Category: Xero Heroes

Any time you balance on one leg, you activate muscles in the foot that may otherwise remain underutilized. In fact, standing on one leg can be quite challenging if you’re not accustomed to it, especially when you’re barefoot.

Don’t believe me? Give it a shot for yourself right now and see how long you can stand barefoot on one leg.

How did it go? Harder than you thought, right?

Even if you’re able to balance for a long time on one foot, chances are that you felt yourself having to make lots of tiny adjustments in order to stay balanced—and that’s why standing on one foot is so good for you!

Those little adjustments mean your foot has to work a lot harder than when you’re using two legs to support yourself. And that means your feet are going to get stronger!

After you’ve gotten comfortable balancing on one foot, you can add in some other elements to increase the difficulty—and the benefits—of standing on one leg.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. One Legged Foot Hold

Stand upright and lift one foot off the floor, bringing your knee as high as you can toward your chest. Slowly reach over and grab beneath your other foot, interlacing your fingers with your hands below your toes. For an added challenge, you can try extending the airborne leg. Either way, don’t forget to keep your standing leg locked!

 

 

 

 

2. Dancer’s Pose

This time you will be holding your non-balancing leg behind your body, rather than in front. Stand upright and lift one leg behind you, grabbing the ankle with the hand of the same side (right hand to right foot, etc.). From here, reach your other arm into the air, lean forward and kick your back leg as high into the air as possible. Try to create balance by simultaneously kicking your foot back into your hand while reaching your other arm forward with equal force.

 

 

 

3. Pistol Squat

Now you are going to attempt to add a full squat into the equation, which requires considerably more strength and balance than just standing. Begin by standing upright with one leg lifted into the air in front of you. On your standing leg, bend from the hip, knee and ankle to squat all the way down until your hamstrings rest against your calf. Pause here briefly, the press your entire foot into the floor, brace your abs and reach your arms forward to return to a standing position. If you are unable to perform this move, you can practice by holding onto a door frame, pole or other sturdy object for assistance.

 

 

Remember, the stronger your feet and legs, the better you’ll feel running in your Xero Shoes. Now let’s get out there and feel the world!

—Al Kavadlo

Al Kavadlo is one of the world’s leading experts in bodyweight strength training and calisthenics. He’s also the author of several books, including the Amazon bestsellers Get Strong and Street Workout.

 

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.

We last left you hanging wondering which model of Xero Shoe we pack along for our different adventures. We often take multiple shoes when we travel, but the Xero Z-Trek sandal always makes the cut due to its versatility, low maintenance and extreme light weight.

The Z-Trek is a fantastic sandal for river and water sports. The design keeps the shoe snugly where it belongs (instead of washing out to sea) and it dries within minutes, making water-to-land transitions a non-event. We’re avid stand-up paddle boarders and have hiked our boards (SUPs) to remote waters in many parts of the world, paddling places like New Zealand, Costa Rica, South Korea, Italy, the Mississippi River, Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Coast. Wherever we paddle, there is one commonality: You must first get to the water. Whether it’s crossing a hot parking lot covered in broken glass, a quarter mile of blistering-hot sand, or carrying our paddle boards down a large field of lava rock, our Z-Trek sandals are the perfect companion to get us to the water.

Last June, we took our SUPs on a five-day, supported run on the Green River, through Desolation and Gray Canyons. It was an 88-mile run down one of the most remote areas in the lower 48 states. We were surrounded by spectacular scenery devoid of any technology. (Especially so, because the river ate my camera phone on day one.) There were hours of stillness and quiet on the river as it meandered through the deep canyons of the Colorado Plateau, with the occasional adrenaline produced by the roar of sixty Class I-III rapids.

Our tent, clothing, food and water were transported by experienced guides on small, solo, inflatable rafts. Many of the rapids had only a few safe lines to take. Some rapids only had one line– and that line changes substantially depending on the volume of water rushing down the canyon. Several times during the five-day expedition we paused upriver of the rapid and hiked out to overlook our upcoming challenge. We scrambled through hot sand and over red sandstone and rock, always watching for small cactus plants and rattle snakes. Then we’d put on our special whitewater life jackets, quick release leashes and helmets for the duration of the rapid.

Our mornings were spent striking camp and then navigating downriver for a few hours. We’d break for lunch by finding a calm section of river and circling our SUPs and rafts to distribute food and swap stories. By early afternoon each day we made our campsite for the evening. Campsites are non-developed, governed by a “leave-no-trace” rules and ethos. Since they are taken on a first-come basis, we’d rise early each morning to ensure our party beat the other expeditions downriver to the next camp.

