Trainers shoes- What you need to know before buying your sports shoes

Trainers shoes- What you need to know before buying your sports shoes

Buying sports shoes and Trainers is best done on the internet. It’s such an easy task, plus, you have a wealth of choice, as all the manufacturers’ and sports shoes sellers are online.
If you are buy running shoes or Trainers to wear as a Casual shoe then all you need to know is your shoe size. If you only run every once in a while for short distances you just need to buy a sports shoe suitable for that activity.

If you take part in an activity that involves running and it is your hobby or more than a hobby you need running shoes or trainers that help to protect you and help to correct or minimise any abnormalities in your running.

There is a term in any sports activity which involves running and therefore trainers; that term is Pronation. Pronation, simply put is the way you run and how your foot/sports shoe hits the ground and rotates when running. You can be a normal pronator an under pronator or an over pronator. A general rule of thumb is that if you have a normal arch you will probably be a normal pronator. If you have flat feet or very shallow arches you will probably an over pronator and if you have high arches the chances are you’ll be an under pronator. What ever your Pronation you need a pair of sports shoes that accommodate your pronation.

Normal pronation means the back of your heel hits the ground first, your foot will roll inwards about fifteen degrees then straighten out, evenly distributing and balancing the weight of your body, motion moving forward and finally pushing off evenly on the front of the foot and big toe. This rotation cycle acts to dampen and distribute the shock of running like a shock absorber in a car. The best type of trainers for this type of runner is a running shoe that gives stability and allows you to continue with your normal pronation.

If you are an over pronator you have the same running characteristics of the normal pronator except that when your foot rolls inward, it does so more than fifteen degrees. This means that the weight of the body is not evenly distributed, the majority of the weight going to the inside of the foot causing the ankle and inside foot to work harder to keep your balance which causes extra wear and tear on the ankle and causes you to push off on your big and second toes. To help compensate your sports shoes should be a motion-control shoe that offers moderate pronation control.

Conversely if you are an under pronator after your heel hits the ground your foot rolls in less than fifteen degrees. This means that the weight of the body is again not evenly distributed on the foot but instead of going to the inside of the foot it goes to the outside of the foot. This again causes excessive wear and tear as the shock absorption mechanism is not as effective. When you push off you do so mainly with the smaller toes of the foot. The types of trainers you need are a neutral-cushioned sports shoe that helps to correct your pronation.

An easy way to discover what your pronation is, is to look at the soles of your old training shoes and sports shoes. Look at the wear, if the wear is even on the heel and ball you are a normal pronator. If the wear on the bottom of the shoes is on the heel and on the inside of the instep leading up to the big toe area then you are an over pronator. If on the other hand you training shoes show wear on the heel and outside of the shoes ending on the outside of the little toes you are an under pronator.