Tips for Buying Athletic Shoes 

Your feet have 206 bones and over 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons in your feet, so it's important to take care of them by wearing the proper athletic shoes.

Choosing the right pair of athletic shoes is important to the comfort and health of your feet.  Choosing a shoe because it is cheaper or appeals to your fashion sense is asking for sore feet or possible injury. 

Wear the shoe that fits the sport. If you're walking, wear walking shoes designed for walking, if weight training, wear shoes that will support muscle activity. Each shoe is designed for strength, cushion and stability in the areas that need it.

For example, let's say you want to start running and buy a pair of cheap running shoes. First of all, cheap shoes are not made to form to your foot or absorb the impact of running, nor are they very durable.  Buying these types of shoes can result not only in a miserable run they may diminish your enthusiasm for the sport.  Running shoes in particular should have a good fit, conform to your foot and provide functional support.

Buying a properly designed shoe will also add to your comfort and reduce injury. Shoes that have soles that bend at the ball of the foot will offer much better support than soles that bend under the arch.

The shoe's material should be flexible and allow your foot to "breathe". Shoes that have a mesh fabric are the best. A good sport shoe should be light and able to breathe.

Also think about injury protection when buying your shoes. Don't be fooled into thinking a shoe has to be heavy to offer good support. If you have calf or Achilles tendon pain then heavy canvas shoes can make the pain worse.

If you've found an athletic shoe you like buy 2-3 pairs and alternate them between sporting activities.  This helps your shoes last longer and if you really love the style of the shoe you'll still have them if the manufacturer discontinues the style as many of them often do.  

A good athletic shoe will cost between $70 - $100. Anything more and you are buying style. Anything less and you are probably getting shoes that have been on the shelf awhile where the glue can harden or dry out and the soles can dissipate.

Take care when buying athletic shoes. Always buy the correct shoes for the correct sport. By doing this you'll get much more out of the sport, you'll stick with it longer and you'll substantially reduce injury and of course, enjoy it a lot more.