Are Your Shoes Ruining Your Life?

I have a cousin who I tease because she refused to get rid of a pair of New Balances she owned since her early high school years (she’s 30 and she just recently got rid of them). I lovingly nicknamed the shoes her Old Faithfuls. The shoes earned this nickname because not only were they in it for the long haul but because she wore them to anything that required movement. Hiking, dancing, moving from one apartment to the next, you could guarantee she’d wear her Old Faithfuls.

I personally think it’s awesome that she could find such a pair of shoes that could make it through hell and high water. In fact, I envy her because none of my shoes have my back (or in this case feet) like her Old Faithfuls had hers.

It was safe to say that this pair of shoes was in her top five, and although they were dependable, they weren’t necessarily good for her or the activities she chose to participate in.

I always found myself questioning when she would consider finally letting go, even more so when I realized how the shoes could potentially ruin her workouts, activities, and even her health.

Old worn-out shoes do not always pose problems for active lifestyles. Some of the most recent designs, including the popular knits, have been known to put a damper on certain types of exercises.

RELATED: Wearing the Wrong Shoes? The Impact Could Be Worse Than You Think

So it’s extremely important to know when to replace a pair of shoes, but equally as important to choose the right shoe for your workout.

Different shoe designs support our feet differently and what may work for one person may not work for the next. What we may not realize is that there is a ton of technology that goes into building sneakers and wearing shoes that aren’t appropriate for our specific workouts could cause harm.

For example, if you’re participating in a class or sport that requires a great deal of lateral and agility movements, you want a shoe that supports it.

RELATED: Are your shoes FIT for your workout?

If you’re doing high-impact movement and jumping, you want a shoe with shock absorption. Low-impact exercises (weight lifting) wouldn’t