OH MY GOD, SHOES

Why Your New Pair of Kicks is the Perfect Opportunity for a Full Body Check-In & Reset

“But they felt so comfortable in the store.” “I just need to break them in.” “They’re throwing off my balance a little.” “I’ve never had knee pain before these new shoes.”

These are some of the things I’ve heard my clients say after getting a new pair of sneakers - even when they’ve purchased the same exact model they wore before, even when they had the store attendant examine their gait and recommend the perfect pair. So why does the excitement of that new pair of sneakers turn into the confusion and dismay of wobbly balance and little aches and pains after that first workout or long walk?

During your first several workouts or walks in a new pair of shoes, your default pattern and your sneakers’ neutral positioning are having a little battle. Ultimately, your weight bearing patterns will triumph, of course, and these shoes will end up with the same wear pattern as the last pair - unless you choose to see the momentary discomfort as an opportunity rather than an annoyance.

It all goes back to a likely reason you decided it was time for a new pair to begin with. Before getting rid of your old sneakers, you may have noticed a wear pattern on the soles. Your doctor, physical therapist, or running coach may have even explained what the wear pattern means about your gait. Regardless of what your wear pattern is specifically, the common theme is that your wear pattern gives us a snapshot of your regular gait and stance - your body’s default position during activity. And as a colleague of mine always used to say,

“Your position of comfort is your position of dysfunction.”

Your wear pattern represents where you tend to put weight most often during movement - your position of comfort. The longer you are in a pair of shoes, your position of comfort molds the sneaker to expect and accommodate to this weight-bearing pattern. Conversely, (see what I did there?), your new pair of kicks sits in a neutral position, expecting your foot to move in what I call “footprint in the sand” perfection - all five toes grounded but not gripping, even pressure on both corners of the heel, and a nicely lifted arch.

Instead of pushing through, ask yourself - what is your body trying to tell you? Are you suddenly feeling like your ankle is just doing too much when you’re running? Losing balance during lunges and single leg deadlifts? Getting sore in unusual places after your normal walks? Landing only on the outside of your foot during plyometrics? Pushing off only your big or little toe, with the other four being ignored?

I don’t necessarily recommend trying to emulate a textbook stride - all of our bodies are different, and chasing perfection can result in frustration. What I do recommend is taking this opportunity to find the healthiest and most efficient movement pattern for you. The compensatory patterns we find ourselves in are often the result of old injury or trauma - they served us well at one point, but we don’t need them anymore - and in fact, the longer we hold on to them, the more we are holding ourselves back from our capacity for true fitness.

Often, becoming aware of your patterns makes a huge difference all by itself. Once you notice that, for example, you’re not pushing off all five toes when you walk, you can make that change and see how you feel (most likely more grounded and more powerful in your stride). I’d encourage you not to drive yourself crazy thinking about it, but if you practice one block out of every five during a walk, you can give your body the chance to see how good the new stride feels and gradually let this become your new pattern.

If noticing these patterns feels a little overwhelming, or like you don’t know what to do with the information you’ve received from your body, this is where you can ask a health or fitness professional you trust for help. They can guide you through exercise programming to help correct the muscle imbalances that may be behind those old movement patterns, replacing them with new patterns that feel strong and stable. If you’re a visual learner, ask them to demonstrate, or to take some slow-motion videos of your old pattern and an ideal pattern for you. If you’re an auditory learner, ask them for cues during your exercises, rather than just instruction before. If you’re a kinesthetic learner, superset your exercises with a walk or jog, so that your body can immediately incorporate what it has just learned..

So next time you bring home that new pair of sneakers, remember that they’re not just footwear, they’re an opportunity - for you to take that next step (get it?) towards optimal health and fitness.

lace up. step out.

be notorious.

Much light and love,

Erica