Be honest: how many pairs of athletic shoes do you own? (Notice I did not ask you how many total pairs of shoes you own. I learned my lesson freshman year of college when asking that question found me helping my roommate pack up her 85 (!!) pairs into boxes on moving day. And those were just the ones she felt necessary for school. Not that I'm judging - I am a girl who loves her silly shoes.) At any given point in time, I own one pair of running shoes (Aasics as this is the only area I'm fiercely brand loyal), a set of cross-trainers for lifting weights and Crossfitting and whatnot (currently black & hot pink Nike frees - adorbs!!), a set of different cross trainers specifically for high-impact activities like TurboKick (Rykas at the moment) and a pair of smooth-bottomed dance shoes for Hip Hop and Zumba (Nike studio dance shoes but my sparkly silver or pink Chuck T's work pretty awesome too).
Yes I just confessed to owning 6 pairs of workout shoes. In my defense, I workout a lot. One could make the case that I'm in my gym clothes and shoes more than my street clothes. Never being able to get into the whole barefoot running craze, this also means that I go through a lot of shoes. I have even been known to buy my Aasics GTs in bulk. While I'm confessing my sins of extravagence, I also have a natty pair of gray and turquoise Pumas knocking around. They're the equivalent of taping paper to my feet but they match so many of my cute gym clothes!
Why so many shoes? Reader Rachael explains her (and my) quandry:
I am in the market for a new pair of workout shoes and thought I'd ask you what kind you like. I don't necessarily need a brand/model recommendation, but have been unsatisfied with many of my fitness shoe purchases so thought I'd try asking around. I used to do primarily heavy lifting so I got some Nike Frees, but those aren't making my feet happy for kickboxing. I bought a pair of running shoes and ran a 10K in them, but they aren't so good for tkb either, as I can't always keep my balance if we are doing slow kicks--it feels like I am trying to balance on marshmallows. So, should I just go get me some all-purpose crosstrainers or should I try out some martial arts-type shoes? Or studio dance shoes? I don't know what or where the shock-absorption is on either of those. I do lots of different sorts of activities and financially can't always have five different pairs of athletic shoes, so really should settle on just one or two different kinds. Gah. That was such a long-winded question.
It's funny how many times I have had this conversation in the gym! Turbo Jennie and another Turbo instructor swear by Nike Shox (only the closed shox) but I've never tried them. Can you guys help Rachael out? What kind of shoes do you swear by? How many athletic shoes do you own? Any tips on pairing the right shoes to the right activity?
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