Shoes! I love shoes! But I don’t just love shoes for fashion and color, I love them for function. As a Nike trainer and self-proclaimed shoe expert, I have done a lot of research on proper footwear as well as “test drove” every model of shoe there is during my INSANITY workouts. It pains me to see the type of footwear my class participants wear to class, though it’s usually easily corrected with a quick after class pow wow when they ask me about the shoes I have on my feet. However, it pains me even more to see instructors wearing shoes that are not designed for activities like INSANITY because what YOU wear your class will wear . The next thing you know you hear people complaining about that INSANITY hurting their knees. Guess what?! INSANITY is not the cause of knee issues. Plyometrics and jumping were not invented by Shaun T, just customized by him! So what causes knee issues? Bad form and improper footwear. I will often see someone in my class wearing the same shoes I have. “Hey, I have those shoes!” I exclaim. “Yes, I know…I saw you wearing them and figured they must be good for this class, so I went and bought a pair.” Well EXCELLENT! Thank goodness I don’t wear Nike Shox! (the WORST shoe ever designed for anything other than making your calves look good and if you own a pair, retire them. It’s time. Its 2014). So what if you don’t heed my advice and do bust out your Shox for your INSANITY classes. Well guess what? All those people now think that is a shoe that will give them optimal results when teaching or taking this class. They may never ask you directly about it, but when walking into Dick’s Sporting Goods and they see the same shoe on the wall that their master trainer was wearing, they will buy them without question..after all, an instructor is like a god right?! 1. Your foot was designed perfectly for jumping, running, sprinting, moving laterally….as humans we screw that all up by putting on a shoe with “good support” and no longer allowing our foot to bend and flex the way it is intended. We teach in the foundational movements to cue through plyometrics by landing TOE BALL HEEL…but if your foot is constricted in a supportive shoe that doesn’t flex, then that is no longer a possibility. 2. Running shoes were designed for FORWARD MOTION ONLY! The tread on the bottom of a running shoe points in only one direction…forward. For INSANITY we need the ability to move laterally, change directions quickly…we need a shoe that has tread moving in criss cross patterns and in multiple directions. A training shoe or a minimal style shoe will provide this. 3. Running shoes, or shoes with “good support” also have a ton of cushioning in them. This cushioning was intended to absorb the shock of your foot hitting the pavement for an extended distance. When doing plyometrics on this cushioning you are essentially landing on padding first…not allowing your foot to move the way it is built to move, and not allowing your foot to get stability to the ground. Same goes for balance work. 4. When choosing a training shoe you also want a shoe with ZERO DROP….meaning that there is no difference in thickness from the heel to the toe—a.k.a. no INCLINE in the heel—or really any heel. Take Shox for example. You might as well be working out in high heels as your foot is in an incline position. You also want to choose a shoe that is flexible, not stiff and rigid. My question to you is this, and be HONEST! No judgment if you are wearing what I consider to be “the wrong” shoe for INSANITY. It’s your foot…I can only offer suggestions of what works for me and what I know works for others. However, remember that your participants are watching…and what you do, they will do. To keep the integrity of the brand, keep people safe and injury free, footwear is important. Oh ya, my question… WHAT SHOE DO YOU CURRENTLY WEAR TO TEACH INSANITY? POST A PICTURE WITH YOUR COMMENT AND DISCUSS WHETHER OR NOT YOU FEEL IT IS A GOOD SHOE TO TEACH IN OR TO TAKE CLASS IN.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 17:58:17 +0000
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