Workout Shoes that Work
It's time you picked up a new pair of workout shoes. If you've had yours for more than a year, throw them away and buy some new ones.
Once you're in the market for workout shoes, you should find the best ones for the activity you're focused on. For example, I workout in a CrossFit gym. Wearing running shoes isn't a good idea in that gym. With the mix of weightlifting and gymnastics during workouts, the heavy padding in the heel of a typical running shoe hinders performance and increases the possibility of injury.
The good news is that all of the major shoe companies are catching on to the trend of lower heel and lighter weight workout shoes. There are a lot of options.
For my next pair of workout shoes, I'm going to purchase the New Balance Men's MX20v4 Minimus Cross-Training and Weightlifting Shoe (picture above, left). They look great and function even better.
I currently wear Saucony Originals Men's Bullet Classic Sneaker when I workout. I love them. They are lightweight and work great. Their sizing is a little strange. The reviews said to order a 1/2 size larger than normal, which I did. Unfortunately, the ones I have now are just a little too big. When I order another pair, I'll get my normal size without adjusting.
The official CrossFit shoes are the Reebok Nano 5.0. I've heard good and bad things about them. Designed specifically for CrossFit, these are the shoes if you want to make sure everyone knows where you workout.
An alternative pure CrossFit shoe is the Nike Metcon. These shoes were banned at the 2015 CrossFit Games because Reebok is an official sponsor. In response, Nike put billboards and ads promoting their shoe with the following message:
Whatever shoes you go with, just get some new ones that are designed for the work you're doing.