I almost forgot until Tim reminded me: The brand new Reebok CrossFit Nano 2.0 shoes are available starting today! I just picked up a pair of red ones...
...and a pair of gray ones, too.
I know I just got some new inov-8s a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn't resist. Besides: (1) I miss my trashed Game of Death shoes, (2) some sizes are already selling out, and (3) I am a shoe whore.
In April, Reebok's opening "a combined gym and store location on Fifth Avenue in New York."
Reebok plans to "outfit shipping containers as mobile CrossFit gyms and deliver them to 50 locations around the world, as a means of encouraging people to try CrossFit."
"The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived" campaign will be Reebok's main marketing push for 2012, [Reebok marketing VP Viktoria] Wallner said. It will also highlight other Reebok products, such as RealFlex, ZigTech and EasyTone." (EasyTone? As part of "The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived" campaign? Really?)
What do you think? Awesome? Or worrisome? And how long before Kenny Powers adds his two cents about the sport of fitness not being a "real sport"?
It's been a few days since my Reebok CrossFit Oly shoes arrived, but I haven't yet worked out in them.
Part of me doesn't want to even put them on -- I'd rather just look at them lovingly, and keep them in mint condition forever. But that's just my inner nerdy baseball card / comic book collector talking. The other part of me can't wait to get these suckers on my feet and into the gym.
This afternoon, I broke the shoes out of the box and gave 'em a good once-over.
The Reebok Oly shoe feels a lot lighter than most other weightlifting shoes, owing largely to a heel made of injected thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) rather than wood. I'm guessing the triangular indentations in the heel cut the shoes' weight even further, though I can't say I'm a huge fan of the resulting zigzag design. (It reminds me too much of the barfy-looking outsoles on the Reebok Zigs.)
That said, the vamp of the shoe is extremely soft and flexible. The tread/score lines on the front of the sole underscore the emphasis on free forefoot movement. Combined with the lightness of the shoe (mine weighed just 13.8 ounces -- yes, I checked), I'm guessing these suckers'll do just fine in a WOD that pairs Oly lifts with box jumps or double-unders.
My pair fit well right out of the box -- and not just because the shoe features a nicely-padded collar and a snug heel counter. Reebok appears to have fixed the sizing problem it had a few months ago. (As you may recall, the yellow Nanos sold at the Games ran about one size too big.)
Another issue I had with the prototype Nanos were that the laces were too short. Reebok appears to have addressed that concern as well:
Actually, this photo shows both pairs of laces -- red and black -- that came with the shoe. The red ones are snazzy, but I think I'm going to stick with the black ones.
And let's not forget about the custom-fitting U-Form shoe lining. As with the Nanos, you can bake the Oly shoes in the oven at 200°F for 3 minutes and then put them on. As they cool, the lining of the shoes will mold to the shape of your feet. This may be the closest thing to a perfect-fitting weightlifting shoe on the market.
Mine are now baked and ready to go.
By the way, it's a little thing, but I love that the little U-Form tab on the sides turn red when the shoes have been baked. (They turn black again once the shoes cool down.)
I know that not everyone's sold on plastic heels over wood ones, and I'll probably stick with my wooden-heeled Adidas weightlifting shoes when I'm focusing on my lifts. But for CrossFit WODs that combine Olympic lifts with jumping around or hanging off a pull-up bar, this flexible, lightweight shoe certainly looks promising. I'll report back once I've had a chance to test drive them a bit more.
Say what you will about Reebok, but you can't say it doesn't own up to its mistakes.
The Reebok CrossFit Facebook page lit up this morning with complaints from folks who tried desperately to buy the newly-offered Oly shoes before they sell out, but failed due to system issues on Reebok's end. Some apparently spent hours on Reebok's site, trying in vain to purchase the shoes. (I was able to get through without any problems, but it looks I was one of the lucky ones.)
The silver lining for Reebok? The demand for its CrossFit shoes is off the charts. Clearly, there are plenty of us who need shoes to match our Kool-Aid mustaches.
“Barefoot-style” shoes are now a $1.7 billion industry. But simply putting something different on your feet doesn’t make you a gliding Tarahumara. The “one best way” isn’t about footwear. It’s about form. Learn to run gently, and you can wear anything. Fail to do so, and no shoe -- or lack of shoe -- will make a difference.
