You know it’s a good day when you open your email inbox to find an interview that you’ve been waiting for nearly a month to get back, and that it was more than worth the wait. This is one of those interviews that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside – something I’m proud to publish. While reading through it this morning, I kept muttering to myself, “this is good stuff.”

It’s no surprise, of course, because Damien Tougas is truly a minimalist footwear expert. He’s been experimenting, testing, and reviewing all kinds of footwear options for years. So much so, that every time I’ve visited him, he’s got a huge bin just stuffed full of shoes just waiting to be worn for the first time. Yep, all the major footwear manufacturers send him free minimalist shoes, sandals, slippers, boots, and moccasins, among other things because they want his opinion.

On top of that, Damien is also the founder of Toe Salad: the Internet’s premier minimalist footwear website, but he’s the real deal not just because he’s tried a lot of shoes and has a snazzy website about them. He’s the real deal because he’s found a way to truly help people understand and benefit from proper footwear choices – and it’s not hip, trendy, new-age nonsense either. Damien is a really down-to-earth guy and he wants simple solutions that are practical and based on common sense. Personally, I consider him THE go-to guy for all things regarding footwear. Damien also happens to be a friend of mine, and he’s a very cool guy who enjoys a lot of outdoorsy interests. What can I say – I’ve got cool friends.

So, let’s get right down to it. If you are at all intrigued by minimalist footwear (or going barefoot) – perhaps on the fence about it – then this interview is for you. You will learn a lot – as I have. You’ll also notice that there are a lot of very useful links spread throughout. They’re included for a reason. So, don’t be shy – check them out!

All right. Enough blabbing from me – enjoy the interview.

Damien, It seems like every time we’ve gotten together, you’re testing a new type of footwear. When you’re not barefoot, I’ve seen you in Vibram Fivefingers, FeelMax shoes, Innov-8’s, Huarche sandals, flexible tennis shoes and even some minimalist hiking boots! Tell us about how all this started and how you became a minimalist footwear expert over the years.

Well, for the long story, I encourage you to read my series called The Case for Minimalist Footwear (http://www.toesalad.com/the-case-for-minimalist-footwear). That outlines in great detail the process of discovery I went through in determining that barefoot/minimalist is the only way to go.

The short story is this: After encountering progressively worse pain and injury which kept me from doing the activities I loved (hiking, running, backpacking, etc.), I was desperate for a solution. I was having foot, knee, and back pains. Doctors told me that I had biomechanical issues and that I was going to need special expensive corrective insoles for the rest of my life. I would probably also need to slow down and do less physical activity. I didn’t like that answer, and frankly, the solutions they were proposing weren’t working. I got desperate, and I guess that is the point when I started exploring all possible options.

That was over 10 years ago. Now days I am much more physically active than I was then, only now I have no pain… and no shoes :-) Ok, well I do wear shoes, but much less of a shoe than I did back then.

I’ve heard you say that “shoes are tools” and should perform like “gloves for your feet.” Could you go into a little more detail about how you would describe the role that footwear plays?

Ideally our footwear should be designed to provide the minimum protection required for the environment in which they will be used. So, the question we need to be asking ourselves when we put on a pair of shoes is what are we protecting ourselves from? Is it heat, cold, disease, rocks? What is the minimum we need to achieve that? With practice, could we get away with less?

Gloves are a great example. For the most part, people prefer to always be bare-handed. People also recognize that gloves are necessary for protection from time to time, and thus they select the appropriate glove for the job. Doctors will wear thin rubber gloves to protect from germs. Construction workers will wear thick leather gloves to protect from abrasion. Outdoorsmen might wear thick mitts for extremely cold conditions. In all of those cases, they will all try to pick the solution that gives them maximum dexterity while still providing the protection they need. They will also take them off the first opportunity they get, as they are constraining and feel less than ideal. If we felt this way about footwear, we would be barefoot most of the time.

You never see anyone putting on gloves to give them more “support” or “cushioning” or “motion control”. You also don’t see people wearing gloves all day every day the same way we wear shoes. If we did, we would think they were freaks.

