Training Barefoot During GPP or Deload

I recently finished up a 2-week GPP period where I completed every training session completely barefoot. I decided to do so after hearing a lot recently about problems that can stem from weakness in the foot and ankle complex, and how to combat this. I believe it has provided a lot of positives, specifically improved strength and mobility.

Defining what GPP is and the purpose behind it is important in understanding why training barefoot might be a good idea during this time. GPP, short for General Physical Preparedness, is a period of general training that improves your specific training by limiting your weakness, improving your quality of movement, and enhancing your body’s ability to handle better loads. Below are five more key characteristics of GPP…

· It is used to build your foundations. Exercises performed should be general and low skill, rather than specific and high skill.

· The training period as a whole should not be biased towards one area of fitness or development.

· Exercises performed should cover a wide range of movement patterns.

· It should prepare the body for more specific training to follow.

· It often involves increased volume (in terms of total repetitions) and decreased intensity (in terms of weight moved). Strength training completed here could therefore be defined as “hypertrophy." Energy system training completed here could therefore be defined as “aerobic.”

A deload week or period can be thought of as similar to GPP as it often entails some of the same goals. A “deload” is a planned period of recovery where total training volume is reduced. The supercompensation model explains that in training we introduce a stimulus that at first will result in a decline in fitness (or strength). A deload week is a period where due to a reduction of that stimulus, the training effect can be realized.

So, if we are using GPP or a deload period to develop foundational strength, this seems like a good time to train without equipment such as lifting belts, knee sleeves, or even footwear. After all, our feet are our foundation. It is our feet that interact with the ground and it is our foot and ankle complex that absorbs force before any other body part.

Furthermore, the nature of the exercises we are likely to be performing during this period also suit training in barefoot. Intensity and complexity are reduced, meaning we aren’t really putting our body in a significant amount of danger by taking our shoes off, and we are performing a wide range of movements through multiple planes. What better time to train the foot and ankle?

I recently listened to Biomechanics specialist David Grey talk on the subject of “Barefoot Dynamics” where he explained that ultimately, we want to have movement in our foot and avoid being locked in a position of pronation or supination. Despite the common belief that a neutral foot is a healthy foot, movement from a starting position of pronation or supination is better than a neutral foot that doesn’t move. Grey also explained that by restoring movement to the foot, the safest place for the brain to inhabit becomes a more neutral foot. From this neutral position, our brain can react and move our foot left and right or pronate and supinate when we experience perturbations that come naturally with our environment.

The first humans to walk the earth did not wear shoes. They travelled and hunted barefoot, where their foot interacted with the rough ground they walked on. The foot and ankle, like many body parts and movement patterns have been compromised by our modern way of living. Spending time in barefoot can restore the foot’s innate ability to react with the surface of the ground.

However, it is too simplistic to simply prescribe barefoot training to an individual with a stiff or locked up foot or ankle. Grey also explained that ideally, we do want to move people towards being able to do some training and live their life barefoot, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the right thing to do straight away. The structure of someone’s footwear might have been the only thing providing sensory feedback, and if we transition to training barefoot, that sensory information may be lost. Afterall, a flat gym floor is possibly not the same as the forest floor our ancestors walked upon. So, for an individual who is compromised in the foot and ankle, there are steps to be followed, and this likely requires the work of an expert.

Looking back, I wish I would have recorded some data before this 2-week training period, so that I would have something more concrete to base this theory of positive adaptation upon. All I can say is that my feet and ankles feel better than they did before. I feel like I have increased mobility in my toes, foot, and ankle, and also feel stronger and more equipped to handle interaction with the ground. Towards the end of this period I also performed a vertical jump test barefoot, and recorded a score around the same as my previous best with shoes. Whilst this is not saying much as I’m far from the springiest athlete around, I suspect I couldn’t have achieved this 2 weeks ago.

Below is as a video of some barefoot training and the link to David Grey talking on the Just Fly Performance Podcast.

https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-212-david-grey/