best running shoes to go and buy were a pair of old-school 1970s Nikes, then think again.

A good test for a shoe’s ability to handle landing forces, or the degree to which the shoe can compress on landing, is what Tim Noakes calls the thumb test. Simply press the fingers and thumbs into either side of the midsole at both forefoot and heel. The longer the indentation lasts the softer the shoe is, and the more shock absorption it will provide. Be aware, though, this also means that the shoe will wear down faster.

Softness Versus Stiffness

A shoe is obviously a constant battle for many things. It must provide a soft ride, yet last a decent length of time. It must provide enough stiffness to help prevent any collapse of the foot or ankle, yet be flexible enough to let the foot behave as naturally as possible.

To combat this shoe manufacturers will try to use differing degrees of softness or stiffness in different areas of the shoe. The biggest problem with most shoes (and I’m yet to find one that doesn’t have this problem) is that while the mid-foot isn’t exposed to the highest forces during landing, it does experience high pressure for a much longer time.¹ So it is likely that this area will wear out faster than any other area of your shoes unless you are a chronic heel striker.

In 1979 Nike came up with a solution when they introduced the Nike Air system. While this system has shown to be remarkably good at dealing with impact forces, it has also proven to be unstable in the heel. In addition, because the Air system doesn’t extend down to the forefoot these shoes still suffer from the same EVA hardening of other shoes from constant use.

Over more recent years Asics, Saucony, Reebok, Brooks, and others have all introduced so-called energy return systems into their midsoles, perhaps Asics being most notable with its gel-containing system. These systems have all proven to have at least equal performance to EVA, and many report them to be far superior.

Know Your Feet Before You Buy Your Shoes

The main thing to keep in mind, and this entails knowing and understand your individual feet very well, is that a stiff foot requires a softer midsole, while those with softer or collapsed feet (such as “flat feet”) will need a stiffer shoe.

There are several measures used inside the shoe to try to compensate for the type of foot that people have. All of these are built in to try to accomplish the exact same thing – either prevent excessive movement from people with lazy feet or try to give as much movement as possible to people with stiff feet. While it may seem overly technical, I can verify that knowing what sort of foot you have and a few details about shoe design will make buying shoes incredibly easy. Here are a few basics to know:

Slip or Board Lasting

Slip or board lasting is a process that increases a shoe’s ability to resist pronation, or collapse of the arch. When shoes are made, the nylon upper (the part that actually encases the foot) is glued directly to the midsole. If there is no additional material covering the nylon, then it is said to be slip lasted. If there is a brown-colored board that overlies a portion of the upper, then it is said to be board lasted.

Board lasting can either run for the full length of the shoe – called conventional – or it may end just behind the ball of the foot – which is called partial or combination lasting. Partial lasting can be quite useful because it doesn’t interfere with the flexibility of the forefoot while still retaining the ability to resist pronation.

If you’ve ever seen people twist a pair of runners prior to purchase this is actually the thing they’re testing for, even if they don’t really understand what it is they’re trying to achieve. A shoe that is easily twisted along its axis would be appropriate for someone with stiff feet while a shoe that is stiffer itself, and is board lasted, would be more appropriate for someone who suffers from pronation or lacks strength in the ankle.

Straight or Curved Lasts

Straight or curved lasts are designed to either give support or movement to the mid-foot. A straight-lasted shoe is one that is symmetrical around a line drawn from the middle of the shoe to the middle of the toe, when viewed from below. A straight-lasted shoe will help with ankle control by giving support to those who need it. In contrast, a curved-lasted shoe will bend inside a line draw on from the middle of the heel to the middle of the mid-foot. Curved lasting is beneficial to those needing more flexibility and softer cushioning. Usually these athletes are typified by high-arched feet and tend to wear out their shoes on the outer edges. In extreme cases, this can be seen with a slight toe-in running stance, which can lead to further problems down the track.

Heel Cups

One final piece of advice to keep in mind is that shoes tend to come with different types of heel cups. It may sound obvious, but something as simple as how wide or tall the heel cup is can have dramatic influence on your comfort when running.

The down side to this shoe selection process is that it will likely take you several attempts to find the right shoe. This is where finding a well-regarded speciality running store is vital. Many of these stores will provide a gait analysis of your running and will also have in-depth product knowledge to help you make a short list of appropriate shoes.

One final word of advice: don’t buy on price. Buy on fit and whether or not that shoe is right for you. Also, don’t feel that you shouldn’t feel tied to a particular shoe forever, especially if your goal is to build up the strength to where you can wear a minimal shoe that allows you to run as close to naturally as possible while minimizing your injury risk.

References:

1. Noakes, T., Lore of Running (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2001)

Photos 1, 2, 4 & 5 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 3 by Yottanesia (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post What You Need to Know About Buying Running Shoes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.