Are you still in your running shoes? These are a very comfortable wear for a workout giving you complete support and protection to your feet. Sometimes, they may even prevent an injury. Modeled differently, you are likely to consider more factors to consider buying them.
The type of shoes
What type of exercises do you do? The time of your running, fitness workout, the shape and size of your feet, the location chosen for running, jogging etc., are also considered while choosing your running shoes.
Manufacturers also consider factors like shape of the foot and the way in which women run. Though the structure of the foot is most common among all women, there may be some structural differences that manufacturers take into account.
A 2019 study found with a scan of 1.2 million feet, that women generally have a more narrow feet with a lower instep. That wider forefoot closely in shape with the foot size, shoes are accurately designed to have more room in the forefoot with a slim shape.
Additionally, they have lower muscle mass and bone mass which is why women shoes are designed to have a lighter midsole as compared to the shoes for men. As a result, they often provide reduced body weight, so that shoes can have a lighter, softer midsole as they need to absorb a lower impact.
Running differently
Women can sustain injuries occurred in running due to the fact that their broad hip-built, and this may result in knees and ankles due to the misalignment. Pronation refers to the foot rolling inward for impact distribution upon landing and hip instability can cause overpronation sometimes. With overpronation, the foot lands on the outside of the heel and then rolls inward. Shoe manufacturers take this into account while making the soles of the shoes to add more support.
Look for needs
Appropriate running footwear has shock absorption and it also matches your foot arch type. It is also important to replace your running shoes regularly to avoid injury. Shoe mass, material breathing capacity, hardness are some of the important qualities in the construction of running shoes and some of the other features are:
Extra cushion
Cushion refers to the minimized shock in feet and legs. Hard surfaces, road side running prevent injuries with this cushion facility.
Midsole support
This feature protects from shock and softer midsoles help in reduced impact.
Heel cup support
Heel cup support gives reduced impact throughout the strides and especially when the heel strikes the ground.
Drop
The drop refers to the difference between height of the heel compared with the height of the toe. It is mostly between 8-12 mm and this may vary depending on your wearing choice.
Avoid These
There are few things that you should avoid while looking for running shoes and these include:
Incorrect fitting
While correct fitting goes with accurate measurements of length, width and depth of your foot, wearing tight or too loose shoes can cause injury.
Gait types
Pronation or supination or neutral running, it is important to avoid other gait types as it affects the type of shoe you need.
Shoes not intended for running do not provide any kind of support and shoes with high cushioning may be suitable for road running and do not function well on trails.
Conclusion
Spend an extra time to take a look at the shoe make, design, model and other features recommended for running. There’s an excellent scope for you to check it online and it will help you to make a good choice of running shoes.