That’s what Peter Larson discovered when he reviewed his footage after the New York City Barefoot Run. “It amazed me how many people in FiveFingers were still landing on their heels,” he says. They wanted to land lightly on their forefeet, or they wouldn’t be in FiveFingers, but there was a disconnect between their intentions and their actual movements. “Once we develop motor patterns, they’re very difficult to unlearn,” Larson explains. “Especially if you’re not sure what it’s supposed to feel like.”
So how can runners relearn how to run properly? According to McDougall, something called the "100-Up Exercise" -- invented in 1874 by W.S. George -- could be the key. To practice, start by setting 2 targets on the ground about 8 inches apart.
The 100-Up consists of two parts. For the “Minor,” you stand with both feet on the targets and your arms cocked in running position. “Now raise one knee to the height of the hip,” George writes, “bring the foot back and down again to its original position, touching the line lightly with the ball of the foot, and repeat with the other leg.”
That’s all there is to it. But it’s not so easy to hit your marks 100 times in a row while maintaining balance and proper knee height. Once you can, it’s on to the Major: “The body must be balanced on the ball of the foot, the heels being clear of the ground and the head and body being tilted very slightly forward.... Now, spring from the toe, bringing the knee to the level of the hip.... Repeat with the other leg and continue raising and lowering the legs alternately. This action is exactly that of running.”
Interesting stuff. Check out the Times' video of the 100-Up here:
The CrossFit Endurance run performance workshop earlier this year was fun and informative, and I also enjoyed the refresher on natural running technique at the recent MovNat Fundamentals session in Palo Alto. But it wasn't until today's Flow Running seminar that everything finally felt like it clicked into place for me.
The man behind Flow Running is Patton Gleason, an experienced ultra-marathoner and trail runner. (He's also the founder of the Natural Running Store, a fantastic source for CrossFitters and runners looking for Inov-8s, Altras, and Vivo Barefoots.) After getting acquainted with Patton on Twitter, I finally got to meet him a few months ago at the CrossFit Games; every time I passed his booth, I stopped to chat him up. Not only is Patton an expert in natural running techniques (and a Paleo eater!), he's a warm, funny and charismatic guy. It's impossible to not like him.
Patton traveled up to the Bay Area to lead a couple of two-hour Flow Running seminars at CrossFit Palo Alto this weekend, and I'm glad I got a chance to attend. The time flew by as we learned how to run efficiently and stay injury-free. I was amazed at the amount of information Patton was able to pack into just 120 minutes, but by putting us through a number of short running drills, he gave us a ton of firsthand experience that'll likely stick with us for a good, long while.
If you're familiar with minimalist running techniques (e.g., POSE, Chi, MovNat, CrossFit Endurance), Flow Running won't be foreign to you. Patton emphasizes many of the same foundations of running: proper posture, focusing on firing hamstrings rather than hip flexors, a quick stride with feet landing directly under the body, heels kissing the ground, leaning forward from the ankles to generate forward momentum.
But today, I also learned a bunch of new things that helped me tie all of these lessons together. Patton showed us the connection between jump-rope and running technique. He emphasized breathing techniques, and maintaining consistent inhalation and exhalation throughout a run. He explained the benefits of keeping one's center of gravity lower to the ground, and the importance of keeping our feet loose and relaxed. Patton taught us to focus on just one or two things that are within our control when we run, rather than struggling to keep everything picture-perfect.
And best of all, we learned by doing. Many of Patton's lessons were taught through easy, fun drills that reinforced the nuggets of wisdom he was imparting to us. After each running drill, we had opportunities to watch demos, ask questions, and soak in Patton's responses.
My favorite line of the day: "We are not broken." If we listen to our bodies and run in a way that's consistent with our physiology, we'll be just fine.
Reebok had claimed that EasyTone shoes would deliver, among other things, a 28% boost in butt strength as compared to other shoes. But these numbers were evidently just pulled out of Reebok's butt. The company, the FTC found, couldn't back up its claims of molding a "better butt with every step."
But come on: Did anyone really believe wearing these clunky shoes ("with balance ball technology!" -- whatever that is) would magically lead to a 28 percent firmer, tighter ass?
Regardless, I wish I could say that Reebok'll be ditching these awful shoes to focus on its CrossFit line, but given the profitability of this horribly gimmicky footwear, I get the feeling these "toning" shoes'll be around for a long, long time.
