When was the last time you checked yourself out in the mirror and also took a good, hard look at your shoes? ?A silly one?, you?d probably think. That?s precisely the point ? shoes happen to be the first casualty of our obsession with ?mere looks.? We buy the shoes that look the best! Few care about how their pair of shoes feel ? are they comfortable, are the feet able to breathe in them? even fewer realise the importance of wearing the right pair of shoes for their jog or to the gym.
?Take a clue from sports ? football, golf, cricket ? each game requires a different kind of pair. Clearly, it is crucial to performance. The same principle applies to you as well. Not just any pair of sneakers would work for the gym or for that matter running,? says Nitin Vedi, fitness instructor with the Revital gym.
He adds, ?if you are running, get a pair with excellent shock absorbers. And if you are training regularly, opt for cross-trainers.? Rajvir Singh, fitness trainer, Powerplate, couldn?t agree more: ?The right pair can enhance your stamina immensely. Make sure there is sufficient margin between the front of the shoe and the toes. It allows the feet to expand while working out.? The least that a wrong pair of shoes can do is cause blister. In a worst case scenraio, the tendons and ligaments of the feet can also get ruptured, causing chronic ailments. ?People usually tend to wear light weight shoes while jogging or working out. They need to be careful that the cushioning of the shoe has not been compromised with to make it lighter ? that defeats the entire purpose,? explains Dr Punit Dilwari, Orthopaedic, Fortis Healthcare. Make sure, says Dilwari, that the upper part of the shoe clings well to your feet. That helps avoid blisters. Also, that the shoe provides for a raised tongue at the back of the ankle. The absence of such support can not only lead to painful conditions of the heel but even ruptured tendons and ligaments.
It is more technical than you can imagine it to be. Consider Nike?s Air Pegasus+ 25 SE. For beginners, this shoe (pity, despite everything we will still have to call it that) is enabled to incorporate Nike+. Just put them on and run and it will automatically transmit all the vital data about your run, such as speed and distance to an iPod Nano. The Rideliner midsole composed of polyurethane (PU) foam and decoupled heel crash pads are just other features.
Next time you go shopping for sports footwear, make sure you take the help of the shopkeeper to decode the technical jargon associated with it. You?ll soon find there?s a world out there to be discovered (try runnersworld.com). Torsion, a common feature in Adidas shoes, for instance controls the natural motion of the heel and forefoot to create stability and support. The Eva-Tongue on the other hand, is a lightweight moisture-managing tongue construction that allows the foot to breathe easily.
It is equally important to know how biomechanics work and what type of shoe you need (for more please see the box). Experts also maintain that a runner should retire his/her shoes after approximately 800-1,200 km of usage. Though the shoes may not look worn out, the distance does take its toll on the outsole and the cushioning. In short, the comfort value of the shoe increasingly depreciates by this time.
Anukaran Vij was careful about the pair he chose, but failed to retire them in time. ?It was the strain in my knees and my lower back that forced me to take note of the problem. I was discussing it with my instructor when he insisted on trying out my shoes?. And he instantly figured out the problem,? recalls Vij.