Barefoot...lifting?

Hump daaaaaay! Looks like there is a heat wave sweeping across pretty much the whole country, so I hope everyone enjoys this beautiful summer-esque Wednesday. And for those of you that don't work in an office, enjoy it for the rest of us.  BRUINS GAME TONIGHT. Totally psyched. The combo of hump day, hot sunny weather, and Bruins equate to a pretty awesome day. Glad to see the Mavs pulled it out last night [I was clearly asleep through the second half...9pm tip off, yeah right].

I had an awesome night last night playing tennis with a coworker. We were both a bit mentally and physically exhausted and sore, but went for it anyway. It is amazing how physical activity can actually energize you when you are feeling tired and groggy, sitting on the couch just tends to exacerbate those blah feelings. It was a beautiful summery night and we were able to grab a court and hit balls for an hour. A great way to unwind after a day in the office, and a fun FREE healthy social activity. Yay us!

I was back in the gym this morning for a lower body lift. Warmed up with a split squat and plie squat superset circuit, and then it was on to heavy squats, deadlifts, and glute isolations. Overall great lower body lift. When I was finishing up the glute exercises, one of the female trainers came over to me and goes, "I was watching you deadlift, which I shouldn't have been because I was with my client [hehe], but regardless you have great form EXCEPT you tend to get too much onto your toes and your knees go in a bit as you pick up the bar." She encouraged me to take off my shoes the next time I deadlift, as that forces you to keep your heels on the ground for the duration of the lift or you would topple over. The same holds true with squatting, performing the exercise barefoot requires greater form discipline or you would fall forward.

To be honest, I have never thought about lifting barefoot before. After having spoken with the trainer this morning, I think I will start incorporating barefoot lifting into my routine. The problem with lifting in shoes is that the heel 'support' changes your body posture to an unnatural position [which is honestly the problem with wearing any shoe while running or exercising, it actually just screws up your natural gait/movement/etc...]. The heel of a shoe puts you more on your toes than is natural, instead of concentrating your lifting motion through your heel as it should properly be done. Thus, you have less engagement of the back, glutes and hamstrings than you should if lifting form was perfect. Conclusion: pretty much everything should be done as barefoot as possible. I was even wearing my Nike Frees this morning, and they STILL changed my form enough to screw it up. I'm excited to start squatting, lunging and deadlifting barefoot, I imagine it will make quite a big difference in my muscle engagement.

Give it a shot! Don't be afraid to look dumb, when you end up healthy and balanced I promise you won't care.