Given your definition above – what would you say about the current state of average modern footwear?

I would say that it is probably well in line with the state of modern man. Most of us have weak, untrained feet. We sit most of the time. We wear cushy supportive shoes most of the time. As a result, we have become dependent on them, and this is what most of the market is providing us: cushy, corrective, supportive footwear to coddle our weak foot muscles.

But don’t we need cushioned heels, arch support, motion control technology, and the like?

We only need them because we are so accustomed to them that our bodies can’t function without them. Like a drug. Or a cast. When we become dependent on something, it is very difficult for us to break free from that dependency because there are real physiological and neurological changes that take place. For example, women who wear high heels for many years will get a shortening of the achilles tendon, and make them dependent on heeled shoes for comfort.

High heels are an obvious dependency, but there are more subtle ones too, like cushioning. If you are used to wearing cushioned shoes, the whole world is going to feel cushy and safe, no matter where you step. The end result is that you will walk more forcefully and with more abandon than you would if you were barefoot. It will make barefoot walking painful, causing you to think that you need cushioning to protect your feet from the harsh ground.

The same goes for arch supports, motion control, etc. In some rare medical cases these things might be warranted, but for the most part our body is better off without them. Our bodies are well designed, and we can get away with a lot less shoe than we think – most of the time we are overdoing it. If we want to free ourselves from this dependency we have to work at it to re-train our feet.

If we treated the rest of our body like we do our feet, we would all be wearing highly engineered exoskeletons to provide support and cushioning from the rest of the world.

Does footwear really change the way we move, and what are the consequences of this?

Yes, it does. In my article How Footwear Affects the Way We Move, I describe this concept in detail. This video is a great example of how a runner’s gait changed simply by taking off shoes:

The consequences are that most shoes cause us to move unnaturally. This unnatural movement puts stress and strain on our bodies in ways that nature hadn’t intended and can lead to all kinds of biomechanical issues.

Do you have any comments about shoes that are purported to tone your legs and…ahem… “shape up” your derriere?

Well, if the shoe inspires you get up and move, then it might help to shape things a little. I find it ironic that footwear was precisely the problem that caused my derriere to plump up many years ago when I was sidelined due to “biomechanical” issues.

What does the research say? Is there any research? I mean, come on, we’re talking about feet here. What’s to learn?

Ah yes, research. Isn’t it funny how we trust our heart and lungs to work on a daily basis, and we are confident that they will effectively do their job without too much thought on our part. In fact, we don’t second guess much of our body. But our feet… now that is a different story. When we hear that we can actually walk, and (gasp!) run barefoot, we want to see some solid scientific data!

If hard data is what you want, there is starting to be more every day. Inov-8 put together a nice summary of current research and released it in March of 2011. I posted a copy of the document in the Toe Salad forum here: http://www.toesalad.com/node/784

You once said in an article that the goal of footwear manufacturers should be: “to provide maximum feel and dexterity and minimum restriction while providing only the protection that is necessary.” I couldn’t agree more! So, when shopping for footwear, what specific things do you look for when evaluating your choices? And how do you find a good balance between protection and freedom of movement?

Well, the first question I ask myself is: what am I protecting myself from? There is a big difference between protecting myself from the cold and protecting myself from stepping on a nail. In one case I want thick insulation, and the other I want a steel shank. Yeah…  I know… really difficult stuff :-)

Once I know what I am protecting myself from, I make it my goal to achieve the minimum requirements towards that end. It takes practice to figure that out, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. My general principles for selecting footwear are outlined in my post Selecting Minimalist Footwear.

Is there such a thing as the perfect shoe?

Besides bare feet? Nope. The reason for that is all of us are built differently and use footwear in different conditions. What may work perfectly well for one person may be too wide, too narrow, too warm, too cold, etc. for someone else. Footwear selection is really a personal thing because our feet are all so very different.

What do you do in the winter, especially in cold/wet/snowy conditions?

