Thankfully, people all across the globe have started giving importance to their health. Men and women are taking the necessary measures to look after their health and live a healthy lifestyle.
Exercising, as we know, is a key essential when it comes to staying fit and healthy. However, not all of us our gym freaks or look forward to spending hours on the treadmill or cross-trainer sweating out our calories. A much more preferable alternative to this is walking.
Walking, in addition to being healthy, is a therapeutic process as well. You can listen to music and chill, make life-changing decisions, and lose weight! It’s definitely a win-win situation for every person who loves to walk or just not going to the gym.
However, an even more important aspect of walking is choosing the right pair of walking shoes. While there is no separate process of selecting walking shoes for women and walking shoes for men, it’ll be helpful to keep in mind a few pointers.
The main checklist that you should remember when buying walking shoes
You should always strive to ensure that three key points have been satisfied whenever you go walking shoe shopping. Wondering what are those? Check out our list below:
Comfort
A more obvious factor, walking shoes should always be comfortable. It should be well-padded and structured to fit against the contours of your feet as naturally as possible. At the same time, you don’t want shoes that are either too tight or too loose. Rather, choose a shoe that has a snug fit around the midfoot and the heel.
Also, they should always be some space between your forefoot or the longest toe and the toe box perimeter. Don’t give preference to style over your comfort. We cannot emphasize enough on how bad this decision can turn out to be in the end.
Control and stability
Walking shoes should always let you have control over your movement. The shoes should always feel stable and give you a secure fit. In all probability, if you end up with walking shoes that don’t give you the correct balance, you will always end up injuring yourself.
This is the main reason why it’s recommended to always try the shoes on before you pay for them.
Flexibility
Flexibility is another important aspect of walking shoes. The footwear should be crafted in a manner to facilitate smooth and easy motion. For this, you need a good degree of flexibility at the shoe’s base to give you full control as you walk.
Understanding the construction of walking shoes
Designed to optimize comfort and efficiency, finding the right of your walking shoes is important. The best way to do so? Being acquainted with the overall construction of the shoe as well.
Outsole
Being made out of rubber or rubber compounds, outsoles are the outermost part or simply the sole of your walking shoes. This part of the shoe plays an extremely crucial role to give you traction and grip.
It’s up to you whether you choose lightweight outsoles or a more sturdy one. As both has their own pros and cons, you need to select one which would be more suited to your preferences and needs.
Insole
Insoles are the padded footbed of the walking shoes that acts as a cushion between your feet on the ground. You can probably imagine how hurtful it can be when you accidentally step on a stone if the insole is too thin.
Since you are mostly walking on mountainous regions or uneven concrete, you should always go for walking shoes that have thicker insoles. With a thicker cushioning, you’ll be able to prevent any potential injury to your feet.
Midsole
As the name suggests, this part is in between the insole and the outsole. The job of a good midsole is mostly similar to that of the insole – to absorb sudden shocks and to provide ample cushioning.
Upper
The very first thing that you see once you look at a pair of walking shoes is the upper. Typically made out of mesh, suede, or leather, the upper can either be basic or trendy. You only need to select one that you would prefer wearing or would be more compatible with your personal style.
Tips to help you get the “right“ walking shoes fit
Now that we had spoken about the key areas indicating how you should feel after wearing your walking shoes, let’s also discuss some tips to help you find your perfect walking shoe match.
- Get your feet properly measured at every store you plan on buying shoes from. You can ask the salesperson to measure each foot separately as sometimes one foot can be slightly different from the other.
- Make sure that you are always standing when the salesperson is measuring your feet as they tend to expand when we stand.
- Always shop for walking shoes during the latter part of the day and preferably during the evening. This will help you understand the best fit as your feet would be the largest during this time.
You see, our feet expand or swell during the course of the day which is why, if you get a tighter fit, you might be uncomfortable. - When the salesperson brings you a pair of walking shoes, always try it on after wearing a pair of regular socks. After you do this, take a stroll around the shop to get a feel of the shoes.
You can also try spot jumping and spot running to understand whether or not you are comfortable and in control. - Skip buying walking shoes that are too tight. Or at least, if they instantly feel too tight against your skin. It would be worth noting that nearly all walking shoes have a break-in period.
In other words, if you buy a pair of tight walking shoes, you may end up with blisters and calluses after you are back home from your stroll. As such, comfort is key.