Once camp was made, we explored the surrounding dry canyons and high desert topography. Or pass time on the river’s edge in our tents, hiding from blood-thirsty mosquitos.  Occasionally we’d see another party float by on their journey to their evening camp.

Paddling the Green River for five days was an amazing experience and something everyone should consider doing.

This weekend we’re traveling to Moab, UT to compete in a paddle board race on a seven-mile section of the Colorado River. It’s our first race of the season. Typical of most SUP races, we have a running start into the river (while carrying our paddles and boards), paddle for about an hour and a then jump off our boards and run a short distance across a rocky shore and parking lot to the finish line. For the past few weeks we’ve debated which paddle boards to take with us; as each race board has its advantages in different conditions. But our footwear will be the Xero Z-Trek sandal – for obvious reasons: This race seems to have been designed around the functionality that we love about the Z-Trek. Water? Rocks? Running? Bring it.

See pics and race results this Sunday by following us @WildAcroDuo.

Until next time,

Chris & Roxy

You’ve got a stellar vacation coming up. Each night you’re thinking about all the new food you’re about to chow down on, the new scenes you’re going to experience, and all the novelty coming your way!

But if you’re like the common athlete/fitness fanatic the anxiety will sneak it’s way into that excitement sandwich. “How are you going to get in all your training? What this is going to do to your fitness? You’re screwed!”

We know that feeling all too well. How do you balance out the wanderlust bug with the running bug? It’s not easy. But 100% doable. We’ve been all over the world traveling vigorously and still maintained our sanity while not falling off the entire fitness bandwagon. We just went to Morocco and actually came back FITTER than when we left. So here are 5 tips to taking a vacay without your fitness mind going nuts. 

1. Training your heart out before: If you know you’re going on a vacay that isn’t going to have many training opportunities (whether that’s because you’re stuck on a cruise ship or your agenda is already jam-packed with activities from the crack of dawn till night time), look prior to your vacation for ramping up your training. Having a loaded week(s) before your vacation can give yourself the ease of mind that you’re vacation time is more of a “recovery” period for yourself than a training grind.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Finding a running group: When we first moved to Chile we had no clue where to run. We’d squint at our iPhone screens, double-tapping, zooming-in trying to see the longest road we could find. What those maps didn’t tell us was the number stop lights we’d hit & the “locals don’t even go there” areas. As soon as we found a running group online, problems solved. We had the added bonus of accountability, we were taken on some of the most badass routes, felt even safer while out there and made some amazing life-long friends while at it. So if you’re in the foreign land for a bit longer of a period, we’d highly recommend this option.

 

3. HIIT & Stretch : An LSD run might not be plausible on your vacation. Even getting in a full hour run may be a stretch. Speaking of stretch  (puns were intended)– this vacation time could be a chance to switch up your typical training routine and ramp up some strength, stretching, and mobility.  When we’re finding it hard to get in runs, for whatever reasons, we’re big fans of doing strengthening and/or mobility yoga classes while we are on vacation. Tabata, hills, stairs or suicides are also great options. You don’t need a lot of room, you don’t need any gear, and you can get your heart pumping hard…FAST.

 

 

 

 

4. Walk, walk, walk it out. When we’re wearing our Xero Shoes, we are blown away at the number of miles we can rack up when we ditch the uber, taxi, tuk-tuk or sketchy donkey carriage and choose to walk where we need to go. Furthermore, we’ve ran into some opportunities we would have never caught if we were zooming by on wheels (ex. partaking in a mini-make-shift-toy-car-race with a bunch of Malagasy kids down the streets of Madagascar).  Although walking is not high intensity, although it’s not running, it is still exercise. Embarrassingly or proudly enough, some of our sorest days on vacations have not been the days we ran but rather the ones we just walked around. Time on feet is a major factor for us ultra-runners too so we don’t mind this option at all.

 

5. Finding a race: Make that vacation a racecation. We do this all the time. What better way to see a country than on foot right? Blows our mind seeing people slouched over in a tour bus, on their iPhone and eating packaged crap. The smells, local interactions, feel of the terrain, local foods, etc. they are missing out on by being bugged up in a bus is a bummer to see. The best experiences we have had on our travels are ones we experience first hand without a glass in front of our face. Besides the enhanced experiences, you also get lead through pretty sweet spots and you have the safety of race directors/teams so you can fully get lost in the experience and not worry about getting stranded by yourself.

At the end of the day you can only do what you can do (common sense but always a good reminder).

