It's important to have the right shoes when exercising
Everyone seems to be on their summer body exercise kick at the minute. However, many people experience unnecessary strain and injury due to the wrong choice of trainers for their chosen workout regime.
As a result, Clinical Director of Dulwich Podiatry and spokesman for Zesty (the site for booking health appointments online 24/7), Debbie Delves has put together her must know tips before buying workout trainers, and how to get a feel for the correct size and shape for your foot, to avoid any niggling pains in the future.
Tip 1 – Know your foot arch type.
Have you ever bought a brand new pair of trainers and you just couldn’t wait to try them out for your next workout, only to realise after the workout that you’ve developed a niggling pain in your feet, back or knees? Well, this could mean you may be wearing a trainer style that is inappropriate for your arch type.
A foot arch type is the way your foot strikes the ground whilst standing, walking or running. There are a number of ways to find out what your personal foot arch type is, and the easiest way to find out is the ‘Wet Test’:
Step 1 – Get a newspaper and place it on a dry, flat surface.
Step 2 - Lightly wet the soles of your feet with lukewarm water.
Step 3 – Walk over the newspaper so it gives you a clear outlining of your footprint.
Step 4- Take a picture of your foot imprint on the newspaper & compare with the results below:
High Arch – You may need more padding & cushioning within the trainer to shock absorb the high impact to the feet.
Normal Arch – Normal arched feet are the easiest to buy trainers for because the feet are evenly balanced.
Flat Arch – Try to buy a motion control trainer to make sure that your feet are in the right positioning, especially when taking part in high intensity training, such as running, aerobics, Zumba or CrossFit.
Tip 2 - Wearing the right training shoes for the right sport
Gone are the days when we only had slim pickings for our working out options, when we wanted to stay trim. Nowadays we have huge range of awesome workouts to suit your personality. Workouts like BoxFit, triathlon training, and even hula-hooping have taken the fitness world by storm. As the functionalities of each workout are different we need to make sure that we pick the right trainers for the right workout.
When shopping online or in store there will normally be a section especially dedicated to specific sports activities. If this is not the case, you can always ask the sales advisor to help you pick the right trainer for your activity. Be sure to say how many times per week you work out, what workouts you will be doing and also let them know your arch type.
If you’re unsure when buying online, take the below into consideration:
• Cleats or studs for increased grip in hockey, football, lacrosse and golf shoes
• High top ankle material to improve stability when landing in jumping sports such as netball; and ankle protection in hockey
• Lacing features to improve fit, as well as more outward placed lace holes to improve contact area on top of the shoe for kicking sports
• Additional outsole material to one or either side of the shoe to increase stability in cutting sports such as tennis
• Snug fit lightweight specialised sprinting and cycling shoes
Tip 3 – Size DOES Matter!
As every sports shoe designer uses their own sizing matrix, it’s always best to try on the trainers before you buy, however, we know this isn’t always possible because of our busy lifestyles, so buying online can save a lot of time. But before you “click and add to your online shopping basket” there are specific things you can do to make sure you pick the right pair of trainers to fit you perfectly.
Order two pairs of trainers. One pair should be your normal size, the second pair should be half to a full size bigger. When trying on the trainers, be sure to try them on with the socks you would normally wear in a workout as this will give you a better fitting. This way you can see which size fits you the best. Once you’ve picked your perfect fit send the unwanted size back to the retailer.
You need your toes to spread out as you workout, so there should be a thumbnails width between the end of your longest toes (which is not always the big toe - for some people, it’s the 2nd or 3rd toe) and the end of the shoe. Make sure you are measuring when your foot is pressed all the way to the back of the shoe.
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