Shocking Truth about Footwear

Jason Price, MS, CSCS, ATC, LAT, CPT, USAW Club Coach

I am going to lose all and any chance I ever had at landing a sponsorship from a major shoe company.  As much as I would love to be rocking sweet Nike gear 24/7 sharing with you the truth about footwear is much more important to me than what type of kicks I will be wearing or which dry fit t-shirt to wear today. 

The fact is that today’s footwear is causing more problems than it helps.  Granted some companies are now selling shoes designed as motion control shoes to help out pronators.  That is a good thing and discussing motion control and pronation is a whole other article.  What we are going to discuss is the fallacy of rear foot cushioning.  Most major shoe companies have some type of cushioning system that they put in their shoes to help reduce impact forces on the legs as a person runs.  Here are a few examples of these cushioning systems; also here is the list of companies that won’t be calling me to set up a sponsorship deal:

Those are just a quick example of some of the cushioning systems out there.  I am not going to say which are good and which are bad.  I was a shoes sales man in a previous life.  What I am going to tell you is that the reason you are paying well over $100. of you hard earned money on shoes is because of these cushioning systems and other technology which is billed to reduce injury and impact forces.  Let’s be honest some of these systems are about as proven as some of those miracle fat loss programs that you see on TV late night paid programming.  Would you buy a pair of ultimate cushioning shoes if they were sold by Tony Little as he was riding on his Gazelle.  Of course not, then why are we so quick to run out when we see an ad during a big game with a star athlete hawking a shoe? Why does putting a swoosh, sorry Nike please call me to set up our deal I love Dri Fit clothes! on a shoe and having a stud athlete sell it make it good for us. 

The fact of the matter is that proper running biomechanics rules out the need for a well cushioned heel in a shoe.  If you are running and striking your heel on the ground first then you are running with improper form.  Your body is designed so that when your foot comes in contact with the ground it will use the forces it absorbs by the muscles to return force into the ground during an effective pushoff.  When your heel strikes the ground first it is like taping the breaks in your car every few feet.  Your heel strike is like hitting the breaks while you are running.  By learning how to strike with the mid foot you will eliminate the braking and increase your speed by using the force you absorb to have a more effective pushoff.  These cushioning systems will absorb and take away the force we need to be effective as runners.  To put it plainly they are reducing our effectiveness as athletes. 

Now in the weight room these shoes create a whole other problem.  Executing lifts/exercises like squats, deadlifts, the Olympic lifts, overhead presses, and jumping plyometrics you are trying to apply force through the ground and most often through the rear of the foot.  When you perform these exercises in your $100. cushioned athletic shoes you are defeating yourself.  What you are doing is applying force through a force absorber in your shoe to perform the lift/exercise.  Does that sound efficient?  Absolutely not!! 

My recommendations to you as an athlete or coach is simple.  Educate yourself on footwear.  Find out what is necessary and what is not.  Treat shoes as another piece of equipment which should help improve performance not hinder it.  For example coaches and athletes often educate themselves and buy equipment that is going to help them improve their performance not hinder it.  Then when it comes to buying footwear they buy the ones that look cool or are sponsored by their favorite athlete.  When you are training in a weight room buy a pair of Chuck Taylors or even better a pair of weightlifting shoes.  It will improve your lifts and you will see results.  Ban Nike Shox!! Again, Nike call me I ain’t hating on you just being honest.  I have never come across a shoe that hinders performance more than it helps.

Next time you buy a pair of shoes think functionality not fashion.