Successful and effective trainers are dedicated to serving all aspects of their clients’ health and fitness needs; just as you would pay close attention to form, selecting the right equipment will help to maximize performance. Everything from the right body foam roller to athletic footwear is an important aspect of your training. In this guide, we take the guesswork out of finding the right shoe for your style of training:
The 3-Step Personal Training Guide to Athletic Footwear:
1. Assess Needs
Just like you assess your client’s physical and health conditions, it’s important to think about what you do at the gym each day. Do you specialize in a traditional training approach? your client may find comfort and stability with cross-trainers. Or perhaps you’re working in a rigorous environment, like a crossfit gym – then a sneaker that is both durable and supportive is a better fit. Regardless of your speciality, and the environment in which you spend your day facilitating your training, be sure that you find a shoe that will support the level of activity that is planned.
{{cta(‘0da87957-461d-4dae-8be0-05fa338aa1ab’,’justifycenter’)}}
2. Athletic Shoes: 101
At first glance, your client may be overwhelmed by the breadth of products on the market. Shoes for running, shoes for hiking, shoes that have toes! While there certainly is a wide variety, once you’ve nailed down needs, it should be much simpler to choose the right footwear. Here are a few favorites that have been tried and tested by successful trainers:
- Cross-trainers: an appropriate athletic shoe for trainers that focus on a traditional training brought through weight and body-training. Maximize your training with the appropriate support and agility of a shoe such as the Avia A1433.
- Crossfit: this sport is so popular now that famous footwear companies are designing shoes specifically tailored to maximize your experience. Take your training to the next level with Reebok CrossFit Lifter.
- Interval Training: Intensive HIIT more your speed? You’ll want the stability of Nike LunarTRI1.
3. Finding the Best Fit
With so many options available to you the search for the right athletic shoe can feel overwhelming. However, the researchers at Livestrong have broken it down to be quite simple – “leave a half inch between your big toe and the tip of the shoe and make sure you can easily wiggle your toes – bend the shoe to make sure it is not overly flexible as this can indicate a lack of support.” Ultimately, finding the best fit will depend on you. Not only should your level of activity be weighed in your decision, but it’s important to also take your physical condition, environment and external temperature into consideration when narrowing down your search. With these tips in mind you will have what you need feel comfortable and maximize your performance.
{{cta(‘e31b1793-085e-4b69-b9cb-e83795b06f58′,’justifycenter’)}}
