Should You Go Barefoot for Your Next Workout? Well, That Depends

Working out barefoot feels a bit like a statement. You don’t decide to lift at the gym in your socks or slip into a pair of minimalist, barefoot-style toe shoes unless you feel strongly about doing so. But as it turns out, there are a lot more opinions about barefoot workouts than there is research looking into the trend. 

We dug into the existing studies and spoke to a podiatrist and a physical therapist to find out when it’s safe to try barefoot exercise—and when you’re better off sticking with your shoes.

Is It OK to Work Out Barefoot?

It certainly can be! “There are benefits to doing certain exercises barefoot from the standpoint of balance and foot strength,” says podiatrist and certified athletic trainer Alicia Canzanese, DPM, president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine and adjunct professor in podiatric sports medicine at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine. 

But working out barefoot isn’t for everyone, and it’s not for every workout. “The problem is when people do too much of a good thing. You shouldn’t do it all the time,” Dr. Canzanese says.

Benefits of Working Out Barefoot

Fans of barefoot workouts are onto something: There are some real benefits to the practice. Here’s what you can expect:

You’ll Work Different Muscles in Your Feet

Your feet are packed with small muscles, joints, and bones, says Max Cantor, vice president and physical therapist at Connections Physical Therapy. But when you tie them into a supportive exercise shoe, “you basically tell those muscles and joints that they don’t have to do anything,” he explains. 

That sparked a school of thought that claims you can’t strengthen your legs properly if you’re not strengthening your feet properly. (Everything’s connected, after all.) With barefoot workouts (or even minimalist shoes), you’re working all those little muscles in ways you won’t always be able to in shoes, and that can be a good thing. 

In fact, in one small study, walking in minimalist shoes strengthened foot muscles similarly to specific foot exercises designed to build up the muscles of the feet, Dr. Canzanese points out.

You May Feel More Stable While Strength Training

Weightlifting barefoot or lifting in socks or a flat sneaker has grown in popularity, and Dr. Canzanese is on board—except for squats (but more on that below). 

Deadlifts get the green light, for example: “You don’t want to restrict your motion. You want to make sure you can grip the ground and balance with all of your toes,” she says. Otherwise, if you’re lifting in a very cushioned shoe, “the compression of your shoe may give you a little instability,” she says, and no one wants to be wobbling while deadlifting heavy.

Your Running Form Might Shift

“The thought process behind minimal or barefoot exercise is that, instinctively, we change how we run,” Cantor says. With shoes on, it’s more comfortable to land on your heels first, then roll to your toes and push off. Without shoes, most runners naturally land on the balls of their feet. “It’s different mechanics of how you’re running,” he says. It’s also closer to the ideal mid-foot strike that makes running form more efficient, allowing you to push off with more power. 

Fans of minimalist footwear or outdoor barefoot running believe this is a more “natural” running form, one that’s been followed by runners since ancient times, and in theory didn’t cause the running-related injuries that are common today. That said, the injury rate is relatively similar between heel strikers and runners who land on their toes, according to Cantor. 

Some form-related changes that come with barefoot running—like a shorter stride length and increased cadence, as were found in a Sports Health study—might translate to improvements in your race times for some runners. 

However, it’s important to note that going barefoot typically isn’t the first approach for improving your running form. Cantor doesn’t coach clients to change their running mechanics unless they have recurrent issues, and even then, it may be a form tweak they can make while wearing sneakers.

Drawbacks of Working Out Barefoot

It’s not all good news. Here are a few of the potential downsides of working out barefoot:

Your Squatting Form Might Suffer

If you don’t have great mobility in your hips, knees, or ankles and you kick your shoes off to squat, you might do more harm than good, Dr. Canzanese says. That’s because your sneakers could have been keeping you more stable during a squat, and now other body parts are compensating for that lack of mobility when your feet are forced to be flat.

This can lead to leaning your trunk too far forward, for example, which can in turn hurt your back, Dr. Canzanese says. “While some people can deadlift barefoot, some people cannot squat barefoot.” 

In fact, a review in the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering found wearing specific weightlifting shoes resulted in less of this kind of forward lean than wearing running sneakers or going barefoot.

You Might Be Less Stable While Running

A small study in Scientific Reports found barefoot running led to less “local dynamic running stability” than running in sneakers. Running stability refers to a person’s ability to “compensate for small perturbations during running,” according to the study authors. In other words, if you’re trail running in minimalist shoes and get thrown off by a knobby root, you might be more likely to lose your balance and fall than if you’d been wearing more supportive shoes. 

You Could Risk Overuse Injuries

Going all-in on the barefoot workout trend too quickly could lead to overuse injuries, Cantor says. 