Have your goal and try your best to stick to it. Understand though you will have fluctuations and things will come up unexpectedly. 80/20 rule. Don’t lose your appreciation of your character building opportunity that travel offers by getting blinded by the mileage. Happy travels ☺

–Mel & Jon Sinclair

Xero Heroes Mel & Jon Sinclair are vegan ultramarathon runners, yogis, travelers, gymnasts, and thrillseekers.

For those outside of the slacklining community, let’s start with a quick vocabulary lesson:

• Send: a verb known to have originated in climbing but has now spread to numerous outdoor sports such as skiing, surfing, highlining, slacklining, mountain biking, and more. In climbing to “send” means that you have climbed the climb in one go (not necessarily the first try), one continuous climb without falling or hanging on the rope. Translated into highlining terms “to send” has come to mean you have walked the whole highline from one end (the point you stand up close to an anchor) to the other end.
• Slacklining: the act of walking or balancing along a suspended length of flat webbing that is tensioned between two anchors
• Highlining: slacklining, but up higher (think slacklining above a river)

I personally have been very prone to getting obsessed with “the send”. And I’ve got to say sending is great! It feels good. It is like taking a huge dopamine pill once your activity of choice is over and you have “sent it”, even if it was brutally painful to get there. But I think there is a dark side to being obsessed with sending.

And that’s why I’m currently on a huge “f sending” (pardon the hidden expletive) movement while slacklining–I cannot get enough of it! I’ve been posting bits and pieces of my thoughts on the subject on Instagram and have been getting positive feedback and want to expand.

The dark side, at least for me, is the pressure I put on myself to on-site. There is that classic climbing term that says it all, “on-site or die”. It’s one mentality, but not the one I chose to have anymore. I’ve found that instead of looking at the prize I was obsessed with avoiding failure to a point that is was almost inevitable. This is a little counterproductive. When I teach slacklining I tell people to not look down because they will go down. The same principle applies to your thoughts. Don’t think about falling or else you will fall.

Yes I get super excited when I send that highline clean but f sending isn’t about not sending, it’s about celebrating all of the things in between. Celebrate the stands, the whippers, the gnarly line catch bruises all up and down your arms and legs! Celebrate the present! It’s all about creating a positive playful atmosphere for yourself and others by changing your outlook of success.

In every sport you do remember we all started it because whatever it is we thought it was fun! Somewhere along the way we start getting better and then we get serious. It’s fun to send lines, routes, and new skills but F SENDING and remember to have fun along the way!

• “The best surfer is the one having the most fun.” Duke Kahanamoku
• “The best climber in the world is the one having the most fun.” Alex Lowe

 To sum things up, the road to success inevitably has failures all along the way, so I just like to remember to giggle at every single one.

—Liz Thomas, highline athlete

Follow Liz on Instagram to see her adventures in Xero Shoes

Updated 7/22/22

For most sports, leg strength can give you, well, a leg up on the competition. Even if you’re not an athlete, though, leg strength is important for health and wellness.

If you like to exercise but you aren’t a gym person, you might think that running, cycling or hiking are your only options for a decent leg workout. But there is so much more you can do to strengthen your lower body without lifting weights or using machines.

Here are 5 of my favorite equipment-free leg exercises for developing strong legs and glute muscles.

(Wondering what calisthenic leg workouts are all about? See my note at the end of this post.)

Ready to develop strong legs? Let’s go!

1. Bodyweight Squat

This is the most fundamental strength building exercise for the legs. This classic leg squat hits all the muscles of your lower body and may be a mobility challenge for some folks as well.

To perform a bodyweight squat, start with your feet hip distance apart, then reach your arms forward, bend your knees and sit back into your heels. When your hips get below knee height, return to a standing position and repeat.

Working your way up to 40-50 consecutive bodyweight squats will set you up with a fantastic foundation to progress your lower body strength training.

2. Walking Lunge

The walking lunge requires a bit more body awareness than the standard squat. It also introduces a balance component and is a great way to hit your leg muscles from different angles. Walking lunges are the perfect complement to bodyweight squats.

Stand with your feet together, then take a big step forward with one foot and lower your back knee toward the ground, keeping your leg in a straight line, stopping just before it touches. Keeping your front foot where it is, step forward with your other leg and stand back up, alternating legs with each rep.

It is a similar motion and has some of the same benefits of a split squat with a bit more challenge.

3. Archer Squat

This asymmetrical squat variation is a beautiful merger of strength, flexibility, balance and control. It’s also a great way to target your inner thighs and can be an early lead-up step toward one-legged squats.