That is a tough one! This is where I think minimalist footwear is seriously lacking, especially when things are both cold AND wet. For really cold conditions mukluks can be quite effective, as they can be very warm. For cold/wet/spring/slush conditions, mukluks won’t cut it because they can’t handle the moisture. In those cases, my favorite are Inov-8 RocLite 288 Gore-Tex boots sized-up to give me a decent toebox. Not ideal, but the best I have found thus far.

In what situations would you recommend going completely barefoot?

When you are at home, there is no excuse not to go barefoot. Indoors all year, and outdoors for as much of the year as you can handle. Being close to home you can easily test your limits.

In all other cases, maybe the question should be reversed… under what conditions do you recommend wearing footwear? My answer to that would be: when you need protection from some adverse environmental condition… (or when social circumstances call for it, i.e. at the office). A lot of protection issues are in our head, where we think we need protection from something that is really not a risk at all (or at least a very low one). I am a proponent of pushing your boundaries a little bit at a time to see where you can get away with bare feet. You might be surprised :-)

Are there any footwear brands that you’re particularly fond of for certain activities?

Wow, that is a tough one, as there are a lot of good minimalist shoes coming out these days. I guess a few of my stand-out favorites are the Altra Adam (like the FiveFingers KSO, but with a closed toebox), the Inov-8 RocLite 288 (for cold/wet spring conditions in the outdoors), the Sole Runner FX Trainer (for running and casual/everyday use), the upcoming VIVOBAREFOOT Breatho Trail (for off-road running, hiking, and backpacking), and the Russell Moccasin minimalist oxfords (for formal use). For my impressions on a bunch of other stuff, be sure to check out the Toe Salad reviews page. The Toe Salad footwear directory contains a bunch of member reviews as well.

OK – Vibram Fivefingers or cowboy boots? Be honest.

Why not both?

You’ve got a few kids (that are growing like weeds, I might add!). How do you address their footwear needs to offer a minimalist option on a practical budget?

Well… I encourage them to go barefoot as often as possible. Lightweight water shoes can be a good inexpensive option, but you have to watch-out for poor quality. Other than that, it can be difficult to a find low-cost solution. VIVOBAREFOOT and Merrell make shoes for little kids, and as kids get older they can fit into small women’s sizes. I usually end up spending more money on their footwear than I would like, but I try to get as much mileage out of them as possible by passing them down from one child to the next.

For someone who has used traditional footwear most of their lives, how would you recommend transitioning to minimalist footwear?

Slowly. Especially for higher impact activities like running. Lots of people are starting to write on this topic, here are a few good resources to read:

How Do I Transition to More Minimalist Running Shoes
The Soc Doc’s training tips
The Art of Fitness training programs

Tell me about ToeSalad and how people who are interested in minimalist footwear can benefit from it (Insert your shameless bragging here – be sure to say that it’s the internet’s largest (or only) minimalist footwear database, and that your members are stinkin awesome (no pun intended) – and how to signup, too).

Toe Salad is a community site dedicated to minimalist footwear where you can:

1) Read Articles: We have an ever growing collection of articles on a wide range of topics relating to minimalist footwear.

2) Visit the Directory: The directory is a comprehensive list of brands and models of minimalist shoes. It also contains user submitted reviews, links and photos. If you are looking for information, the directory is the first place you want to go.

3) Visit the Forum: Got questions? Got answers? Want to meet new people? Visit the forum.

4) Contribute to the Directory: Our directory is user maintained. If you discover that something is missing or needs to be updated, become a contributor and help us out.

We have a lot of cool people from all over the world who visit regularly, and contribute in a wide variety of ways. Oh, and it’s not just about stuff you can buy either… some of our members even make their own shoes! We are also always on the lookout for contributors, so if you (or anyone you know) has a cool story to share, a testimonial, or some other tidbit that would be valuable to our community, we would love to hear it!

THE END :-D

If that wasn’t enough to get you at least marginally interested in going barefoot or going minimalist, then I don’t know what will. A big thanks to Damien for agreeing to this interview and providing such insightful responses – always a pleasure my friend!

