Are you a fitness freak? Love to go to the gym or jogging and looking forward to buy a pair of cross-training shoes or workout shoe? If that is it, we ensure you that you have landed in the right place. After considering 30+ gym expert’s tips and recommendations, our team has created this simple path which will drop you straight to the perfect pair workout shoe.
As time is the most valuable asset, and if you on a quick purchase, use this Infographic, which helps you shop smarter and choose the right pair of workout shoe without wasting time or money.
Infographic
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Here’s taken on the Perfect Workout shoe insights from the Infographic:
What Is Workout Shoe or Cross-Training Shoe?
Cross-trainers are sketched to play various roles. Pair of cross-training shoes is much versatile to simplify your extremely engaging life as well as save your hard-earned money. You can use them in the gym for almost any activity — lifting weights, your yoga class, using the elliptical machine, stretching or a Zumba workout. The heavier weight of the cross-trainer or workout shoe grants extra durability and control to support lateral movements.
Workout shoes are for multi-directional movement, especially for side-to-side movement. The sole of a training shoe is more flexible to allow a wide range of movement. Cross-trainer sole is wide and stable, usually extending beyond the width of the upper part of the shoe which provides more support for a lateral movement.
Why Do I Need A Workout Shoe?
Selecting the correct shoe for the type of workout in which you’re engaged is a critical part of your training arrangement. Whether your workout includes running, walking, sports or gym equipment, a proper shoe is a must. Injury caused by improper shoes can needlessly crash your fitness or weight loss effort.
Having a proper shoe can help to protect you against frequent injuries united with your type of workout including ankle strains and fractures, bunions and corns. Metatarsalgia, a condition which presents as pain in the ball of the foot, can be experienced due to poorly fitting footwear. Workout shoe reduces the impact of your step and cushions the foot from heavy landings. Besides, Workout shoe can improve your performance and help you to maintain proper body posture during the workout.
Fit Is the Most Important Factor
If you only consider one factor when selecting a Workout shoe, it should be how it fits. A too tight or too loose workout shoe will not only make your training experience painful, but it may also cause you to change your body posture, leading to potential injury. Too-Tight workout shoes will surely feel uncomfortable as well as intolerable pain. Too-loose workout shoes are likely to cause painful blisters.
Workout Shoe or Cross-Training Shoe Fitting Tips
- Always have your feet measured before buying shoes, as the size of your feet changes as you grow older.
- Sock thickness can influence shoe fit, so try on shoes with the socks you plan to wear during your training or workout.
- Don’t select shoes by the size marked inside the shoe but by how the shoe fits your foot.
- Inspect any irritation or rough spots, which may ruin the Workout experience.
- Jiggle your toes to test the fit of the shoe and if you sense improper fit, then it’s better you return them and go for another brand.
- The heel should feel secure and supported while wearing the shoe.
Selecting the Correct Type of Shoe
Different kinds of shoes are designed for different kind of exercise or workout. It is a confusing task to select a perfect Workout shoe out of them and it might be one of the reasons you are here. After going through this section of the article, it will be more explicit for you to judge which type of Workout shoe will be perfect for you.
1. WEIGHTLIFTING SHOES
It’s important that you have a firm, flat grip on the ground When lifting weights. This ensures proper form and safe grip, which is extremely important if you are lifting heavy. Such weightlifting shoe will help you to keep your weight-lifting routine safe and effective. Don’t wear your high-tech, thick-soled shoes in the weight room.
Weightlifting shoes have a raised heel. Which allows you to squat into a deeper position through increased ankle range of motion. As you’ll find yourself sitting more upright, this will help you to enhance your overall position too. This heel also allows you to stimulate far more of your musculature to send that bar upwards.
2. CROSS-TRAINING SHOES
A strength-training class habit means you need some supportive shoes. The regular jumping and side-to-side shuffling (also called lateral movement) during your strength-training class mean you should invest in a pair of shoes that provide ample cushioning and support as well as grip.
Cross-training shoes are a hybrid of several different types of athletic shoes. They may have the heel cushioning of a running shoe, the lateral stability of a tennis shoe, the forefoot cushioning of a volleyball shoe.
Most of the gym lover will be comfortable with good quality cross-training shoe as most of them participate in different activities instead of concentrating in one. The benefit of a cross-training shoe is that the shoe is versatile enough to be utilized for various activities. Along with that, they are light enough to keep your feet from feeling heavy or overheated.
3. RUNNING SHOES
Why should I maintain a running though they look like any other athleisure type shoe? Yes, they seem like any other sports shoe but Running shoe includes specialized technology and design which help you to run. If you run miles on the treadmill every time you go to the gym, you should invest in a pair of running shoes. Running shoes are intended for forwarding motion of running and to manage the impact force of body weight.
Cross-training shoe is designed to prevent injuries from the activity where your body may move side to side, up and down, quick movement and sudden stop. In Running, foot uniformly hit the ground so to prevent injuries occurring from repetitive motion and provide specified cushioning; you need a pair of running shoes.
Heel-Toe Drop
Measured in millimeters, Heel-Toe drop is the difference between how high a shoe is in the heel and the forefoot. It is more commonly called the ‘slope ‘ of the shoe.
Heel-Toe drop doesn’t exist 50 years ago. Most types of shoes are almost flat earlier. Setting additional cushioning in the heel compared to the forefoot was done to reduce stress on calf muscles and from there Heel-Toe drop comes into existence. You can usually tell a shoe is a training shoe or Workout shoe by how much flatter the shoe is.
Know Your Foot Shape
Determining your foot shape is the most important factor that deserves to be paid proper attention. Primarily, find out your arches type, whether you have a high arch, normal arch or flat-footed.
The table below will help you find the shoe you should buy according to your foot shape.
| Flat Feet or Low Arch | Noraml Arch | High Arch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foot Shape |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
|
| Shoe Suggested | Stability Shoe | Neutral Training Shoe | Highly Cushioned Shoe |
 |  |  |
Mismatch of Shoe to Workout
After going through the benefits and importance of using a distinct shoe for a specific workout, what if you still mess up and mismatch shoe to workout. Here are some of the ways a mismatch of shoe to workout may increase your chances of injury:
- Running shoes for side-to-side movement: Higher heel drops of running shoe build a higher chance of ankle sprains during such movement.
- The wrong type of running shoes: Tendonitis can happen when you aren’t wearing the running shoe for your pronation type – whether it’s an overpronator needing a more structured shoe or a neutral runner wearing a shoe with too much arch support.
- Running shoes for plyometric workouts: Extra cushioning and support can keep you from landing properly and can increase your chances of a knee or ankle injury.
- Running in training shoes: In the absence of cushioning and support of running shoes, you can increase your chances of getting plantar fasciitis.
- Lifting weights in cushioned shoes: It’s best to do lifting in shoes with little cushioning. It may affect your posture and body balance.
Replacing Your Workout Shoe
Replacing your shoes regularly is an important element for maintaining good foot health. Many of us wear shoes past their “expiration” date simply because we are unaware of the indicators that they are worn out.
According to the gym and fitness experts, you should not use a pair of cross-training shoes for more than 100 hours, even if they seem to be usable. Even if you follow expert’s advice, you can surely use a pair for at least one year if you use them for moderate working out sessions of an hour for two days in a week. If you are one of those more vigorous people who exercise more than 3 or 4 hours a week, you might have to replace them every 6 months.
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