They're zero-drop shoes with wide toe-boxes and barely-there soles (though the outsole is studded with grippy lugs to facilitate trail running). And while they're not made with CrossFit in mind, they look like a worthy competitor to the Merrell Trail Gloves and New Balance Minimus MT10s.
I remember eying the Neo Trails a few months ago when I saw a sneak peek online, but promptly forgot about 'em when the NB MX20s came out.
Aside from a pair of Onitsuka Tigers Rotation 77s, the only shoes I wear to the office these days are from the VivoBarefoot line, but I've never tried any of the brand's athletic shoes. Sadly, I may have to wait a little while longer to give the Neo Trails a shot; with a $130 price tag, these babies are $45 more than my current favorites in the gym.
It's been a month since I bought a pair of Reebok's CrossFit shoes down at the Games. Only a few hundred pairs were made and distributed to Games competitors; the leftovers were then sold to spectators like me. So while the rest of the CrossFit world impatiently waits for Reebok to offer its shoes to the buying public, we lucky few who nabbed a pair at the Home Depot Center have been trying them out. Through all of August, I put mine through the paces: lifting, running, jumping -- the works.
So what's the verdict?
Before we get down to brass tacks, I should point out that the pair I own may not be the final launch version of the Reebok CrossFit shoes. Even though they were deemed Games-ready, I'm guessing that Reebok has some final tweaks up its sleeves. (From what I've heard, they'll be available as early as November -- though I've also heard January -- and will retail for $130). But I'm working with what I've got, so here goes.
There are some things I absolutely love about these shoes. First and foremost, I'm a big fan of the Reeboks' super-wide toe box. The forefoot feels slightly wider than even those on New Balance's Minimus shoes (though upon visual inspection, they appear to be the same width), and offers tons of room for the natural spread and stretch of athletes' toes. Also, unlike some other manufacturers, Reebok's managed to build a wide shoe without sacrificing the look of the product.
Yes, some find the Reebok CrossFit shoes to be butt-ugly (including my wife), but I don't. As I've written before, I think the styling comes correct. I haven't once felt self-conscious about wearing them out in public despite the fact that they're blindingly yellow. I associate yellow-and-black with Bruce Lee, wasps and the Steel Curtain -- so I actually feel pretty bad-ass when I strut around in these babies. (Yes, I realize that most people actually just think I'm color-blind, but shut up.) Bonus: The shoes came with both yellow and black laces.
The Reeboks -- at 9.15 ounces -- are fairly lightweight, and only slightly heavier than my New Balance Minimus MX20s (8.10 ounces) and MT10s (7.15 ounces). The padding and support around the ankles feel solid without being obtrusive, and the throat at midfoot -- although pretty snug when laced -- doesn't overly constrict my feet like the Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves did (or even the New Balance Minimus MT10s). The Reebok shoes' mesh uppers are soft and breathable but durable; after a month of fairly aggressive wear-testing, I haven't noticed any fraying or tearing of the fabric -- not even at the toe-cap, where there's minimal foxing.
As for the vaunted U-Form custom-fit technology? I stand corrected -- it's not just a marketing gimmick. When I first put the shoes on my feet right out of the box, they felt a little loose in places (especially in the vamp and heel counter). But after baking the shoes in a 200-degree oven for 3 minutes and then keeping them tightly laced on my feet for another 8 minutes, the Reeboks fit like a glove. Plus, they felt warm and toasty.
(Note: My shoes didn't come with baking instructions, but I found 'em online here.)
That said, this is not (yet) a perfect shoe.
Some of the flaws are minor, and can be easily fixed. For one, the sizing of the shoes that were sold at the Games is totally screwy. These Reeboks run a full size larger than normal. I usually wear a Men's 9.5 or 10 -- but the Reeboks that best fit me are size 8. Given that Reebok has signaled that these shoes will be sold primarily (exclusively?) online, accurate sizing is critical. Folks who have waited months for these shoes to become available aren't going to be happy about opening up FedEx packages of shoes, only to find that they're too damned big.
Another small problem: The shoelaces are way too short. If you lace the shoes up all the way, you'll barely have enough left over to make bunny-ears.
The biggest issue I have with the Reebok CrossFit shoes, however, is the sole. Yes, I like the minimal heel-to-toe drop, the treads wrapping around the edge of the instep to protect against damage from rope climbs, the lack of zigzags, nubs or other rubbery nonsense on the bottoms of other Reebok shoes. But unfortunately, these shoes are, in my opinion, overly stiff in the sole -- especially through the middle of the foot. While most other shoes flex right at the ball of the foot, the break-line in the Reeboks' sole appears to be situated closer to base of the toes. As a result, with the exception of the very front section of the forefoot, the sole feels like a flat board. There's not a lot of give here.
