My Running Shoe Tips
I may be a mere humble novice when it comes to running, but one thing I learned fairly quickly: shoes matter. A lot.
Even I can tell the difference. A new pair of quality running shoes make me run better and helps me avoid my typical running injury: a runner’s knee.
Here are the tips for my running shoes – hope you find them helpful:
Read up. Running shoes is hi-tech science these days, with custom-made solutions for various issues. Read shoe reviews and runner’s reviews before you make up your mind. Remember: what works for your best friend won’t necessarily work for you. I highly recommend the six articles in Runner’s World Foot Diagnostics section.
Invest in a visit to a proper running store where they analyze your gait and let you know what kind of shoe works for you. Once you have that, shopping elsewhere and even online becomes much easier. I’ve done the gait analysis routine twice already and in my case, my gait actually changed a little bit in the space of a year (probably due to my weight loss).
Being Overweight
New shoes literally have more bounce in them. I can feel the quality deteriorating over time, and being overweight, I prefer to err on the side of caution and change to a new pair of shoes earlier than recommended by the manufacturer. For me, that means a new pair of shoes every six months or so.
Personal choice
This is a personal choice, but since going vegan this year, I’ve decided to opt for vegan shoes too. No, I don’t eat my shoes… I just prefer for them to be made without the involvement of livestock corporates. I’m going to dedicate a post to the vegan shoes issue soon and recommend a brand for you too.
That’s it, basically. Not a running shoe shopping guide, just my own personal take on the topic.
Ripcords Exercise Bands
Ripcords Exercise Bands are stark in their simplicity but amazingly effective when the rubber meets the road – when the workout commences. Coupled with some great instructions on how to go about this toning operation, these bands act in ones or even twos to require as diligent and as thorough a workout as one could possibly want.
As opposed to working with weights and machines, these bands actually engage to work the whole muscles, including stabilizers, giving a far more thorough result. Resistance training with bands and tubes has long been a staple workout mechanism of all physiotherapists for long years, in dealing with torn rotator cuffs, bad knees, and general rehabilitation. Ripchords use the same tension training principles but take them to another level by supplying a fast and effective total body workout. Obviously, these items are as portable as they can be and can extend the gym to just about any location – a true plus. Add that the 7 Minute Workout instructions included in the set are one of the best and even aerobic workouts there are.
