Today I want to talk a bit about training shoes. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve likely seen me posting workout videos the past few months. I signed up to start working out with a personal trainer 2-3x a week and it has been a GAME changer for my mental health and fitness.
Y’all know I’m all about progress over perfection so for me, the important thing is just moving my body every day. But it has been really cool to see how much stronger I’ve gotten since I started. There are several exercises we do that I could barely finish at the beginning and now I’m able to really push myself and get them done.
In addition to all of these amazing exercises my trainer has been teaching me, I’ve also learned a TON about finding the right shoe for your workout. So I’m going to share a look at my favorite sneakers for training and why it’s so dang important to wear the right shoe.
Finding the Right Sneaker
After doing some research, I found out there are three main categories for sneakers: running, training, and walking. Because we don’t do a ton of distance running in our workouts (we focus mostly on quick sprints), I knew training shoes would serve me better than running shoes.
Once I was able to narrow that down, it came down to finding the support and stability that I’d need for the types of exercises we do. Since we include a lot of weights in our workouts, my trainer recommended I find a shoe with a hard, stable, non-compressible sole that would give me plenty of support.
Basically, training sneakers are the opposite of walking and running shoes, so the fact that I was wearing my walking shoes to do strength training was a disaster. They did not give me the support I needed at all! Once I found a couple of sneakers that worked well for what we were doing, it was amazing how much easier my workouts became.
APL Techloom Breeze Sneakers
I’ve been a *big* fan of the APL sneakers for a while now. I personally like how lightweight and cushy they are. Plus, they’re perfect for wearing during your workout then styling with leggings and a cute pullover for the rest of the day.
But I’ve found them to also be great to wear during my workouts in the gym too. I find that no matter what workout I’m doing from squats to reverse lunges to mountain climbers, these sneakers help me feel supported.
What’s truly crazy about the APL sneakers is that they were actually banned by the NBA for giving players an unfair edge. That’s how you know they’re good!
Nike Free Metcon 4
See my video product review on Instagram here!
The second pair of sneakers I use when training is my Nike Metcons. Apparently, these sneakers are big in the CrossFit world!? I’m certainly not comparing what I do in the gym to CrossFit, but we do include a lot of agility drills and weights in our workouts, and these sneakers stand up to whatever exercise I’m doing.
I do feel like these sneakers may have a little bit more support than my APLs, but they also aren’t as lightweight so it kind of depends on what my workout plan is for the day. These sneakers definitely give me some stability when I’m working out though, which I love.
I’m not sure I’d run in these sneakers, but I’ve worn them for my daily walk a few times and they’ve been great. I also think they’re super stylish (love the gold streak on the side) and would pair these with leggings and an oversized tee.
If you’ve got a favorite sneaker you love for training, let me know. I’m always looking to add a new pair of two that I can include in the rotation!
