How to pick the correct athletic shoe!

I am so excited to have my sweet friend Courtney guest posting today! I don’t have guest posters often, so you know that when I do, it is someone extra special! You are going to LOVE her! She is going to teach us all about how to pick the correct athletic shoe!

Hello! I’m Courtney from FrySauceandGrits.com! I’m so flipping excited to be featured on Girl Loves Glam! I met McKenzie at Build Your Blog Conference earlier this year and INSTANTLY (I’m not kidding) we were bosom friends and kindred spirits. I’ve never connected and related with someone so quickly in my life like I did McKenzie. I wish we lived next door to each other, but we don’t. Whenever she’s in town I always enjoy our fun outings. I love McKenzie so much and feel so honored and star struck to be her friend. She’s helped me a lot especially feeling the confidence to start Fry Sauce and Grits. I’m forever indebted to her!

My sister Melanie and I who are very close to each other also live far away from each other. To be exact its 1700 miles. Between our busy live, working, being homemakers, wives, and mothers, and trying to stay in touch with each other we both felt a need to
have a creative outlet. In May of 2013
we created our blog and have been having a blast inspiring others to create and
learn while sharing our passions for beauty, diy, home decor, food, fashion,
and crafting. Make sure to check our blog at FrySauceandGrits.com!

All of my life I’ve enjoyed being active. I was in pretty good shape before I got pregnant in November of 2011. Fast forward nine months later, with all the food cravings, sitting on my tush most of the day, being completely out of shape, gaining 35 pounds, and not recognizing my body at all with my deflated boobs, poochy tummy, and hello cellulite! I found myself unhappy with the way I felt and looked. I then discovered this amazing fitness and meal program called LeanMoms and have lost the 35 pounds and now live the healthy and active lifestyle I never thought was possible after having a baby! It wasn’t easy, and a lot of times I wanted to eat an entire pan of brownies, but I stuck through it and have loved the results I’ve gotten. Check out my story here!

Because I love being active and its an important daily thing I do, I found my feet hurting a lot. I realized I’d been wearing the same pair of athletic shoes for over two years! I thought to myself, “I bet it’s time to go get some new shoes.” So I went to my local shoe store and was there forever staring at all of the different types of shoes and wondered, “What is the difference between running, tennis, walking, and cross-training shoes?” I was overwhelmed. After much research, I finally got my answer! Here is what I found.

Before you go to the shoe store, it’s important to determine your foot type.

To determine what type of feet you have, there is a simple and easy test you can do at home. It’s called the “wet test.” This sounds kind of dirty, but I can promise you it’s not. All you have to do is to get your feet wet and stand on a hard surface like cement or on some dark construction paper so you can see the imprint of your feet. The type of imprint (no I’m taking about Twilight and Jacob) you have will determine your feet type.

source

Wet Test Results

When I did the test for myself I found out I’m an underpronator/supinator! Now what the heck does that mean? For me this means I have high arches.

Overpronator– flat or low arches and roll inward

Neutral– normal center pressure line with equal weight distribution

Underpronator/Supinator– high arches and roll outward

Once you know if you’re a overpronator, neutral, or an underpronator/supinator you can define what you need from an athletic shoe:

Overpronator– You need high-stability or motion-control sneakers to keep your feet aligned with your legs

Neutral– You need stability to moderate-stability shoes that offer a balance of cushioning and support.

Underpronator/Supinator– You need cushioning for good shock absorption.

So how do you go about finding shoes that have more cushioning/support, shock absorption, or high stability? Well, if you live close to a reputable running shoe store, you can go there. For me, getting out of the house with a crawling and teething nine month old can be far and few. I went to Zappos.com and put in the words “overpronator women athletic shoe” and found over 400 results! Talk about awesome! I picked out my favorites for each of the needs:

Overpronator Picks