A Girl and Her Shoes

I know exactly what you all are thinking, where are the high-heeled toe crunching arch aching contraptions that many women collect. Well I have a few of those, but I don't have any desire to wear them more than needed. The shoes above are the shoes I live in. I chase around 3 kids half my time and the other half I am chasing my drive and desire for fitness and health. If you haven't walked, ran, cycled, or lifted in my shoes read on and maybe just maybe you will understand why, I feel it is so important for me to have these shoes and use them! I wont talk about all them and trust me when I say, they are not ALL lined up in the photo above. Meet my Specialized cycling shoes, if you have ever gone out on a ride with me, you will know, me, chatting and cycling don't always go well together. I haven't rode my bike outside much since moving to NY, mostly because I feel like the roads are so narrow and the drivers are so not cautious of any type of exerciser on the road. Well I love love love these shoes for spinning. They clip onto the bike petal and give a much more rounded leg workout. Clip shoes allow for both pushing downward and pulling upward making the petal stroke much more energy effective for both cycling in or outdoors. Ahh, the dance shoes, I wear these shoes for Zumba. Zumba is a fun, cardio dance aerobics. In this type of exercise there is a lot of twisting which hurt my knees when wearing other types of shoes. The bottom of this shoe allows for ease of twisting with the reduced risk of injury. Meet the mother of all running shoes! Mizuno Wave Nirvana, I dearly LOVE these shoes. I have had issues on and off with my knees and went to get professionally fitted for these shoes. I highly recommend going to a running store for a fitting if you have any intention of running on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I do not get to wear the cute little purple and pink girlie running shoes that we see all over the mall. Most importantly know what sort of arch and gait you have (which is why you should go to someone trained because most of us don't get to watch ourselves run or know what to look for). Anyhow, these shoes are the mother in stability and motion control. I love them and I love being able to run pain free! An old stand-bye for the gym, my nike air's. I can use most of the gym equipment very comfortably. These are great for weightlifting and general exercise at the fitness center. They are not my most favorite but a good stand-bye. These are my Ryka's they are great all around exercise shoes. They are incredibly comfortable to wear. These shoes are like walking on clouds. They are a great all around fitness shoe. I don't recommend running in them as I don't think they have the lateral support I need, but for any other exercise they are great!

What I am really saying here is that all fitness sneakers are not created equal. Be certain that you have the proper shoe for you sport, as having your ankle, knee, and hip misaligned could cause lots of problems. One could get a great workout with only a decent pair of shoes! I cannot ignore the importance of the right shoe for your foot! Our own body weight is a resistance for good exercise if needed. Whatever you do, make a good choice for yourself, eat your veggies and get out there and do some exercise!