Right Type of Workout Shoes?

Those different activities require different shoes. Sorry. For lifting, Converse All Stars.

I lift in bare feet (but I lift at home, so I can do that). The rest of it you can probably accomplish with a good pair of running shoes. But if you're lifting heavy weights, you either want to be barefoot or wearing shoes that allow you to still feel the ground under your feet.

The problem is that for the best support, you're going to need different shoes for each activity. Now, you can probably get by at first - but you have to be careful. For hip-hop, dance or Zumba type things you're going to want something with low tread, so your shoes don't grab the floor and you don't twist a knee. Not a pretty sight. I wear some sort of Nike - sorry, I'm not good with the names. But mainly look for low tread. For running you're going to want good tread to help keep your footing. I use a Reebok flex of some sort. And you can use a cross trainer for bootcamp that type of thing. I use an Under Armour. Can you use a cross trainer for other things? Yes - I used to. However, the more advanced you get, the more you'll want shoes for each sport/activity. Cross trainers were okay when I first started working out. However, now that I'm training for a half marathon and putting lots of miles on them, I need something more specific and supportive for my feet. I used cross trainers when I first started going to Zumba, and it was fine. However, now that I teach it and have to do the moves bigger and more pronounced, I notice when I wear the wrong shoes.

Just wait - as my husband started running more and more he has shoes he runs with outside and shoes he uses to run inside. So if you have a shoe fetish - you have met your heaven! An excuse to buy more shoes!