MATT LISTER

Look after your tootsies with the right fitness footwear

Fitness in focus

DO YOU LOVE YOUR FEET?

It sounds like an odd question, but we only have one pair, and they’re with us for life, so we need to look after them.

The right footwear is an essential part of your exercise equipment, and the options out there are almost infinite. So what should you be looking for in a pair of workout shoes? Clearly a pair of thigh-highs with a seven-inch heel are not the best plan for squatting, even if they do have a wedge; neither is a pair of patrol boots suitable for sprinting.

I’ve put together a few tips and tricks on which shoes to sport for different forms of training.

RUNNING

If you’re an avid runner, the amount of impact your lower joints take with every stride can be detrimental to your foot health. Your trainers should have good grip, plenty of cushioning, a high heel-to-toe drop to aid forward momentum, and of course they need to be breathable, so they don’t get stinky. To find the right pair for your feet, it’s worth trying running shops with equipment that assesses your movement patterns and gives you recommendations based on those analytics. One tip for buying a new pair of runners is to take your previous pair with you. Assistants should be able to ‘read’ the wear on your old shoes to understand how you run, and recommend trainers tailored to your particular gait.

LIFTING

When you’re hefting weights, you need a firm foundation. For more dynamic lifts that involve shifting your foot position — such as clean and jerks, or snatches — weightlifting shoes, or lifters, are recommended. They generally have very secure fastenings, and the sole is as flat and solid as the ground you’re lifting on.

However, for any other lifting, where your feet don’t shift so dramatically, it’s very beneficial to do it barefoot. Our feet aren’t designed to wear shoes, and too much support in some movements can give you ‘lazy feet’. While lifting, you should aim to get good contact with the ground — don’t wear your Nike Air Max 90s with bubble soles, because although they might look great, all that cushioning means your feet are more likely to roll around. If going barefoot is not an option at your gym, and a pair of lifters are out of your price range, Converse are a great, cheap alternative.

CROSS-TRAINING

It’s annoying, but one size does not fit all when it comes to trainers. Finding the right cross-training shoe can be a bit of a stab in the dark, and it all depends on what you’re good at, and what sort of exercises you do more of. When your training encompasses running, jumping, lifting and more, you need a shoe that can cope with all these movements. As a general rule of thumb, you want a shoe with very little heel-to-toe drop and a firm midsole with cushioning that’s minimal enough to keep you stable through lifts, but generous enough to absorb impact when you’re jumping around. I love my Nike Metcons, but I know plenty who swear by their Reebok Nanos — see what suits you.

“One size does not fit all when it comes to trainers”

As well as the above, there are also different shoes with design features to help you get an edge in individual sports, from the number of lace holes there are and the amount and placement of grips or studs, to how many layers of sole a shoe has.

When it comes to buying your next pair of kickers, don’t just grab the pretty ones, take time to figure out which will work for you and your feet.