Say you typically run 20 miles a week in sneakers. Suddenly running all 20 of those miles barefoot is a recipe for pain. Trying, say, two miles of your 20 barefoot or in minimalist shoes would be a smarter way to ease into it, Cantor says.

That’s because that natural shift to a forefoot strike is a lot for your body to adjust to if you’re not used to it, Dr. Canzanese says. “If you’re doing too much, too soon, you’re putting more pressure on the front of your foot, so you increase your risk of irritating the joints of the ball of your foot, stress fractures, and tendonitis because you don’t give your muscles and tendons a chance to adapt to those new forces.”

Accidents Happen

While you never want to drop a weight on your toe at the gym, a little slip-up might be even more painful if you don’t have anything protecting your feet, Cantor says.

And keep in mind socks can be slippery. In fact, Dr. Canzanese recommends going fully barefoot if you’re lifting weights rather than lifting in socks. “You don’t want to be holding a heavy weight and lose your footing because you’re slipping on your socks,” she says. “You want some grip.”

When Working Out Barefoot Is OK

It’s absolutely OK to experiment with some barefoot exercise, as long as you’re listening to your body. If it hurts, put some shoes on, Dr. Canzanese says. Whether or not it feels good to you will vary based on your injury history, overall joint mobility, and the surface you’re on, among other factors, she says.

If a podiatrist or physical therapist has suggested some foot exercises for you specifically to strengthen the muscles in your feet, those are definitely things you’ll want to do barefoot, she adds. Yoga, Pilates, and swimming are other great examples of times it’s absolutely fine (and pretty much universal) to go barefoot or just wear socks.

If you want to try outdoor barefoot walking or running, Dr. Canzanese suggests getting started on grass, like the infield of a track. Take your shoes off and walk a couple laps around the inside of the track on the grass. Then take a couple short runs across the field. “It’s a little more forgiving surface, and doing some short runs barefoot can help engage and strengthen those little … foot muscles, which can then help prevent and treat different running and walking injuries,” she says. From there, you can build up in distance or time gradually as long as you’re on safe, soft surfaces. (Note that you should always wear proper footwear when you’re on a treadmill, and make sure your shoelaces are tied and do not extend past the soles of your shoes.)

When it comes to strength training barefoot, make sure you’re keeping an eye on your form. Either have a gym buddy watch you and offer pointers, or take a video of yourself (especially from the side while squatting), watch the video back, and adjust as needed, Dr. Canzanese says.

If you’re unsure whether working out barefoot would be safe or comfortable for you, you can always ask your primary care doctor, a podiatrist, or a physical therapist. A trained salesperson at a specialty running shoe store can also make suggestions for the best type of footwear for your workouts, Dr. Canzanese says.

When You Should Wear Shoes 

This might sound obvious, but always wear shoes if you’re running, walking, or hiking on surfaces where you could risk stepping on broken glass, nails, sharp rocks, or any other potentially dangerous debris, Cantor says. Minimalist footwear can help protect your feet in these scenarios while still giving you a close-to-barefoot feel. 

You’ll also want to wear shoes when cycling. “The structure of the pedals is not made to hit a bare foot,” she adds. It might seem like a no-brainer, but she’s seen patients with injuries from attempting to ride without shoes. And again, always wear proper footwear when you’re using a treadmill.

If you have plantar fasciitis, which can cause intense pain on the bottoms of your feet, you might want to stick to sneakers, Cantor says. “The best way, typically, to resolve that pain is giving the foot support.” If you’re currently managing plantar fasciitis pain or have a history of the condition, you might want to be extra careful about gradually building up your tolerance to barefoot exercise, he says. Certain types of arthritis in your feet might also make barefoot workouts too painful, Dr. Canzanese says.

From an infection standpoint, you should also wear shoes (or at least socks) in communal spaces like gym floors and locker rooms, Dr. Canzanese says. Issues like athlete’s foot and staph infections can crop up at the gym if you’re not keeping your feet clean, dry, and safe from cuts, per the Cleveland Clinic.

You can also keep wearing shoes if they’re not currently causing any problems, Cantor stresses. Working out barefoot isn’t for everyone, and it really doesn’t have to be.

The Takeaway

Working out barefoot can help strengthen the small muscles in your feet, but it could lead to overuse injuries if you try to do too much, too soon. As long as you don’t have underlying foot conditions and you start out on safe surfaces like grass, it’s generally safe to gradually build up slowly with outdoor barefoot walking or running. Certain strength training exercises are safer than others to do barefoot, but generally speaking, specialized weightlifting shoes are your best option, especially for moves like squats. You can always check in with a podiatrist or physical therapist if you’re curious about barefoot exercise but aren’t sure if it’s safe for you.