Let’s Get Some Shoes!
It's been a beautiful summer for exercise! There are so many different ways to stay active. Some people go for a run, play a sport, or lift weights at the gym. The shoes that you wear when you're exercising are very important. Our shoes can provide impact absorption, stability, grip, structure, foundation, and sometimes we don't need shoes at all! This means your ideal footwear is completely based on the type of exercise you're doing and the health of your foot. Today, I'm going to cover some general basics to ensure you’re making the right shoe choices for the right occassion..
Running
When it comes to running, the key to correct shoe selection is relative to impact absorption. Especially long-distance running. As muscles fatigue, the body’s ability to absorb the shock of each foot-strike decreases. This shock jars the ankles, knees, hips, back, and neck up to the skull. Running shoes are built with soft soles in order to try and absorb your foot strike impact in order to reduce this impact. They are also designed to reduce excessive pronation of your ankle. In other words, this causes your foot to roll inward. People whose feet pronate excessively are at a higher risk of ankle and knee injuries and that risk is much higher when you're taking hundreds and thousands of steps while running.
While running shoes help with these issues, they're not ideal shoes for other types of exercise like various sports or even weight lifting. Average running shoes do not provide much ankle support because running is a “straight ahead” sport. There are not many sudden changes in direction. Whereas, in a sport like basketball, you would need some ankle support because there are sudden shifts in direction that put a much higher amount of stress on the ankle. Finding the right shoe in critical for the body’s overall health.
Aerobic Classes
Aerobic-type classes typically have a variety of movements and directional changes. Sometimes you're jumping, lifting weights, or even running in place. This type of exercise requires a shoe that's a little more well-rounded. In this circumstance; a tennis shoe or a cross-trainer is the ideal shoe. These types of shoes support multidirectional movement and provide a fair bit of lateral movement ankle support. When I worked at a big-box chain gym, the floors in the group classrooms were a slightly cushioned textured linoleum that became slick when wet from sweat. Cross trainers and tennis shoes are a viable choice to provide good traction on a variety of surfaces and conditions.
General Weightlifting
If you're the type of person who goes to the gym to use the basic machines, dumbbell, and barbell exercises, then your shoe choice does have as much of a profound affect. Most of these exercises require the user to be in a seated or lying position. Whether you're sitting on the leg press machine or bench pressing, your feet aren't playing an active role in the function of the exercise. That being said, if you do cardio before or after your lifting session, it would be more prudent to wear shoes based around that alone. If you're a treadmill or stairmaster person, throw on the runners. If you like to finish up with a class, wear your tennis shoes cross-trainers instead.
With that in mind, there are some gym/weight lifting circumstances where your shoes DO matter. Squats, deadlifts, powerlifting, Olympic lifting, and functional Movements, have some special considerations to keep in mind. These movements are based around strength and power. They require you to have a solid foundation and grounding. As such, having a solid sole is crucial to creating that foundation. Doing exercises like this in a running shoe has many repercussions that are not widely known. Shock absorption is the same as power absorption. The last thing you want when doing a heavy lift is to have your equipment steal your power and stability. Here's a quick breakdown:
Olympic Lifting and Squats - Many “Oly lifts” have a squat as part of the movement. The best shoe to squat in is a lifting shoe. Lifting shoes typically have laces as well as straps to ensure your foot is securely fastened to the sole of the shoe. The sole is a hard plastic that has little to no give. Finally, the most recognizable feature is a wedged heel. This shortens the calf muscle and reduces tension of the posterior chain, allowing the lifter to get deeper into the squat with less restriction.
Deadlifting and Powerlifting - Deadlifting is the exercise that we are usually able to lift the most weigh with. In order to do this, we need loads of stability. If you're not lifting on an athletic level then a simple pair of Converse is perfect. They hug your feet well, they're flat, and they have very little give. Rest assured, these shoes aren't going to steal much of your power at all. If you're lifting on a more serious basis, there are shoes designed specifically for deadlifting. They provide a flat hard sole, good traction, and a snug fit to your foot. Powerlifting shoes might be something you would want to consider as a seasoned athlete.
CrossFit
CrossFit has taken the fitness world by storm over the past few years. People of all ages, gender, and experience flock to CrossFit gyms for the butt-kicking, sweat pouring, competitive phenomenon. Cross-trainers should be your shoe of choice in this form of exercise. CrossFit has Olympic lifts, jumping, burpees, sprinting, handstands, you name it. You never know what you're going to get till you show up and see the “WOD” (Workout of the day). Because of this, cross-trainers are designed to do exactly that - train across multiple modalities of exercise. You are almost always guaranteed ankle support, medium stiffness of the sole for lifting stability yet flexibility and some absorption to be able to run with this type of shoe.
This is not a completely comprehensive guide but merely a quick list to help people be more conscious about the shoes they wear to exercise in. There are shoes that are very sport-specific and then there are also the ergonomics and health of the individual's foot structure that have to be considered. Here I chose to focus on the more common and popular forms of exercise that I've seen and experienced in my time as an athlete and personal trainer.
What are your thoughts? What's your favorite shoe to exercise in? Are there any shoes you have questions about? Leave me a message or comment with your thoughts and opinions! Stay healthy and remember - HEALTH IS WEALTH!