I can see the advantages a stiffer sole might bring to lifting -- you don't want so much flex in the shoe that people end up on their toes when they should be keeping their weight on their heels. But in my opinion, the soles of these CrossFit shoes could stand to be more yielding given the variety of non-lifting movements that we encounter. The padded insert that comes in the shoes doesn't help either. It sacrifices ground feel for cushiness -- something that most of us don't want or need. After a few workouts, I ended up removing the spongy inserts entirely.
For CrossFit, I prefer shoes that I don't even think about during my WODs. But whenever I ran or jumped in these shoes, I couldn't help but notice the stiffness of the midfoot sole from the balls of my feet to my heels.
The sole aside, the Reebok CrossFit shoes are still heads-and-shoulders above most other cross trainers on the market. The wide toe-box, easy-bake fit, head-turning looks and minimal heel-to-toe drop are features any CrossFitter would dig.
How do they stack up against my other CrossFit footwear? My New Balance Minimus MX20 Trainers still remain my favorite -- but competition for CrossFitters' hearts and minds (and feet) has begun to heat up. This next year is going to see a glut of CrossFit-specific shoes, with new offerings from Reebok, New Balance, Vibram, Altra, Inov-8, Merrell, and others. I can't wait to try 'em out.
For the first time in two years, I didn't exercise for a full week. My only physical activity -- if you could even call it that -- was to scramble around the Home Depot Center to take photos of the athletes competing in the CrossFit Games. (Also, on Thursday afternoon, I speed-walked to the Reebok tent hoping to buy some bright yellow shoes.) But other than that, I pretty much remained sedentary. If I hadn't headed back to CrossFit Palo Alto for our 5 a.m. class this morning, I would've gone stir crazy.
Strength Skill:
Weighted Pistols (Each leg: 2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)
The same old story: Once again, I worked my way up to doing one-legged squats while clutching a 53-pound kettlebell, but my left leg remains significantly weaker and less stable than my right. Damn you, left leg.
See-saw presses look like something my septuagenarian dad would do as part of his morning calisthenics (albeit using 5-pound dumbbells). But after trying 'em with a pair of 45-pound dumbbells, I quickly learned not to scoff at see-saw presses. The name may be whimsical and fun, but the actual movement didn't exactly leave me squealing with delight. I decided to go with 35-pound weights instead.
In retrospect, I should have gone heavier. I got through the first round of see-saw presses without any trouble, and while I took a couple of brief pauses during the second round of presses, they didn't punch me in the face or anything.
As for the running and box jumps, they were fine. I was excited about employing a new box jump approach that I saw a bunch of the Games competitors use this weekend: Jump up on the box, pause to stand up on top, jump backwards off the box, and immediately leap back up onto the box. It worked fine, though I had to fight the urge to rocket off the top of the box instead of steadying myself to stand and ensure full extension.
Result: 11:14.
Incidentally, I wore my new yellow kicks to the gym today (as did Tim), and they felt mighty fine. A detailed review is forthcoming -- I promise. Patience.
The men's shoe resembles the bright yellow Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 sneakers worn by Bruce Lee in his final film, "Game of Death" (and by Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill") -- so much so that I half-expect to be able to put on these shoes and defeat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in hand-to-hand foot-to-foot combat.
Sadly, these shoes aren't yet available for sale to the general public. Reebok produced only a limited quantity with which to outfit the individual athletes competing in the Games. The company did, however, bring along some extra pairs in case the competitors' shoes didn't fit -- and the surplus stock was offered for sale today at the Home Depot Center (including the new Reebok CrossFit Oly shoes). They appear to be a big hit; it didn't take long for Reebok to sell out of men's shoes smaller than size 10, and women's shoes smaller than size 8.
I was eager to find a pair for myself. I usually wear a 9.5 or 10, but it turns out that these shoes run significantly larger than normal -- so a size 10 in these shoes is more like a size 10.5 or 11. I tried on a pair of 10s in the hopes that they would fit, but my feet were just too damned dainty for 'em.
But ever the optimist, I checked the Reebok tent again at 7:30 p.m. tonight -- and managed to score a pair that actually fit my feet. Someone must have returned them, because the sales associate swore up and down that he hadn't seen a pair in my size for hours.