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Have you ever wondered why they don’t say, “walk for your life?” I mean, seriously! Walking has been linked to increases in nearly all measurable health markers, and decreases in the risk of nearly all preventable diseases? I know, big surprise, right? Of course, everyone knows that walking is really good for us, and people like Dr. Mike Evans will show you why walking might actually be the single best thing for our health.

But what if I told you that not only is walking a universally beneficial activity that is accessible to nearly everyone with two good legs, but it’s also very easy to do. And I’m not kidding either. Pick up one foot, lean forward slightly and then put it down. Go ahead. Try it right now. Then do that same motion with your other leg. See? It’s almost like we were made for walking. Keep practicing, and it’ll get smoother in no time.

Around here, we take walking seriously.

So, we’ve identified something that is incredibly good for us. We’ve also identified that you can do it yourself – or at least well enough to not require a personal trainer at this stage. You can book some sessions to improve your technique later.

So, now that you can do something that’s good for you, what’s stopping you from getting out there and soaking up all the rewards that come with regular walking? Ah, willpower – of course! Most people would love to have a regular habit of walking and experience the myriad of benefits to be had. The problem is that, for whatever reason, it just doesn’t happen. That’s an easy one, too, and I’ll make you a deal. If you will commit just 1 more minute a day, then I’ll get you into a regular walking habit in one month or less – seriously. I’m going out on a limb here, but this may just be the easiest walking program ever devised. In fact, the first step is so easy that we’re going to get started right now. Yes, right now.

The “1 Minute a Day” Walking Program

Grab a watch, cell phone, or anything that will help you measure a minute (or you could always just count, “one one thousand, two one thousand…” for now). Now that you have your time keeping apparatus handy or heady, as the case may be, I want you to stand up and walk for 30 seconds straight – without stopping. After the 30 seconds is over, immediately turn around and walk right back here and then continue reading.

…

Back already? You’re pretty fast! You didn’t cheat, did you? It’s very important than you actually go for that 1 minute walk, and I’ll explain why.

Note: you don’t NEED to do it right now, it’s just the author’s recommendation.

You see, willpower behaves much like a muscle. It gets tired when it’s overused, and it grows stronger when we stimulate it just enough to adapt to a slightly more challenging stressor. Believe it or not, but it actually took a small bit of willpower to get up and walk for a minute. But it was hardly enough to challenge you, and I bet you felt a little silly doing it. I mean, what’s the point? Sure, you got your blood flowing, and maybe saw a few sights, but you might have burned, what – half a calorie? Honestly, how could a minute of walking seriously benefit anyone? More than you and I might realize actually.

You just made a conscious decision to do something positive for yourself. You probably didn’t add 7 years to your longevity, but if you learn a lesson from that short experience, you might as well have. Whenever anyone tries to do anything positive for themselves, they always encounter some form of internal resistance. You may have just experienced some of this yourself. It could have been in the form of thinking “this is silly, why am I walking for a minute? I feel like a dummy.” Or, it could have been a little more sinister. Whatever the case, it almost always happens when we get out of our comfort zone and try to change anything about our daily habits. Understanding the nature of internal resistance is of paramount importance when it comes to making changes to your lifestyle.

John’s 1 Month Walking Program

(Hint: this is a walking challenge in disguise. Sneaky, I know)

Now, I told you earlier that if you commit just one more minute per day, then I will get you into a regular walking habit in one month or less. I meant it, and I’m going to make it so ridiculously easy for you, that you might laugh at me in a second here. I’m just going to roll with it though.

So, here’s the plan. Regardless of what day of the week it is, today is day one of your new walking plan. If you walked for 1 minute today, then congratulations because you’ve been accepted into the program. Your first assignment is that I don’t want you to walk for exercise anymore until tomorrow. If necessary, regular walking for normal daily activities is still fine. Since today was day one, that would make tomorrow day two. On day two, I want you to walk for 2 minutes straight. I know, I know. It’s pretty harsh doubling the workload after only the first day, and especially without an “off” day to rest, but I’m a mean coach and you’re just going to have to deal with it. You’re doing double the training tomorrow. On day three, you’ll walk for 3 minutes, and so on and so forth.

