Here’s how to choose the right ones…

DECATHLON's fitness brand offers helpful tips for your workout.

Choosing the right fitness shoes depends on how frequently you train and how hard you train. So you’ll want to consider stability, cushioning, and perhaps most importantly for reducing the risk of injury, support.

If you do weight training (bodyweight or with weights) or cross training, choose training shoes with a solid base to stabilise your bodyweight. The width of the sole, especially at the front, is important to encourage proper toe movement and ensure good balance.

During a session, you’re bound to be transitioning from one movement to another, all at different paces and intensity levels. The theoretical impact in most disciplines is low, but the need for cushioning varies from one person to another (based on build, injuries, shoe habits). If you have a greater need for cushioning, you should check whether the shoe has a shock absorption mechanism, as well as the type, hardness and thickness of the component used for the sole.

If you train regularly, support is especially important because it’ll help keep your feet healthy across all disciplines. But what does support even mean? It can, for example, be characterised by side reinforcements, or an effective lacing system that adapts to the shape of your foot and keeps it in place.

ALICE

Fitness Specialist

When you’re working out, your body weight will mainly be on the forefoot, however, most people use shoes designed for heel propulsion. Rigidity, a straight push-off and difficulty performing rotations are just some of the constraints for people using shoes that are not designed specifically for fitness so it’s really important to have the right gear!