5 Tips to Building Strong, Healthy Pads for Barefoot Running

Beginner bare feet learning how to strike the ground lightly.

1. Raw Food = Great! Raw Feet = Not so Great!
Don’t run until your feet are raw. Bring your shoes (I call them hand weights) and put them on, or return home once your feet get sensitive.

2. Never go until you blister.

3. Resting. It's not being lazy. It's being smart.

Between workouts, give a day of rest for your pads to develop. If they feel a little hot and sensitive after a workout that’s a GOOD thing, you did well!

4. Just Say "No" to Pencil Erasers.
Stay off of the wet-stuff when building pads…it’s too easy to turn them into pencil erasers when you hit coarse terrain. Then you rub off all of your hard work.

5. Hot, Cold & Everything in Between.
A little heat is good for pad development, as is a little cold. It means coarse surfaces can be good over time, as well as truly rocky ones. Just start slow. If you’re wearing off your pads, you’ll never build them back stronger. Pad growth should be slow and incremental, building layer on top of layer.

I'll Catch YOU Barefoot!

~Coach Michael Sandler