The life of a shoe depends on the intensity and duration of the action it’s getting. The more high impact activities you do in your gym shoes, the more quickly they’ll break down. If you’re shoes lose their getup and go, you’re at risk of decreased performance and injury. Check yourself, check your shoes.
In general, high-impact shoes have about a 500-mile life span, which translates loosely to 100 hours of exercise classes at the gym.
Factors That Reduce the Longevity of Shoes
- heavier body weight
- cheap construction quality
- exercise surface
- age of the sneakers
- exposure to heat and sun
Mind Your Feet, Reduce Risk of Injury. A question I sometimes get at the gym is, “how long will my shoes last?” But more often than that, I get “I know I need new gym sneakers I just haven’t gotten around to it.” If you know your shoes need replacing, chances are they’re way beyond needing replacing. Give the soles a flex. Do they feel like they felt when they were new? Still shock absorbent and supportive in all the right places? Or are they three years old and compressed from countless miles, shuttle runs, burpies and box jumps? Make a timely and conscious effort to replace your sneakers. Your feet and ankles will thank you. Oh yeah, and your knees, hips and low back, too. Avoid heel pain, ankle pain, soreness in your hips, and aching in your back, by being mindful of your footwear. Seriously. It’ll mess with the whole kinetic chain, right up your leg.
Mind Your Shoes, Find motivation? Keeping tabs on shoe mileage or hours spent going to local bootcamps is a great way to monitor the wear and tear on your shoes and also get motivated about your fitness goals. If shopping for new sneakers is a treat, reward yourself after you hit the 500 mile mark on your sneakers or attend 100 hours of group fitness classes. Make your sneakers tired as incentive to keep up with the latest fashion or your ever-changing favorite color. Keep a tally and build some momentum behind a big goal with a fun payoff.
SNEAKER TIP: It is ideal to buy two pairs of sneakers and use them on alternate days, allowing your footwear plenty of time to breathe and expand between workouts.
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