In the first week, you’ll have walked a total of 28 minutes (1+2+3+4+5+6+7= 28). And if my calculations are correct, that’s less than half an hour.

Now, here’s the thing: For “important health benefits,” the U.S. Center for Disease Control “recommends that adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity (ie brisk walking) every week.” Some good news for you is that once you’ve completed the month long program, if you keep up the 30 minute daily walks, you’ll be annihilating that 150 minutes per week standard by a whole hour. I’m all for going above and beyond the call of duty, especially when getting to that point is ridiculously easy.

And that’s what this entire walking program is all about – making it easy to do. They say it takes 21 days to build a habit, but I say it’s better to be safe than sorry because so many people try to begin a new fitness program and quit. These stepping stones are designed to be so unbelievably easy to accomplish that each day should feel hardly different than the last, and you’re literally starting from square one.

Please note that there may be tremendous temptation to skip ahead and start at 10 or 20 minutes and then add a minute a day from there. I would say this is fine, under one very important condition: only do this if you have already been walking every single day for the past few weeks already. The point of this program is to make the habit of walking easy to acquire – so easy that the transition is seamless, and without any apparent effort. All it should require is an eency-weency bit of willpower that should be hardly noticeable at all. If you skip ahead without an already ingrained habit, then you run a much higher risk of falling off the wagon. You’ve been forewarned.

Get Your Printout of the Complete Walking Program

Oh, and you can print out this walking plan I created for you here…

(click for larger)

All kidding aside, if you don’t feel like writing something up yourself and you want an actual printout of the 30 day program above, click here to download a PDF. You’ll notice that you are still actually going to have to write something. Again, sneaky. If you’re not going to print this and log your results, then it’s not much use otherwise.

Wrap-Up

Well, now that you’re fully equipped, all it takes is a little old-fashioned effort in the form of daily action. Those first 28 minutes will take care of themselves this first week, but you’re gonna have to take care of the actual walking part yourself. Good luck, but I doubt you’re the kind of person who needs it.

Now, if you haven’t actually gotten up to walk for a minute yet…ahem. And my wife suggests stretching out those hammies before your one minute walk (kidding).

Related Posts:

Why Walking Is The Single Best Thing You Can Do For Your Health

Meet The Man Who Walked Across America

HIIT is 5X LESS Effective Than Steady State Cardio

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References:

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2011/11/07/how-willpower-works/XlOvEG4FipvZ8vM8VUNBpK/story.html

But when I published that article, I knew something was missing, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I clicked “Publish” anyways, for fear of allowing this story to slip into the dreaded archives of Physical Living drafts, which is fast approaching nearly 100 unfinished blogposts. So, I published it in it’s not-yet-perfect condition because I wanted to ship it regardless.

Well, lucky for you and I, the “missing element” just hit me a few minutes ago. This is a brain fart that actually smells good, and here it is…

How to Use and Benefit From Inspirational Stories

I hear about remarkable people all the time: people who dare greatly, defy the odds, break rules, and achieve success that most “normal” people only dream of. In fact, I’ve read hundreds of very inspiring stories over the years. By now, you’d think my inspiration meter would be maxed out and that I would be ultra-successful in everything I do as a result. Of course, this isn’t the case. Somehow, the inspiration always seems to run dry eventually. Maybe you can relate.

Fortunately, all you have to do is look around to be inspired these days, and the hard truth is that there are lots of people who are undergoing much harder circumstances than I am and still finding a way to succeed. While there is certainly no shortage of inspiration to be had, the problem is that when we hear about these remarkable people, we automatically assume that they are somehow superhuman and their accomplishments are nowhere within our own reach. How could we possibly compare ourselves to super-athletes and world record holders anyways? They’re just on a completely different level, right?

