So, you're looking to get a new pair of shoes, and you've seen all these different kinds of shoes: neutral shoes, pronation shoes, supination shoes, both of which are actually stability shoes. So, you're wondering, should I be wearing stability shoes, who should be wearing stability shoes? Well, I'm Jesse Funk and on today's episode of Runner’s High, we're going to talk about just that. So, here we go.
If you haven't been here with me on the channel, before, hit that subscribe button in the bottom right-hand corner, but I'll tell you why you should hit that subscribe button. I tend to make a lot of shoe-related videos because I have a lot of knowledge in this area.
If you haven't seen those other videos, then you probably don't know, I spent about three years of my life, 40 hours a week fitting shoes for people, both runners and people with health conditions related to their feet. So, I have a lot of knowledge, very hands-on experience in this area.
So, stability shoes, in particular, that's what you're wondering about who should be wearing stability shoes. Well, the traditional kind of idea is somebody that overpronates. I've talked about this in other videos, but pronation is the natural motion that your feet make when you move. That is this slightly inward rolling motion from the outside of your heel into your big toe. All feet should do that, it's a normal motion.
Now, when your feet collapsed too far to the inside, that's considered overpronation. There is a little bit of art to this. Sometimes it's kind of borderline. But that's why when you go into a running store, or some kind of place that actually fit shoes like we did, then they'll watch you walk, they’ll watch you run if they've got a treadmill and kind of make a decision. Hey, you know what's going on. They'll also look at the bottom of your shoes if you've got shoes.
So, if you have worn shoes, please take them in. The treads on your shoes, the wear is a better indicator than just being able to watch you walk. So, who should be wearing those shoes? Overpronators is the typical suggestion. The reason being that when your foot collapses too far to the inside, you can cause excess strain. And having some posting as it's called the extra support on the inside of the shoe helps reduce that strain on your muscles.
Now, one point of clarification that often came up about stability shoes, they do not have arch support. There may be a random shoe here or there that has some kind of arch support in it. But that is not a function of normal shoes because the vast majority of people don't need our support. Arch support is something entirely different. It replaces the insole, that little flimsy foam piece on the inside of your shoe. And then it actually, you know, posts up under your foot, you will notice a very, very big difference when you put arch support in versus a regular shoe.
So, people who overpronate is the answer to who should be wearing stability shoes. If you don't want to, and you still find neutral shoes comfortable, there are some people that are going to be better suited for that.
That's part of the reason I always advise, go to your local running store, talk to those guys and gals, let them guide you in finding the right shoe because shoes are changing all the time. Even the shoe that you love, it's going to change, it may change to something completely different. So, let them help you out in figuring out who exactly if that's you should be wearing that stability shoe.
So, like I said before, subscribe to the channel, stay with me. I make lots of shoe videos and videos about running, as well as the Smart Athlete Podcast, a show where I interview both intelligent and competitive athletes on a variety of topics. So, I will see you next time on the next episode of Runner's High.