How to choose the right shoes for your fitness routine.

Image: iStock.

Here’s a quick question: how do you shop for exercise shoes? Do you carefully assess a style to ensure it’s suitable for the workouts you do… or do you just stroll into the store (or, um, website) grab the most affordable/trendy model and hot-foot it out of there?

Don’t worry, a lot of us take that approach. However, according to the Director of Vision Personal Training, Laura Moore, it’s not necessarily a case of ‘one shoe fits all workouts’ — the support and design of sports shoes can vary quite significantly when they’re intended for different kinds of exercise.

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For instance, running shoes require a lot of support from hard surfaces and terrains, while the best shoes for activities like boxing are closer to the ground. So depending on your workout regimen, you might need to investigate what your feet really need — or you could risk hurting them.

“I think people don’t realise the outcomes of wearing the wrong shoe can be quite serious … They might start to feel a niggle in their knee and just think, ‘Oh, I must have done something to my knee’ but it could be because their shoe isn’t offering the right support,” Moore explains. (Post continues after gallery.)

There are a few tell-tale signs of ill-fitting shoes; Moore says blisters, aching in the arch of your foot and any noticeable discomfort in the points of direct contact, such as your heels and the balls of your feet, can all be an indication.

What makes things more complicated is that even for the same activity, two different people can require slightly different styles depending on factors like their arches and their gait.

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“Feet are your foundation, don’t underestimate how important they are … if you look after them you’ll make sure you have good grounding,” she says. Here’s what you need to look out for in an exercise shoe.

Running

For sprinting: Moore recommends visiting a specialised running store to have your gait assessed so you can purchase shoes with the right amount of support for the way you move.

“A large proportion of the population is likely to have some degree of pronation or supination — the rolling inward or outward of the feet — so it is important to choose a shoe that rectifies this and returns your feet to a neutral position," she explains.

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"Over pronation or supination can leave you susceptible to injuries as it causes the leg to rotate, which increase stresses on the lower limbs and can leave you with unnecessary niggles and pains.”

For cross-country running: Because cross-country terrain is more diverse than a regular running track, Moore's advice is to ensure your shoe can accommodate the different positions your feet will move into. "While you do indeed need some ‘wiggle room’ you must ensure the foot is secure and not moving about too much inside," she says.

It's also important to choose shoes that can survive elements like water, dust and mud — opt for a leather upper with air holes, or a breathable synthetic material, with a decent tread on the sole. That way your feet will be able to breathe, and grip on unstable surfaces.

As for natural motion shoes, as you might have seen popping up on shelves, Moore says there's "lots of conflict" in the industry as to how effective they are. She says they're probably not necessary for a "normal" runner — but if you do decide to try them, don't go straight into them from a higher-support shoe, or you could damage your feet.

Boxing

Boxing is all about being light on your feet — "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" and all that — so your regular running shoe won't be quite right, because all that extra cushioning and support isn't needed.

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"A lightweight, flat-soled shoe is recommended. It is important to ensure there is adequate grip on the sole to avoid slipping over and potentially spraining an ankle — a high-top shoe will also help prevent this kind of injury," Moore explains. (Post continues after gallery.)

Walking

If you love walking around your neighbourhood or local park, we have some good news: you can get away with a regular running shoe. However, Moore advises choosing a boot if your walking is more off-road — this will keep your ankle snugly supported from unstable tracks, and the grip on the sole will also come in handy. Especially if you encounter slippery surfaces.

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"In terms of sizing, with both running and walking shoes you need to make sure there is a bit of room to accommodate the foot movement that occurs on impact, so don’t buy anything that is too snug – you can still ensure the foot is secure by lacing the shoe up correctly,” Moore says.

Group training/aerobics

Regardless of whether you choose to accessorise with leg-warmers, the shoes you wear for group classes need to be able to withstand a lot of jumping and high-impact movements and ensure your feet don't slide around too much. Moore says to look for a lot of cushioning and support to absorb the shock.

"I personally wear the same shoes as I do for running when partaking in this kind of activity, as my feet will be under a similar amount of stress, if not more, so I want to make sure I am hitting the ground with correct alignment and minimising the impact as much as possible," she says.

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Ultimately, if you can only afford to invest in one pair of athletic shoes — after all, they can be costly — Moore says it's wise to go for a runner. "Running is the most high-impact fitness activity you’ll do so it’s important to make sure your feet have the best support from that impact, especially on hard surfaces," she says.

What kind of sports shoes do you own?

Need a bit more shopping guidance? Here are some shoe suggestions from new Aussie e-retailer The Next Pair.