Running is one of the best ways for a person to lose weight, get in shape, and tone up. With that being said, there are a lot of people who are not very experienced with how to run. Running as an exercise requires more than putting one foot in front of the other. A person has got to know how to stretch, how to breath, and perhaps most importantly they have to have the right equipment to make running a good work out rather than an experience in torture.

People who have never been athletes or who have no experience with sports may think that one running shoe is as good as another. However, it’s very important that you pick a shoe that fits your foot. This is particularly true if you have very low arches, also known as flat feet. Wearing cheap running shoes, or ones that are made for people who have normal or high arches isn’t just dumb, it’s dangerous.

Running in shoes that don’t properly fit, or which are made of very bad quality materials, is very uncomfortable. When you run all of your weight is coming down on your heels and moving through your foot as it rolls to the ball of your foot. For those with flat feet, the shock of all the body’s weight coming down is bad enough. That shock weighs hard on poorly fitted shoes and causes pain. This pain can be in the arch of the foot (or lack of arch depending on how flat your feet are), pain in the heel, pain in the ankles, knees, and hips. If the shoes are poorly fitted enough then running in them for too long can actually contribute to pulled muscles, blown joints, and major injuries resulting from bad weight distribution.

Now that you know how serious having the right shoes can be, let’s move on to the special needs of those with flat feet. Generally speaking, the support should be for low arches which goes without saying. Another term that you should definitely look for on the tag is “Motion Control”. For those with flat feet, this is extremely important.

When people with very low arches run, they tend to overpronate. Pronation is the way that they roll their weight from the heel to the ball of the foot. Overpronation is when a person rolls their weight from the outside of their heel to the inside of the ball of their foot. This throws the pressure and weight around, and can lead to all sorts of aches and pains.

So while running is certainly a great idea, a person has to do their research and be prepared. it’s always a bad idea to go off half cocked when exercising, and making sure you have the proper gear and knowledge can save you from a lot of pain and injury. Make sure you do your research first, and get a shoe that fits your foot and your running style. For more information on how to figure out your foot type and walking style, or to read more in depth on the concepts mentioned above visit The runningadvisor.com.