NEO by Vivo Barefoot

[samurai69]

black and yellow

black and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellow

[Cookie]

black and yellow

Good colour

[Melas Zomos]

black and yellow

black and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellowblack and yellow

This post is quite intriguing....considering I have had tossed back a few

[Melas Zomos]

Trained a bit in them this weekend. Used them for hurdle work, spider lunges, bear crawls, ladder work, bounding and sprints.

Sprints and ladder work were the most noticeable. Kept catching my foot on the ladder rungs for some reason, could be the turf? Will need to try a few more times. Sprints, just could not seem to reach the same speed. I would say it was 80% compared to shoes. Again this was the first time using them for such.
Definitely can feel subtle changes in relation to torso alignment. The biggest observation is the ankles. Can feel it there the most. I am assuming that is a good thing. My ankles are by far a very weak link.

Have not used them for squatting or any weighted lifts yet. Almost feel guilty wearing these, because there is no weight to them.

[Cookie]

Trained a bit in them this weekend. Used them for hurdle work, spider lunges, bear crawls, ladder work, bounding and sprints.

Sprints and ladder work were the most noticeable. Kept catching my foot on the ladder rungs for some reason, could be the turf? Will need to try a few more times. Sprints, just could not seem to reach the same speed. I would say it was 80% compared to shoes. Again this was the first time using them for such.
Definitely can feel subtle changes in relation to torso alignment. The biggest observation is the ankles. Can feel it there the most. I am assuming that is a good thing. My ankles are by far a very weak link.

Have not used them for squatting or any weighted lifts yet. Almost feel guilty wearing these, because there is no weight to them.

Braver man than me starting off with drills & sprints

I would say body alignment changes are why your catching the ladder runs as well as the reduced weight throwing out your biomechanics. So your putting the foot down faster but not in the same position as if you had regular footwear on.

Same with sprints. Weight, alignment & foot wanting to strike in two different ways. Old way to compensate for heavy foot swamping footwear & now new way. Lack of weight & nerves / neurotransmitters all want to kick in as nature intended but is having to rewire everything.

Your bodies a little confused

I`ll not sprint in mine till I`m happy with a few decent jogs in them first. Only done one & that went well considering it was off road. I went with weights first because everything is static & easier to control

Ankle soreness?

If yes then its all part of the changes & the new stimulus the ankle, Achilles etc are all undergoing. I went through it.

A lot of this will all depend on how beat up the body is & how much needs changing. The bigger the changes the more things will feel unnatural.

Regarding the weight. They are pretty heavy compared to some other minimalist & specialist running shoes.

[Cookie]

Will FiveFingers Fix My Bunion
Medical Resource Vol. 6

A bunion deformity is actually a dislocation of the great toe joint or the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint which allows the head of the metatarsal to become exposed. The "bump" that you see and feel is the 1st metatarsal head becoming exposed medially (inside of foot) as the toe itself is moving laterally (toward the 2nd toe). As this occurs it is also very common to see the 2nd toe "pop out of place" at the 2nd metatarsophalangeal joint from the force of being overcrowded by the great toe. Though we know the deformity is hereditary, we definitely see an increase secondary to shoe gear as well as muscle weakness in the foot.(1,2)



During the deformation process, we start to see an irregularity of the joint surfaces commonly described as "bone on bone." The longer the joint functions in this manner, the more the cartilage becomes eroded, and thus more pain.

So what do we do to prevent this?

Well, many advocate the use of a custom orthotic to "slow down" the progression of the deforming forces. Experience, as well as common sense" has demonstrated that the more you place into a shoe when someone has a bunion deformity, the more pressure you place against the bunion. The philosophy is that by implementing an orthotic, you reduce pronatory forces in a pes planus deformity (flatfoot) to slow down the progression. The problem with this is two-fold for one, not everyone with a bunion deformity has a flatfoot. And two, implementing an orthotic has been shown to weaken the intrinsic foot musculature, which can in turn lead to a worsening of the deformity. (3)

If we examine the foot musculature, we see that on the inside part of the foot, or medially, there is a muscle referred to as the abductor hallucis muscle. Its function is to abduct or pull the great toe medially at the metatarsophalangeal joint. If it looses its strength or weakens, the great toe will have a tendency to drift laterally or toward the 2nd toe during normal locomotion.


When the abductor hallucis muscle is strengthened, it will develop what is known as postural tone or postural control. This refers to its ability to maintain slightly contracted while in a relaxed stated to hold the great toe in a normal anatomic position. This is very similar to the muscle in our back known as the erector spinae muscles, or even the gastrocnemius muscle of the leg.

So to answer the question. If the abductor hallucis muscle becomes stronger (as it can wearing FiveFingers more often) we will see a tendency of the great toe to move medially to become "straighter." It is important to remember that the longer the deformity is present, the more likely the damage to the cartilage of this joint which can produce more pain. The toe may become straighter, but the "bump" can still be somewhat present as the bone has hypertrophied or enlarged in response to stress. I commonly tell my patients there are 3 reasons to fix a bunion surgically - pain, pain, and pain.

Strengthen your foot and you will decrease the likelihood for surgery.


1. Mickle KJ, Munro BJ, Lord SR, Menz HB, Steele JR.
Clinical Biomechanics Award 2009: toe weakness and deformity increase the risk of falls in older people. Biomech (Bristol, Avon). 2009 Dec;24(10):787-91. Epub 2009 Sep 13.

2. Nguyen US, Hillstrom HJ, Li W, Dufour AB, Kiel DP, Procter-Gray E, Gagnon MM, Hannan MT. Factors associated with hallux valgus in a population-based study of older women and men: the MOBILIZE Boston Study.

3. Nigg BM. The role of impact forces and foot pronation: a new paradigm. Clin J Sport Med. 2001 Jan;11(1):2-9.

[Melas Zomos]

I may have to buy a larger size, my feet are growing
Just took the inserts out to make more room, it is like wearing them for the first time again.

[samurai69]

I may have to buy a larger size, my feet are growing
Just took the inserts out to make more room, it is like wearing them for the first time again.

what you need to do is tighten your arch

[Cookie]

I may have to buy a larger size, my feet are growing
Just took the inserts out to make more room, it is like wearing them for the first time again.

Quite a normal reaction. Your feet are getting used to them & spreading properly to their correct size / positioning.

Wearing them minus socks can also be of benefit by not restricting them. AKA my use of the Injinji socks.

S69 has a point if you've got crap foot arches.

[Melas Zomos]

To be honest, I have no clue how to tighten an arch.
But I do believe I have good arches and they are most certainly intact and not flat. They pass the wet paper test perfectly.

Cookie, the next step is to remove the liners correct? I can not believe how much of difference removing them makes with the feel of everything.

[Cookie]

To be honest, I have no clue how to tighten an arch.

Do I have to teach you everything S69 taught me

Toe curls with foot on a towel is a good place to start.

Cookie, the next step is to remove the liners correct?

Correct if that's where you want to go, some don't but I do find for general walking its quite beneficial / therapeutic.

I can not believe how much of difference removing them makes with the feel of everything.

Insane isn't it Like starting all over again

[Cookie]

Out of interest apart from bigger feet are there any other changes you've seen happening since wearing these shoes?