Minmalist Shoes: The Simple Truth 

Click here to listen to Saucony's minimalist philosophy.

• Makes it likely you'll land closer to midfoot, or at least less heavily on your heels.
• The more impact force the midfoot absorbs, the more lightly your overall strike--usually!
• Minimalist shoes are also lighter, and that means you'll usually run faster. (Shaving ounces in a shoe is equivalent to losing pounds from your torso!)
• You'll also use more of the foot's smaller muscle structures, theoretically making you stronger and less injury prone.

• You'll need more elasticity in your calf and achilles to handle the close-to-flat heels, so it's important to gradually work them in to your training.  
• Many of the shoes have no cushioning.  Most have very little structure.  So form and technique are critical to ensure your long-term health. More on that below.
• Because of the lack of cushioning and structure, you'll need to stay more focused on your form and technique. 
• Running on engineered surfaces (uniformly hard, flat surfaces like sidewalks and paved roads) should be done with more engineered (traditional) shoes. The bare foot works best on natural surfaces where every footstep is a little different from the one before it and the ground is softer.  Running on uniformly hard, flat surfaces where every footstep is just like the one before it requires more structure and cushion in a shoe to protect you from overuse-type injuries. Fat pads in the foot break down faster, stress fractures are more likely, and weak infrastructure links can occur more readily be found over time when running in extreme minimalist product on roads and sidewalks. 

1. Gradually get your body used to running in minimalist product.  Start with 5 minutes and add just a couple of minutes more each time out--until you get to a total of 30 minutes.
2. Wear extreme minimalist shoes on natural surfaces only!  if you don't have access to a trail, run in the grass beside the sidewalk or road. It's more fun there anyway!
3. When you want to put the earphones in and turn your brain off, wear traditional shoes. Traditional shoes stabilize the foot extremely effectively when fitted correctly.
4. When you want to be fully engaged with your environment and focused on your form and technique, wear minimalist shoes, which will strengthen your infrastructure and help make better form more likely. 
5. Keep both types of shoes in your arsenal.
6. Use minimalistic shoes to enjoy running lighter, faster, and with better form!
7. Let trained professionals (us!) help you select the right minimalist product for your training needs, body type and biomechanics!

Love to Run Here, Love to Save Here!

Sure, you want to buy local. You intuitively understand that for every $100 spent in an independently owned running store, $68 returns to the local community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.  But you also want to save some dough for yourself, and you definitely don't want to have to "buy" a "club membership" to get the better prices and treatment.  That just doesn't make sense.

So over the years, we've come up with FITniche SAVES for your core needs. 

1.     Shoes: Come back within 8 months of your last shoe purchase and get 10% off your next pair, plus a 20% off apparel coupon!

2.     Sports Bras: Ladies, come back within 12 months of your last bra purchase and get 10% your next bra, plus a 20% off apparel coupon!

3.     Socks: Buy any 3 or more pair of socks and take a dollar off each!

4.     Nutrition Products: Buy a box worth of any nutritional product and take 15% of the price! (Feel free to mix and match flavors!)

5.     Facebook and Pub Run Specials: Friend us on Facebook or join us at our pub runs, where we periodically make special offers available to the friends of FITniche just because....

So stay local, save some dough for yourself, and don't "buy" into a "club" for the privilege to pay for better prices and make easier returns.  Shop with us at FITniche, where friends take care of friends.  :)

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