In today’s market there are hundreds if not thousands of different shoe choices to fit your workout needs. Each shoe boasts that its brand is best, and it can provide you with a better workout experience. While the manufactures can argue back and forth and spend millions of dollars into advertising I will try to help you to put one foot in front of the other and start a journey into choosing the right shoe for you. Each type of shoe has positives and negatives, and hopefully I can help you determine which shoe would be best for you.

Minimalist Running Shoe

Part II of the series focuses on the minimalist running shoe. Minimalist shoes are fairly new to the market. They have risen out of the desire for athletes to run using a more natural gait, striking their mid-foot to forefoot as opposed to their heel. Inov-8, along with New Balance and a few others make a great variety of minimalist running shoes that have become very popular with CrossFit athletes.  Minimalist running shoes have many of the same PROS and CONS as a traditional running shoe. 

Minimalist running shoes offer very little cushioning. The heel height, or drop, on a typical minimalist shoe is in the range of 0-4 mm, as compared to the 16mm drop of a traditional running shoe.  Like the name suggests this type of shoe offers very minimal cushion and very minimal support. These shoes are very flat and can take some time to get used to.  However, for many athletes who have made the switch to a minimal shoe they rave about the comfort, fit, and function.

Minimalist running shoes also offer limited lateral stability.  These shoes are built similarly to a traditional running shoe.  The shoe is designed to move in straight lines, walking or running.  Due to the fact there is much less shoe underneath your feet, the lateral stability is better with a minimal running shoe.

These shoes offer a much better weightlifting platform than traditional running shoes.  Due to the fact there is almost no cushioning there is nothing to compress when lifting.