Suggestions please for first pair of real sneakers

Giovanna9563

Hi all and thanks for any help. I’ve never had real athletic sneakers, always cute convers or tennies for fashion. It has now been 2 months since I have been faithfully exercising. Lost 15 lbs by changing eating, and boxing with short intense cardio warmup 5x/week, and have been walk/jogging on my treadmill twice a week. My cute sneaks are no longer cutting it. My heal aches significantly and I am starting to have knee issues. I’m not going to stop my new routine but online advice says I need real sneakers. I’m clueless. I’m not a runner so would I get cross training? And any recommendations on what kind? There are so many and I’m an athletic shoe novice.
Thank U so much for any advice/tips/recommendations. Much appreciated!!

Cherimoose

The usual recommendation is to go to a good runner's store, where they will watch you run and fit you with the appropriate shoe. Check Yelp for store reviews, or ask experienced runners.

Keep in mind that most running shoes have a raised heel and a spongy sole, which isn't ideal for most non-running activities. Converse are perfectly fine for boxing, strength training, walking, etc. if they're comfortable. I do all of that in ordinary skateboard shoes.

By the way, your knee & heel pain might be from something other than your shoes, like your running form, or doing too much too soon.

HoneyBadger302

I don't run (physically can't at this point), so I like a nice lightweight cross trainer. I find them comfortable when I'm on the elliptical or doing my crossfit type workouts, and they offer plenty of support even for my screwed up (from injuries) legs. I went with the Nike Flex I think it was? Pretty happy with them.

But agree that the shoes may not be to blame, but it wouldn't hurt to get some better shoes, either. I need something with some kind of support, converse wouldn't cut it for me even just walking (tried doing a track once in my converse - that was a painful experience LOL).

cwolfman13

My wife wears Nike Flex for general fitness shoes.

kavahni

If you are running get a running shoe! Go to a small, local running store. Plan on spending an hour (you may not need it, but you don’t want to leave too soon either). They will assess your gait, and give you the chance to try on shoes based on how you walk and how you will use them. They should have a very liberal return policy that allows you to return the shoes even after a month. My running store took back a pair of shoes I had had for two months and been wearing on muddy wet winter trails.
Spend the money. It will seem like an awful lot, but you will have a healthier body for spending this money. Your feet are your foundation and you need to treat them well.
Also, if you are having knee problems, it may actually be from your IT band. It tends to irritate the knees of runners. You need to stretch absolutely religiously after every run, and preferably every day. Here is a link to a short video about the four key stretches you need to do for your legs especially to keep your knees healthy. You might check out some of her other videos about running as well. Her “quick feet” video may help you with the heel problem. She’s very knowledgeable And has good, solid credentials. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Sg1MHhmjY

Giovanna9563

Thank you so, so much for the advice. I was shy about going in person to talk with someone but it looks like that’s the smarter way to go. Especially because of the comments that knee pain may not be from my shoes! I will pay closer attention. And ty for that video, I will watch and learn

Tacklewasher

I picked up a pair of shoes at a big box store thinking they were a good deal.

Yeah, bad idea. My shins hurt if I ran more than 15 minutes and the pain lasted for days.

Went to a proper running store and had someone watch me walk around. Got over 400KM on those shoes and no shin splint issues.

But went back to the running store for post-Christmas sales and they had nothing in that shoe in my size. Went back to the big box store and bought the newer version of the shoe for $75 Cdn, or about $50 less than the first pair.

So don't fuss too much over the price of the shoes the first time. Once you settle on a shoe, you can go back to comparison shopping.

MeanderingMammal

Tacklewasher wrote: »

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But went back to the running store for post-Christmas sales and they had nothing in that shoe in my size. Went back to the big box store and bought the newer version of the shoe for $75 Cdn, or about $50 less than the first pair.
.

Although with noting that the evolution of a shoe may change the running geometry. I used to use Saucony Hurricane, until the 16 model. That model significantly changed the forefoot cushioning and I'll get shin splints in a bit 2Km. Not good for an ultrarunner.

Nowadays, rather than a motion control shoe I run in low drop neutral shoes all the time.