I don't care how they got there -- I'm just happy I got a pair. I chatted briefly with Reebok's Chad Wittman today, and he said these shoes won't be on the market until possibly January of next year. Another Reebok employee suggested that they could arrive as early as November 2011, but don't hold your breath.
I'll post a review once I log some time in the shoes. But first, I need to get me a yellow tracksuit.
A picture's worth a thousand words, right? Well, these might be worth a bit more:
After Tim showed us these photos at this morning's post-workout CoffeeWOD™, we (along with the Terminator) spent the better part of the next hour chugging caffeinated beverages and geeking out over the information crammed into these images.
(By the way, it's not clear to me what Ricky was attempting to do with those kettlebells. Was he doing biceps curls? Handing a kettlebell to small child? I just hope he didn't hurt himself.)
Ricky's sporting some brand-spankin'-new Reebok CrossFit gear, including a pair of "X-Functional Board Shorts." Haven't seen the new Reebok CrossFit apparel and accessories that CrossFit HQ recently made available for sale on its online store? Go take a gander.
Haters gonna hate, but I think some of the stuff looks sweet. I'm ordering myself a beanie or two, and maybe some shorts and a shirt, too.
The physical space looks super-slick -- look at all those treadmills! -- and very similar in aesthetic to Reebok CrossFit One, the affiliate located at the company's Canton, Massachusetts headquarters.
No. Reebok is not opening Boxes. We’re offering our brand name to affiliates that meet certain qualifications.
In Global markets, Affiliates will leverage both brands to scale CrossFit across the globe. These dual-affiliated boxes will run like any other CrossFit (affiliate owned and operated) and will become educational hubs for Cross Fit Certifications and Specialty Seminars.
So it looks like Reebok CrossFit Seoul is one of the world's first "dual-affiliated" boxes (outside of Reebok CrossFit One). It may not be owned and operated by the company, but from the looks of the place, Reebok's poured a good amount of resources into it. And that's not such a bad thing. In places where CrossFit gyms are few and far between, I think that -- on the whole -- Reebok's investment in new gyms around the world signals its commitment to spreading the CrossFit gospel (along with its own brand, naturally). As Tim puts it, "getting the masses to do CrossFit will take massive efforts" -- and it looks like Reebok's ready to put in that effort.
For me, the bigger question involves North America. I believe Reebok when it says it isn't opening boxes of its own to compete against established CrossFit gyms. There's no reason for the company to steal market share from existing affiliates who can help them sell shoes, shirts and shorts. But what happens when Reebok starts lending its brand name to boxes that "meet certain qualifications"? (And just what are those qualifications?)
In the years to come, will Reebok-branded affiliates be viewed as the gold standard in CrossFit boxes because they'll have the backing of a big company? Will they be seen as higher-quality gyms than other affiliates because they've met Reebok's standards and received its official stamp of approval? Or will they be disdained as overly corporate, restrictive, and generic? And how will non-Reebok-branded gyms be perceived?
Will affiliate owners beat a path to Reebok's door to obtain the company's blessing and permission to use its logo? Or will the majority of 'em steer clear in an effort to stay wholly independent of Reebok?
I have SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. Thankfully, there's only nine more days 'til we all congregate in Carson, California to endlessly yammer about this stuff.
***
UPDATED: Philipp Imbusch pointed me to this photo of a shirt from Reebok CrossFit Nürnberg (Nuremberg) on the Facebook page of Drake Sladky (formerly of Landstuhl CrossFit). Looks like this Reebok-branded affiliate's been in the works since at least March. Interesting!
Poppa’s got a brand new pair of shoes, and they’re awesome.
New Balance recently released its new barefoot-inspired Minimus MX20 Training shoes, and although I neglected to pre-order a pair, my coach was kind enough to sell me his.
Up until Friday, I’d been CrossFitting in my New Balance Minimus MT10 Trail shoes. As I mentioned when I bought them back in March, the Trails are lightweight and comfortable, with a minimal heel-to-toe drop and a roomier toebox to better accommodate a more natural running form. They feature a thin but grippy Vibram sole that allows for plenty of ground-feel, and they’re plenty snazzy-looking to boot. The MT10s were clearly built for trail running, but I used them almost exclusively for workouts at the gym, and they worked great for most CrossFit WODs.
