Choosing The Right Socks for Walking Comfort, Performance & Foot Health!
Greetings < April 22, 2010 was the 40th anniversary of Earth Day celebrated by many from around the world. Each year millions of dedicated people participate to save fuel, water, clean air and to keep this world as Mother Earth intended. We focused on our personal act of green to save the environment, contribute to the betterment of our community and the world. We walked to our local organic vegetable market and visited with like-minded individuals. (This is a 30-40 minute uphill walk on very rough cobblestone roads in the countryside). We acted on our choice of what we want to contribute to celebrate this day. Using personal muscle power to get around is a great way to make a fun and meaningful contribution. Cut down on pollution while keeping fit and healthy is a good reason to promote walking on Earth Day. Why not make every day your own personal Earth Day? There are many ways we all can contribute to make this world a better place for future generation. Log on to Earth Day and take action for the rest of the year. Don’t forget to do the healthy thing by walking each and every day whenever it’s possible. Walking is one of the greenest activities there is! Choosing The Right Walking & Hiking Socks Socks are what help you achieve comfort and performance along with maintaining good foot health in whatever activity you choose to do. Sock design and selection are often overlooked. Choosing the right sock for your activity is very important to your enjoyment, foot health and comfort. There are materials used for good wicking and ventilation to keep your feet cool in the warmer months and warmer in the winter months. The design, padding and support in the sock are very important and help prevent blisters and chafing. Prepare properly and enjoy your adventures outdoors! You are invited to read more about socks in our Walking Socks, Hiking Socks ... The Finishing Touch! section There are many types of socks. A little research is a place to start. Should you be interested in trying some for yourself, feel free to follow the links for Thorlo and Keen Socks. If you are the type that likes to really dig into the topic, we highly recommend visiting the Thorlo Socks site. We have been raving fans of these socks for years and wear them over any other choice all the time. Look around, have a look at some of the videos and get a much better appreciation of what good socks are all about. You will need a good high speed link for some of these videos but they are well worth it. You can ignore the sales talk part of it but for sure also do visit the Activity Info page. These folks make over 36 unique types of socks for different types of activities! Your Questions Folks write to us with some very interesting questions through our Contact Us page. Often these folks don't feel they are ready just yet to ask their question on our Walking and Hiking Stories page just yet. (We feel a bit differently and feel all your stories and situations are worthy of a place on those pages too)! Here is where we share some of those with you. This month we have a question from Jennifer
I'm irritated by the fact that I find myself needing to buy new walking shoes every 3 months (it just feels as if they've gone "flat" and my knees start hurting) - as if I were buying cheap ones! I walk about 1.5 miles every AM and then wear them around the house for another 2 - 3 hours. I've been buying the Brooks Addiction 8 Lady Walker not only because it feels good, but also because it provides stability, motion control and arch support for my pronating, flat feet. I've tried Nike, Adidas and Asics - none of which are sufficiently supportive. Even Mephisto AllRounder isn't quite right. Sales personnel tell me that it's not unusual to have to replace walking shoes that often. I'd be interested in your opinion and recommendations for any other brands I should consider.
HI Jennifer Thank you so much for contacting us at 50 Plus Fitness Walking. Before we get to your question please bear in mind that we are not doctors or health professionals of any kind - only enthusiasts. First the easy question. No, good shoes should not wear out after 3 months unless you are buying pretty low end stuff. And we don't suggest using sales people in mass market outlets to be your guide for good shoes. My suggestion would be first to see a good podiatrist and/or physio to make sure there are not basic mechanical issue with your gait and so on. Second have you worked through the Shoe Fitting and Measuring pages on our site? I would suggest you start here and read through pretty much everything and follow the suggestions. Clearly something is getting missed at the moment. Next you may wish to click through the links under the Pick Your Right Shoe Type section further down that page. We personally use Vasque and ECCO for much of our walking and find them very good. My Vasque shoes are on their fifth year and still going strong. We try to walk every day. Keen also make an excellent shoe for a variety of outdoor activities. Mephisto makes great shoes but I only have a dress shoe by them and it is not the greatest for walking as an exercise. They however do have new lines of walking shoes that we personally don't have any experience with yet. Finally one more element to look at may the use of an orthotic of some type. Work your way through the section called 4 Steps To A Successful Shoe Fit further down the same page. After all of that you may learn that they can be of some help. The best advice on this though should come from your Podaitrist. We do hope these ideas are of some help and value to you Jennifer. Great good luck with them and ... Keep Walking!
Write and share with us some of obstacles that you've had to overcome to get back to a more healthy lifestyle. We all have obstacles at some time or another. You might have a solution that may help others overcome problems that they may find difficulties with. Help someone this month. Next month you may be the one seeking help. Let's continue to enjoy 2010 and face your new walking adventures with happiness, excitement and good socks!
Yoko and Geoff
PPPS - Remember that we welcome your walking stories, hiking tales and tall tales too! Share yours with us, be published on your very own web page and maybe even win some neat prizes! PPS - Feel free to pass a copy of this newsletter on to your friends, They might enjoy it too! |