Begin with a wide stance, then keep one leg straight as you squat all the way down on the opposite leg. Return to the start position and repeat on the other side.

4. One Leg Box Squat

Stand facing away from a box, bench or other object that’s around knee height, then lift one leg into the air.

Carefully sit back onto the box with your knees bent, then stand back up without your extended foot touching the floor. It’s common for beginners to lose their balance at the bottom. As such, the box can provide safety and stability as you build the strength and control to perform a freestanding, unassisted one-leg squat.

One-leg squats are one of the most challenging leg exercises at first, but incorporating them into your leg workouts will really help you build strength and balance.

5. Hover Lunge

You can think of this almost like a lunge where your rear foot and back leg remain hovering in the air. You’ll need to lean forward a bit more than in a standard lunge in order to stay balanced while on your front leg. Reaching both arms forward helps with the balance as well. Be careful to lower yourself down with control – especially during those last few inches – in order to avoid any impact on your rear knee.

Check out the video below and give this calisthenics leg workout a shot and let me know how it goes!

What is calisthenics, anyway?

Calisthenics is a type of bodyweight exercise that is intended to increase strength, flexibility, and endurance. The beauty of this type of exercise is that it is simple, doesn’t require equipment, and can be done anywhere. Jumping jacks are a classic example.

Calisthenics can be used for upper body, core, or leg workouts. You can use the exercises I’ve described above for a great, varied, calisthenics leg workout at home or at the gym. Some people think bodyweight leg workouts aren’t enough to promote muscle growth in your legs. Try my calisthenics leg workout for yourself and you’ll see!

Interested in more lower body and upper body exercises designed to build your strength and burn calories? You can head to my website to find out about pistol squats, plyometric exercises, and more.

–Al Kavadlo

Al Kavadlo is one of the world’s leading experts in bodyweight strength training and calisthenics. He’s also the author of several books, including the Amazon bestsellers Get Strong and Street Workout.

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.

 

We don’t run regularly. In fact, we don’t hike, bike, train, compete or do much of anything with regularity. Except yoga, standup paddle boarding and a few circus arts. We’re mostly explorers who are guilty of mashing up multiple activities into a weekend as we explore the National Parks in and around Utah. When we travel abroad, our to-do lists and travel agendas are normally set in 15-minute increments. They always change with the weather, but we always have several back-up plans and shoes for each of those plans.

So let’s talk shoes. Shoes seem to be an after-thought for the majority of humans, unless you’re extremely active or you’re image-conscious.

We’re not shoe collectors. I guess we don’t collect much of anything, except digital photos and memories. We have so few shoes that we’ve given them names: “Sandal”, “Shoe”, “Other Shoe” and “Dress Shoe.”  It would be ideal to have one shoe that does everything—like a Jeep Rubicon—something that’s convertible, sharp-looking, warm, breezy, secure and a super-traction climbing monster. But that’s impossible. So we have four shoes and one Jeep Rubicon, and we employ everything to deepen our access to adventure.

The Xero Shoes lineup is perfect for our lifestyle. Each Xero model is ultra-durable, low-maintenance and sexy in its own, minimalist way. But here’s the best part: If you’re familiar with one, you know them all. When Z-Trek sandal fans ask us to describe the Prio shoe, we just say, “You know the feel of the Z-Trek, with its light-weight, zero-drop sole and minimalist feel? Well the Prio is a warmer version of that – with laces.”

We’ve been to some amazing places, but we never really arrive. It’s not enough to go to Lake Taupo, New Zealand. You have to paddle out through man-eating waves to experience the Maori rock carving rising out of the lake, or take a midnight hike to the natural hot springs on the banks of the Waikato River.

Walking the Medina of Marrakesh, Morocco is an absolute-must for your bucket list, too. You could easily spend a year (or expend the 5,000-mile warranty of your Xero shoes), walking each alley within the city-sized labyrinth. Once you leave, you realize you never got to where you wanted to go but you’ll have colorful memories of the journey and a desire to return.

A winter trip to London is wonderful because you’ll miss the crowded tourist seasons. Each day we walk and walk (and walk); with short stints on the Underground (subway) to get us closer to different destinations in this immense city. We’ve taken a similar, winter trip to Manhattan. More walking. Standing in lines. More subways. And with any mature subway system in the world, comes the opportunity to tackle multiple flights of concrete stairs.

