“I actually had clients come up to me the next day telling me that their glutes were actually sore, which is hard to do these days after years of training with me.” 

FIT Malaysia fitness educator, Simran shares his recent co-teach experience with the founder of Evidence Based Fitness Academy, Dr Emily Splichal and his bootcamp clients’ feedback on barefoot training.

Simran and the group of Master Instructors and Dr. Emiliy Splichal after the Master Instructors Training for Barefoot Training Specialist in FiT Thailaind.

1.      How was it like to co-teach with Dr Emily Splichal?

It was definitely a great learning experience for me, what better way to start my Barefoot Science teaching journey then to do it alongside Dr. Emily. A lot of times when you start delivering content-specific workshops or courses like this, you rarely get the chance to do it with the person who actually created the content! I am now much more confident in delivering the next workshop, as I’ve seen how Dr. Emily uses her body language and how she delivers the concept to people in a user-friendly way. Sometimes, foot biomechanics and the science of gait can sound like rocket science, it’s our job to jargon it down.

Simran co-teaching the recent Barefoot Training Specialist workshop here at FiT Malaysia

3.      Tell us 2 things about Barefoot Training? A bit of the science and the benefit of it.

Barefoot training really is understanding :

1) That everything in human motion starts FROM THE GROUND UP. Performance, be it for the athlete or the senior adult who needs to walk up the stairs without fear of falling, starts with the soles of the feet contacting the ground.

2) If you want to build more power and efficiency in your movements (be it lifting or running), it’s important to train the foot to store and release energy more efficiently. What that means is understanding the different foot types (i.e. are you inverted/neutral/everted) and from there prescribing mobility and strengthening solutions of the muscles around the lower limb to unlock your true movement potential.

Barefoot training is NOT about cursing the invention of the shoe, but doing specific barefoot activation drills to prepare you BEFORE you put your shoes on.

Barefoot Training Specialist participants were experiencing barefoot training in the workshop.

4.      How can Barefoot Training change the way you train yourself and clients?

I’ve already showcased short foot to my bootcamp clients, and also personal training clients. It’s now easier to teach people to fire the core because by doing the short foot drill, you get the core working automatically. We did a couple of the prone glute drills in bootcamp (resisted hip adduction with toes pointing outward, with a partner providing resistance). I actually had clients come up to me the next day telling me that their glutes were actually sore, which is hard to do these days after years of training with me. So it works!

Simran applying the short foot technique to his bootcamp clients. 

Simran is master trainer for Barefoot Training courses. He will lead workshops like Barefoot Training SpecialistFoot Strike and Functional Movement, Bare Workout  in near future. Click ‘upcoming courses‘ to see when are the next intake!

Should you need further information with regards to these workshops, please do not hesitate to contact us