Shoes…the new black

I got a new pair of shoes the other day. I have heard of the company, Inov8, from multiple sources as a great pose/Crossfit shoe. I was able to get the shoes with a nice discount … 48% off… so score.

I posted it on Facebook and this was the ensuing conversation…

 

After wearing them I stand by the statement. I have always just used my running shoes when I went to the gym. Whatever the exercise, no matter what, I used the same shoe. I was going with the attitude that shoes are shoes or well, I am not at the “level” that shoes really matter. I should have learned this lesson years ago with I used to play golf regularly. I was playing at least every Saturday, sometimes multiple times during the week. I was pretty good but I had the same attitude about my level of play. My sister was engaged at the time, now married, to a NCAA golf coach and thought, hey I could learn a thing or two from him.  He took me golfing one day and on a few holes he let my use his clubs. They were Pings, the upper echelon of the golf world. I couldn’t believe how well my game improved on those holes. Really it was like night and day. Yes, I should have learned my lesson because every day I was in the gym I was wearing the same shoe. Well, after I got my new inov8’s I wanted to hit the gym/road and try them out. I picked a doozy of a first work out. 5-5-3-3-3 squats in between those 5x5 Body weight dead lifts, beginning and ending with a 500 meter row for time and 10 basketball court sprints for time.

Here is the kicker, like when I used the Pings, my game improved dead lifts and squats seemed stronger. I felt like I had a better base. There wasn’t any shifting in the knees and I felt like I had better balance. My legs were smoked by the end of the work, that was for sure, but I felt better about the workout. I didn’t have the fear  I was going to injure myself. Before when there was the shifting and such I always had that in the back of my mind and it kept me from going for heavier weights. Just to let you know a subject of a future blog  I’ll give you a sneak peak…get your weight on your squats and dead lifts up and see your run times go down…that is a guarantee.

Next I took them sprinting around the block. It is easier to run pose in a shoe the is designed to run pose. Still trying to get used to the pose method, but it is coming along. I am mostly doing drills to get the muscle memory.

So the moral of the story is…take a look at your shoes. Take a look at your workout and see if they match. I am not saying  the inov8’s are the answer for everything, but I am saying  they work for me. Go do your research and makes sure you transition correctly, another future blog. I have even started wearing them everyday because they help my duck walk problem (normally I just wear sandals).  I’m working on getting a second pair…

 

Need to get a less bright set, maybe?