The Importance of a Good Pair of Shoes

Nike Shoe (IT Project) by Annette Huynh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Before you begin your work out, it is essential that you complete one important step (Well, one of many steps): Get yourself some good shoes.  Owning the right footwear is crucial, because shoes that are too small or don’t have enough support and cushion could lead to disastrous injuries.

When looking for a good pair of shoes to work out in, it is important to seek out shoes with a thick sole. These shoes tend to have more support for your feet and will be the most shock-absorbent. When exercising, the weight of your whole body is on your feet, especially if you’re lifting weights or doing any jumping. Not having enough cushion in your shoes could result in injuries in your feet that could take you out of the gym for weeks.

You also want to make sure that your shoes are the correct size.  Your shoes are meant to protect your feet, not to hurt them. When trying on shoes, there should be half an inch between the tips of your toes and the very end of your shoe. If that half an inch isn’t there, your shoes are most likely too small. While it may feel okay for a little while, shoes that are even half a size too small will begin to hurt your feet after you work out in them for a while. It’s also important to make sure that your shoes aren’t too big. If your feet slide around in your shoes, this could not only hurt your feet in the long run, but it could also lead to more dangerous injuries.