Shoe Laces Mastered

Having the proper equipment is a necessity when doing any physical activity, no matter if its lifting weights, or playing a sport. One piece of equipment that is often overlooked is the shoelaces. Usually, when you buy a pair of shoes, you take into mind the support and the arches, but you don't factor in the impact of the shoe laces on the composition of the shoe. Tying the laces too tight, or even lacing them wrong, can lead to aches and pains, that could eventually lead to serious injuries.

In my case, I find the top of my foot to feel sore after wearing shoes for a while, especially Nike Free Runs, which I work out in. In reading Men's Health, Get Back in Shape by David Zinczenko, I was able to find the simple and easy solution for this problem. By skipping a cross lace half way up the shoe, it can relieve tension put on the top of the foot, allowing it more room to flex (Zinczenko 56). I decided to give it a try, and here is what it looks like. 

The book suggests to "start at the bottom eyelets and criss-cross to the next set of holes. Then thread your laces vertically up the next two pairs of holes" (Zinczenko 56). Since there aren't many eyelets on these shoes, I only threaded vertically up one set of holes because there were not many holes in the first place. In using this shoe lace design, it relieved a significant amount of pain from the top of my foot, especially when running. If I were to have left this issue go unnoticed, it could have led to big problems, such as bone spurs, so I'm glad this tip was included in the book, and it makes physical activity much more enjoyable.

Here I am in my blue Nike Free Runs with the special lace design, able to focus more on the weights than the pain on the top of my foot.

What other tips and tricks do you know revolving around making workouts easier and more enjoyable?

Zinczenko, David. Me's Health, Get Back in Shape, Rodale Inc, Emmaus Pennsylvania, 2009.