Tuck Takes Off

The Minimus Crosstrainer from New Balance. J'adore!

I am kind of in love with my new sneakers. They are my new favorite toy. The freakishly light (and very cute) Minimus CrossTrainer, $85, from New Balance has changed my workouts. Wearing them is like being barefoot in the gym without any of the grossness that would involve, which means that when you do kettle bell swings or balance exercises or even burpies and leaps, you really feel your feet connect with the floor. This makes balancing easier –  it makes everything more connected – than perching on top of a pound or two of the numb-you-out marshmallow padding that is the basis traditional running shoes.  And isn’t losing extra padding one of the aims of working out?

Bottom line: these shoes are a wake up call for your feet.  You suddenly remember you have arches, you have toes. Your calves activate, your quads activate. The best way to describe it is it brings an element of YOGA to weight training. You know that  great feeling when you do a tree pose and  feel your whole body act as one unit? That’s what you get. You feel light. You feel unfettered. You feel like you’re skinny dipping. And Zumba? Fuggetaboutit. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Maybe these shoes are the gateway sneaker of the whole barefoot craze. I’m not ready to buy those kooky Vibram  FiveFingers shoes for running, but the notion is not as out-there as it once seemed.  Guess I’m hopping on the barefoot bandwagon. What can I say? If the shoe fits… xxooSteph