Even with April showers, it’s time to break out of “cabin fever” mode and live well this season. Spring cleaning, spring sales…while you’re at it, maybe you need to pick up new fitness shoes?
Whether you’re changing your fitness routine or replacing worn out shoes, you’ll see plenty of new styles on the fitness shoe shelves. But there’s more than looks and price to consider when it comes selecting a new pair of workout shoes this season.
Start with your activity (running, group fitness, cross training?), then look for features that support your physical needs, and finally, don’t forget comfort!
- Your own personal foot type, shape and gait, are among the most important criteria you should know about when shoe shopping. Do you have low arches? Wide feet or bunions? Do you pronate or supinate?
- Getting a good fit on your shoes is easier when you shop at the right place. A shoe fit expert should be able to judge the wear of your shoes, and watch you walk across the room or run on a treadmill, to analyze the type of fitness shoe construction that will work best for your feet.
- How do your feet function? Do they roll in or out? Need extra heel cushioning or arch support or ankle room? This information helps determine which shoe brands or models you should select from the hundreds that are on the shelves each year.
- This investment of time and money for a solid brand, will save you wear and tear on a most important asset: your health! When you take good care of your feet, it also protects your ankles, knees, hips and spine from extra impact and improper alignment as you work out.
Take the time to seek out the right fit from your shoes—you’ll feel and perform so much better when you do! Take a look at these suggestions to get started on keeping your feet fit with new shoes this spring.
Running Shoe
Runner’s World and its shoe reviewers give high marks for this shoe for daily training as well as going the distance on race day. Saucony is a well-respected name in the running shoe biz, so it’s no surprise this updated model of the popular lightweight Kinvara scored high with fit, comfort and more. It retails for $110.
Saucony Kinvara 9
Cross Training
You need stability, mobility, natural movement and support, and yet you might decide to get explosive at any time—whatever training mode you’re in, there’s a good chance this Reebok crosstrainer has the flexibility you need. Check out this year’s RealFlex shoes, reasonably priced at about $60.00.
Reebok RealFlex Train 4.0
Studio Shoe
You might care to dance, you might want to box—there’s an art to finding the right combination of fun workouts to do at the gym, just like there is to finding an all-purpose shoe. With a flexible fit, enough support, not too heavy or to skimpy, these training shoes from Ryka can take you from Zumba to X-IT Group Training, no problem, for a retail price of $75.
Ryka Grafik Flow Training Shoe