Choose the Shoe for You
Many people kick off their new fitness regime in their tired old trainers. They figure they’ll consider investing more in footwear if they adhere to the exercise. But unfortunately wearing the wrong footwear means your muscles need to compensate in unnatural ways. This can cause pain and create injuries from shin splints all the way up to lower back pain. Faulty footwear can derail your entire regime before it even gets off the ground.
If you’re in the market for new shoes don’t worry about what anyone else is wearing – their needs may be very different to yours. The best shoe for you will depend on things like whether you’re an under-pronator, an over-pronator and how high your arches are.
It’s certainly tempting to pop into a big-brand shoe barn and choose the prettiest shoes but they are unlikely to be fit for purpose. Running shoes probably won’t provide the lateral support you need for a Combat or Attack class. Many people are reluctant to have multiple pairs of shoes for multiple purposes but it’s not as wasteful as it sounds. Each pair of shoes has a certain number of “wears” in it, after which the soles are worn out and don’t give you the same support. For example, most running specialists recommend that running shoes be replaced every 400 to 500 miles. So if you own three different pairs of shoes then it will be three times longer before you’re back at the shoe shop. The best way to choose the optimal shoe is to get a full gait analysis done, or at least visit a specialty shoe store to be fitted by an expert. It can be helpful to take your existing shoes to your fitting. The way the soles are worn will provide clues to your foot posture. Taking shoe short cuts is likely to compromise your outcomes. If you’re lucky you’ll end up with multiple pairs of unusable shoes. If you’re unlucky you’ll find yourself injured at the physio, spending far more time and money than you ever would have spent on the right shoes.
If you don’t have the budget for new shoes then consider avoiding heavy impact activities until you do. If you’re new to exercise it’s likely you’ll be able to make good progress towards your goals without needing impact activities in the short term. Save those activities for when you need to dial up your workouts and your budget permits you to step up your footwear.
Exercise should improve your structural stability and quality of life. Don’t let choice of shoe undo you. Make the investment and enjoy the results.
If you’re in the market for new shoes don’t worry about what anyone else is wearing – their needs may be very different to yours. The best shoe for you will depend on things like whether you’re an under-pronator, an over-pronator and how high your arches are.
It’s certainly tempting to pop into a big-brand shoe barn and choose the prettiest shoes but they are unlikely to be fit for purpose. Running shoes probably won’t provide the lateral support you need for a Combat or Attack class. Many people are reluctant to have multiple pairs of shoes for multiple purposes but it’s not as wasteful as it sounds. Each pair of shoes has a certain number of “wears” in it, after which the soles are worn out and don’t give you the same support. For example, most running specialists recommend that running shoes be replaced every 400 to 500 miles. So if you own three different pairs of shoes then it will be three times longer before you’re back at the shoe shop. The best way to choose the optimal shoe is to get a full gait analysis done, or at least visit a specialty shoe store to be fitted by an expert. It can be helpful to take your existing shoes to your fitting. The way the soles are worn will provide clues to your foot posture. Taking shoe short cuts is likely to compromise your outcomes. If you’re lucky you’ll end up with multiple pairs of unusable shoes. If you’re unlucky you’ll find yourself injured at the physio, spending far more time and money than you ever would have spent on the right shoes.
If you don’t have the budget for new shoes then consider avoiding heavy impact activities until you do. If you’re new to exercise it’s likely you’ll be able to make good progress towards your goals without needing impact activities in the short term. Save those activities for when you need to dial up your workouts and your budget permits you to step up your footwear.
Exercise should improve your structural stability and quality of life. Don’t let choice of shoe undo you. Make the investment and enjoy the results.