Costa Rica, Hawaii, Redwood National Park and Glacier National Park are some of our other favorite travels. We currently have our sights set on Iceland and Beijing. This weekend? Funny you should ask: Yellowstone.

Our next blog will focus on which model of Xero shoes we pack for each trip. Believe me, it’s a tough decision each time. But it’s made easier because Xero shoes are incredibly light weight. Like, super-amazingly light. And the Z-Trek sandals can roll up and fit in a soup can. Not that a soup-can is TSA-friendly, but you see my point and hopefully see the benefit of being able to carry four pairs of shoes in your camera bag, or checked in your inflatable standup paddle board pack.

Follow us @WildAcroDuo to see some ‘grams of what we’re up to.

—Chris and Roxy

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Xero Hero, Bill Johnson.

What makes Bill a Xero Hero (other than the dozen pairs of Xero Shoes that he owns)?

Well… Bill began barefoot running about 7 years ago… at age 63!

According to his doctors, he shouldn’t be able to run at all. But now at age 70, he’s competed in DOZENS of races and triathlons without a problem. And Bill says he has no problems because he’s running barefoot and in Xero Shoes.

Whether you run or not, you’ll learn a TON from Bill and his story of how he went from smoking, drinking, and out of shape, to minimalist running and FUN.

Enjoy the video and let me know what you think in the comment section, below.

I’d love to hear what your favorite takeaway from Bill’s experience is.

Share it below.

We’re thrilled to welcome Marissa Ruxin as a Xero Hero.

Here’s her story:

I ran track and cross country in high school and had to take a whole season off because I got stress fractures in both shins due to my running and the shoes that I wore.

People were telling me to get special insoles and to buy huge trail running shoes with over an inch of padding.  I kept getting hurt and having shin splints and other issues so I decided to go minimalist and to start cross training.  These were the best decisions I could make and now I am better at listening to my body and running more naturally.

I took up barefoot running on sidewalks and pavement but the Xeros are my favorite for trails and for the little bit of extra protection that my bare feet don’t provide.

I love my Xeros for running, walking, hiking and for the water.  I have already convinced three people to get these shoes and I will continue to spread the word and my love of barefoot running.

THANKS for sharing your story, Melissa!

Want to be our next Xero Hero? Tell us your story — email hero@xeroshoes.com.

There are a number of semi-celebrities in the barefoot running world (that is, famous in the niche, but not necessarily well known to the general public).

But there’s one man whose influence and value to those of us who support and benefit from natural movement eclipses all the celebs combined.

His name is Bill Katovsky and this post is an all-too-brief and undeniably insufficient memoriam, as Bill unexpectedly died last week.

Only those truly “in-the-know” and attentive to the goings on in the barefoot and minimalist movement (and the seeming backlash from maximalist footwear), have a glimmer into how much Bill contributed, since Bill was in the background more often than the foreground. And if I list his credits, I’ll surely underestimate Bill’s level of responsibility. From co-authoring books, like Tread Lightly, to writing innumerable articles, to co-creating and managing the idea of Natural Running Center-affiliated stores, to maintaining the online presence for NRC… many of you reading this now are here, in part, thanks to Bill’s efforts.

Personally, my relationship with Bill was one that could only have existed in the Internet-age. He found me online, and then called for a “brief chat” that lasted 6 hours.

We never met in person, though I regularly offered to fly him to Colorado so we could plan our barefoot takeover of the world.

We spoke almost weekly, usually for hours at at time. On average, Bill and I exchanged at least one email per day. And I say “on average” because I might not hear from Bill for a few days, but when he was on a creative rant, I’d get 10 or 20 within minutes of each other.

Putting into practice the myriad marketing ideas that Bill tossed in my direction would take more than a lifetime for more than one company.

Bill had an encyclopedic memory of all-things running and triathlon (he coined the term triathlete, and founded the magazine of that name). And we shared a deep passion for finding the underlying truth about human performance, and all forms of comedy (hence our 2 hour “chats”).

Bill was always a huge supporter of me and of Xero Shoes, both as a product and a business. He was the ultimate sounding board. Generous with his mind and ideas. And his death is truly a loss for the barefoot and natural movement community.

We can only hope to honor his memory by bringing to fruition all that he wanted for us and the world.

You can find more about Bill from some who were closer to him than I:

From Nick Pang – http://naturalrunningcenter.com/2015/11/09/bill-katovsky-1957-2015/

From Roy Wallack – http://www.slowtwitch.com/Opinion/Bill_Katovsky_R.I.P._5456.html

From Scott Tinley – http://www.trihistory.com/t-3/death-voice#/0