Paul Chek's Blog » Exercise/Movement » General » Tips For Buying Athletic Shoes
January 22, 2014
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Tips For Buying Athletic Shoes

Happy Wednesday!

Sorry I’ve been slow with my blogging lately. As I’m sure some of you may have suspected, I’ve been very busy with business planning for the new year, coaching clients, and the many other tasks that are part of my day.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the bobcats in one of my recent blogs. Lately, I’ve been getting lots of visits from roadrunners. They are quite cool birds and seem to like my music.

Tips For Buying Athletic Shoes

Today, I’ll get into some of the specifics that we should all be aware of when choosing a new pair of athletic shoes.

Shoe variances

In my vlog today, I’ll talk about the differences in shoe construction, and how that effects our musculoskeletal reactions to ground reaction forces.

I share some tips for when an orthotic is a useful tool, and when it may be a dangerous addition to your shoes!

Foot Skeletal

I share what “pronation” is, and what “supination” is, and explain how these movements occur globally, as a body-wide expression coupled with respiration.

I share the basics of core control, and how we may be buying shoes that “sound good”, or even “feel good”, but may actually contribute to pain and dysfunction in our body because we are “complicating” things for our body.

To explain the basics of core control, I share the CHEK Totem Pole approach to how the bodies control systems work.

For those of you wanting to dive deeper into the issues of core control, posture, and spinal function, I offer a comprehensive education on these topics in the following resources:

1. How To Eat Move and Be Healthy! – Book
2. Scientific Core Conditioning – correspondence or elearning course
3. Scientific Back Training – correspondence or elearning course

I hope you enjoy the video today and I’ll look forward to sharing more with you Friday.

I’ll be sharing a review on a great new book, and some spiritual dowsing cards made by one of my teachers.

Love and chi,
Paul Chek

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5 Comments

  1. Aaron Hall December 5, 2014

    Why do you wear Birkenstocks? Do they not inhibit feedback from the ground and also prevent pronation with their arch support?

  2. scholar February 3, 2014

    Hi paul,

    What are your recommendations for a sport like basketball in which sprained ankles are very common. With strong ankles and a perfectly functioning foot/body perhaps in could withstand landing another persons foot and turning an ankle in a shoe with little support, in the meantime however mine isn’t. What type of shoe do you recommend with consideration to grip on a basketball court.

    Thanks.

  3. MarkD January 27, 2014

    Hi Paul,

    Thanks for taking the time to share, this is an issue I read about endlessly. How would you suggest treating someone who overly pronates on just one foot, but the other is fine? I’ve had that problem for a while and have normal-to-high arches (my R foot tends to pronate/arch collapses, while the L is healthy). The right foot has caused knee pain at times if I’m not careful to work on mobility exercises and warm ups before moderately exerting myself.

    Also, are there any weatherproof shoes that are friendly to the feet? I love Five Fingers, but can’t wear them in the winter here on the East Coast 😉 I wear the heck out of them the other 7 months of the year.

    Thanks! You’re videos and books have been a huge source of positivity in my life.

    Mark

    • Paul Chek January 28, 2014

      Dear Mark,

      Unilateral overpronation is a common “adaptation”, typically in response to higher order control systems in the body, as I outlined with my explanation of the CHEK Totem pole on my video.

      My highest recommendation is to find someone trained at CHEK Practitioner Level 3 or 4 to perform a full assessment on you. This is the only way I know to identify the actual cause of the foot imbalance.

      You can find who is closest to you at http://www.chekconnect.com in the locator system. It is normal for people to travel long distances to see my higher level practitioners, so don’t be afraid to travel and get the job done right.

      The only all weather shoes I wear are Birkenstock shoes and sandals. I just put on warm socks and have spent many years meditating, dong tai-chi, and Qi-going all over the world in nothing but cotton socks, even in snow and the cold of Toronto, Montreal, Sweden, Germany, Russia…so, my style may be a bit to Taoist for you, but that’s me…

      I’m glad my educational resources are of assistance to you. I hope you take advantage of a skilled CHEK 3 or 4.

      Much chi,
      Paul Chek

      • MarkD January 29, 2014

        Thanks Paul! I really appreciate your response.

        Your approach is definitely not too Taoist for me, 🙂 I’d be fine with the cold in my Five Fingers, but when snow melts on them, the wet feet thing isn’t fun.

        I will definitely check in on finding a Lvl 3 or 4, it’s time to take care of this.

        Thanks again and all the best,

        Mark

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