I mean, come on, how can a former Marine who is now a personal trainer who exercises for 5-7 hours a day and just did a plank for an hour and 20 minutes possibly supposed to inspire us mere mortals who don’t strive for world records and eternal glory?

I’ll tell you what I do. You see, I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams ever trying to do a plank for an hour and 20 minutes or longer. It’s not that feeling like a rock star isn’t cool or anything. It’s just that earth-shattering performance is not my cup of tea – doesn’t interest me in the least. And that’s a fact. But that doesn’t mean I will simply dismiss this story, archive it in the depths of my mind, and never again use it to inspire myself or others.

The fact of the matter is that if this old Geezer can hold a plank for an hour and 20 minutes, then I most certainly will not settle for mediocrity, and I will, so help me God, be able to nail at least a 5 minute plank for the rest of my life. Even though that’s considered an above average performance in fitness circles, it should be a cakewalk compared to what that guy went through. He probably hadn’t even broken a sweat after five minutes, and that’s why he’s inspiring to me. He has shown the world that he can do a plank for an hour and 20 minutes, so why can’t we hold a plank for a little longer than we thought we could? Why can’t we do a little better?

I mean seriously, a five minute plank is about 1/16th the amount of time that this guy did it for, and that doesn’t seem all that outrageous now, does it? Said another way, you’d have to do a 5 minute plank over 16 times in a row to match his performance. Surely, you and I can do just ONE five minute set!

So, next time you hear about some person doing something remarkable – something larger than life – don’t dismiss it immediately because you don’t think you could match their performance. Use it by modeling their success strategies yourself.

A Secret Perspective For Long-Term Success

Here’s a little fun fact, that actually came from a 58-year old lady who coincidentally just nailed a 30 minute plank last Friday. Janice Smith said in an article on the Burn The Fat Inner Circle about successfully losing weight over the long term…

“What I didn’t know was that the changes one makes to lose a single pound and keep it off are the very same changes one makes to lose a hundred pounds. The skills required to lose a single pound and keep it off are the same skills to lose forty pounds and keep it off.”

There’s a lot of wisdom in those two sentences. Similarly, the changes you need to make to achieve any small, seemingly insignificant goal, are oftentimes the exact same changes you need to make to achieve a very large goal. So, if you have a goal of doing an abdominal plank and hear about a guy who can do a plank for longer than you could ever imagine, then decide immediately that you will model his success anyways. The action steps are exactly the same whether you want to build up to 5 minutes or 50 minutes.

Unless you’re looking for everlasting glory, settle with a challenging, yet realistic goal that will inspire you to succeed instead of scare you into inaction. Hint: it doesn’t have to be a plank. Make this personal! Go for that 5k race or your first marathon, set a PR next time you lift, or say no to a second serving of dessert at the next holiday party. Know that the strategies you’re using to accomplish your personal goal are very likely the same exact strategies that the pros use to break world records and expand the scope of human potential.

Wrap-Up

Sadly, I’ve only reported on a few inspiring stories over the years, and I will try to do better because there are so many stories that need to be heard.

The world needs to know about how new world records are set, and how Nate Damm walked across America, how Josh Hanagarne cured himself of Tourette’s syndrome with strength training, how a kid who was sent to a mental institution grew up to become a world champion martial artist and develop a cuting-edge fitness system, how a guy who can make riding a bike a work of art, how dudes who make playgrounds look like gymnasiums and make cities look like playgrounds, that defying gravity is possible (with a little rope), that biceps are good for more than just flexing, that you don’t have to live like Tarzan to move like him, how Jack LaLanne lived his life to inspire others by exercising every day well into his 90′s, and about a few kids who do more trekking than most hardcore backpackers.

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot

“20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover” – Mark Twain

“At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve

And with that, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy the holidays and make 2012 the best year yet. I’ll be taking a brief hiatus from the blog for awhile, but I’ll be back soon, and I’ve got big plans for 2012!

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CST Coach, CST-KS
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