Right Shoes Make Workouts Feel Right

Tag : running shoes
For sports from cycling to basketball and running to hiking, propersupport and traction can make any activity easier. When Do I Need New Shoes? Consider a new pair of athletic shoes any time you're trying avastly different sport. Walking shoes won't work for soccer, and nomarathoners are wearing basketball shoes. Another good guideline is every six months or every 300 to 500miles, retailers said. Most shoes' cushioning won't perform wellfor much longer, and then the benefits of the shoe are lost. Another good indicator: If you wake up with sore feet after anactivity, it's time to buy new shoes. Ask Questions You'll save yourself a lot of time sifting through the hundreds ofathletic shoes stocked in most sports stores if you find a salesassociate and start asking questions. Sales managers said theirshoe associates get a lot of training initially and a lot ofcontinuing education to keep them in the know on current trends. "I ask basic questions: 'What are you going to do in the shoe?'"said Brad Lohman, the sales manager for Omaha's Peak Performance."I ask them if they have aches and pains." Lohman said there are three basic foot types. Neutral people haveknees that track straight over their ankles and they're few and farbetween. Overpronators roll over the insides of their feet and makeup the vast majority of people. Supinators roll over the outsidesof their feet. Lohman said the best thing you can do to get good advice about yournext pair of shoes is to bring in your last pair of shoes. "We can check the wear patterns to see if that shoe is correct foryou," Lohman said. The right shoe will get your heel down straight and help keep yourstride in line as you move forward, Lohman said. Chris Kenzy, the sport shoe manager at Scheels, a sporting goods store with 23 locations in seven western states,said one common mistake he hears people with high arches make isassuming they want a high arch support. He said too much arch inthe shoe forces people to roll over the outside of their feet andcause more problems. A better solution is midfoot stability. Match Footwear To Your Game Matching the shoe to the event may seem obvious, but it isn't whatsales managers notice about shoppers. Kenzy said non-runners tendto try to buy running shoes for every activity because of all thestyles and colors. They look really cool, he said. If you're going to walk or hit the gym, a running shoe is fine. Butif you're going to crosstrain and include some court sports or stepaerobics, you want something with lateral support. "Some people want one shoe for everything, and that's just notpossible today," said Kenzy. "Don't wear a running shoe forvolleyball. Running is a straight forward activity. Volleyball isback and forth. Running shoes don't have any lateral support, soyou'll roll an ankle." Lohman said he performs a quick gait analysis on customers, thencombines that information with the wear patterns on an old shoe andthe aches and pains reported by the user, then starts narrowing thehundreds of choices to a few dozen. Runners need the mostcushioning to absorb the pounding pavement. Walkers want shoes witha skinnier midsole. "That helps transition as you pull your toe up, and makes thetransition smoother, since you don't leave the ground," Lohmansaid. One Shoe For All Mankind Unlike the lifetime of focused concentration on a single event thatmost Olympians have, many of us want to try our hand -- or feet --at all kinds of games. For shoppers who refuse to narrow the field,shop for crosstrainers. "A true crosstrainer used to be something cut a little higher,"said Kenzy. "The big thing these days is how the midsole is set up.If you have an unstable midsole, you're going to roll your ankle." Nike is setting a new pace for crosstrainers with the SPARQ TRElite Trainer. SPARQ stands for speed, power, agility, reaction andquickness, and it's a dynamic training protocol that providestangible and measurable results to athletes, Nikes Hamilton said. "We developed footwear in concert with SPARQ to support that kindof training activity and launched in March and April," Hamiltonsaid. "That is the shoe that can stand up to different activities." Get Proper Fit Once you're in the right shoe, pay attention to fit. Lohman said no two feet will match exactly, so buy for the largerfoot. If there's a big discrepancy, Brooks brand shoes will mix andmatch pairs. Also, leave about a thumb width from the end of your longest toe tothe shoe's edge to prevent banging your toes into the shoe wall andcreating bruises.