But unfortunately, the MT10 still isn’t the perfect all-around CrossFit shoe due to the thinness of the sole. They’re certainly preferable to FiveFingers for Olympic lifting, but after a while, I noticed that my heels always felt sore after stomp-heavy WODs that incorporated explosive lifts and/or box jumps. The worst? Double-unders. It didn’t help that I often jumped too high and fast out of pure panic, but by the end of Annie or some other jump-crazy metcon session, the balls of my feet would ache. There were even a couple of times when I had to kick off my shoes immediately post-WOD because they were so uncomfortable.
So when the opportunity to grab a pair of MX20 Training shoes presented itself, I took it. Tim had pre-ordered a pair of size 10s from the New Balance website, but they were too small for him, so I took them off his hands. I normally wear a 9 1/2 in New Balance shoes, but Tim’s fit me just fine. (Lesson: The MX20s tend to run small.)
Yesterday’s workout -- consisting of pull-ups, push-ups, squats and double-unders -- was a perfect test for my new kicks. I’ve turned into quite a geek for CrossFit shoes, so I couldn’t wait to try them out in class. Before I headed to the gym, I put them on slowly, taking note of the MX20s’ distinguishing features.
The New Balance Minimus MX20 Trainers aren’t as unique-looking as the MX10 Trails, but there’s something to be said about blending in, too. (I speak from experience -- the weird stares and annoying questions from strangers are two key reasons why I haven’t worn my FiveFingers in months.) The MX20s feature a breathable mesh upper with structural overlays across the front of the toes and stretching from the midshoe to the back. Unlike the MT10s, the MX20s feature a plushly-padded ankle collar to secure the position of the heel -- and the tongue is more padded, too.
As with all of the shoes in the Minimus line, the forefoot of the last is super-wide, allowing plenty of wiggle-room and toe-spread. The midfoot feels a bit wider than the MT10s, too (which, in turn, were already more forgiving than the corset-like midsection of the Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves that came out earlier this year). And unlike the Minimus Trails, there’s no constricting band across the top of the forefoot.
The MX20s felt fantastic on my feet. Like the Trails, these shoes are incredibly pliable and accommodating. The inside of these shoes have no insert. Instead, they feature welded seams and a “no-sew material application” to stave off blisters and chafing. And although each shoe is about 1 ounce heavier than the MT10s that I was wearing -- 8.10 ounces versus 7.15 ounces (believe me, I weighed them) -- they’re still super-lightweight. I didn’t feel weighed down at all.
The biggest difference -- and a positive one -- is the foam-and-rubber outsole. Just like the MT10s, these shoes have a 4mm heel-to-toe drop (about a third of the drop featured in most athletic footwear). But the sole itself is slightly thicker and less rounded in profile. Not so much that it’s going to encourage me to heel-strike again like I did when I wore extra-cushioned motion-control shoes, but just enough, I think, to keep my feet from having to absorb the full impact of my overly-enthusiastic jumping and stomping at the gym. Plus, the soles are fairly firm, and not marshmallowy in the slightest, so control isn’t compromised. Perhaps the MX20s don’t offer quite as much ground-feel as the MT10s, but it’s a trade-off I’m more than happy to take.
These shoes were clearly built specifically for CrossFit. Even when New Balance created an ad featuring a MX20-wearing Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox, his feats on the baseball diamond take a back seat to his CrossFit (or CrossFit-esque) training:
So of course, I was excited to work out for the very first time in a pair of shoes made specially for CrossFitting. I arrived at the gym with a plan: As much as possible, I was going to pay attention to how my new footwear was treating me, scrutinizing comfort, traction, ground-feel, and performance.
But then the WOD started, and thoughts of shoes immediately dissipated. Twenty minutes later, I had completed 60 pull-ups, 111 push-ups, 165 air squats, and 220 double-unders -- but I hadn't given a second thought to my new shoes. Which is how it should be, right? They were so comfortable -- even though it was my first workout in ‘em -- that I plumb forgot I was even wearing them.
Even better: My feet felt just dandy post-WOD. No soreness in my feet whatsoever -- not even later in the day, when my shoulders and legs were aching from all the pushing, pulling and squatting.
It’s awesome that so many shoe companies are coming out with shoes designed specifically for the CrossFit community. With New Balance, Altra, Inov-8 and Reebok all competing for CrossFit market share, we’re sure to see some fantastic products in the months and years to come.
