Toe Spring, Balance and foot strength
Put your shoe on a table or flat surface and look at it from the side.
Does the toe of the shoe sweep upward? So the tip of the shoe is no longer in contact with the ground?
If that’s happening, it’s not a good shoe for the gym.
This is called toe spring. As soon as you put them on your feet, they shift your balance backwards. Over time, chronic use can lead to stiff, weaker muscles and fascia your foot and lower leg.
If you stand on the ground barefoot, do your toes naturally slope off the floor like that? Probably not.
Toe spring is supposed to making running and walking easier, but that isn’t necessarily the case, or maybe it’s is but not a good thing in the long run.
The Harvard Gazette: Your shoes were made for walking. And that may be the problem; upward curve at tip eases motion but may lead to weaker muscles, problems.
Toe spring, combined with the fact that those same shoes likely have thick and cushy bottoms, with the heel raised above the rest of the foot, are why shoes like this shouldn’t be in the gym.
All that extra padding desensitizes your feet, shifts your center of mass and makes it more difficult for your body receive feedback, or rather, makes you more likely to lose your balance.
Balance will deteriorate as you age. There a lot of things you can do to continue challenging your balance and help it stick around. Getting appropriate gym shoes, ones with stiffer bottoms, a minimal heel drop and space for your toes to spread out is an easy place to start.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain