Experience Natural Flex Movement with SKECHERS GOwalk!

Introducing a new way to GO with SKECHERS Fitness. The perfect athletic cool-down footwear, SKECHERS GOwalk is an easy slip-on that weighs nearly nothing, yet gives you ultimate comfort with a natural, barefoot feel just like the SKECHERS GOrun shoe.

SKECHERS GOwalk allows you to interact with and respond to practically any surface, while offering the additional benefit of real-world protection.  The GOimpulse sensors on the sole are placed to offer ideal support and comfort.  And the shoe flexes and twists to help you walk naturally. They’re perfect for post-workout cool-downs, fitness walking and everyday casual wear.  SKECHERS GOwalk is available in several colors, with even more coming soon.  Try on a pair of SKECHERS GOwalk and you will feel the difference!

Written by: Tim the Shoe Guy

Tim is the web merchandising manager for SKECHERS and has years of experience selling running and athletic shoes for other retailers.

SKECHERS GOrun Hits the Ground Running

Did you hear? The new SKECHERS GOrun has hit the ground running.

SKECHERS GOrun is our newest high performance running footwear line that helps you to feel more and react faster.  SKECHERS GOrun elevates the natural running experience, allowing you to interact with and respond to practically any surface, while offering the additional benefit of real world protection.  SKECHERS GOrun features SmartShoe™ a mid-foot strike and GOimpulse sensors for enhanced sensory feedback.

When is Nothing… Something?

I recently got a pair of new athletic shoes – the men’s Shape-ups LIV by Skechers™ – and they really have something there. Or maybe they really have nothing. Let me explain.

I wear a size 14, and even the simplest shoes can weigh a lot in that size. But when I got my shoes, I thought maybe the box was empty at first. The shoes are ultra-lightweight. When I say that, I mean that even my size 14 soles only weigh 10 ounces each: they’re one of the lightest shoes I’ve ever worn.

But they really have a lot of features, even weighing nearly nothing like they do. For starters, they’re made of a lightweight, shock-absorbing Resalyte™ material. The upper is substantial and comfortable, the cushioning is very good for walking, running or training, and they look good too.

Walking in them is something as well – the SmartShoe™ design lets your foot find its most natural stride, and the articulated sole is super flexible and gives your feet gentle guidance so that you walk perfectly smooth without even thinking about it. My feet felt great wearing them.

I’ve tried some lightweight running shoes before, but Shape-ups LIV by Skechers™ is something entirely different, giving you all the support, cushioning and stability you need. That’s something. But all this comes in a shoe that weighs… pretty much nothing.

Written by: Tim the Shoe Guy
Tim is the web merchandising manager for SKECHERS and has years of experience selling running and athletic shoes for other retailers.

Putting Running Shoes to the Test – Part 1

I ran my first marathon about six months ago, and survived the 26.2 miles without a single blister. I thought my shoes must have been some pretty magical kicks! Now, as I begin training for my very first triathlon (a local sprint tri here in Southern California), I have been thinking more about my footwear because of all the attention that barefoot running and the new style of rocker bottom shoes are getting. For a long time the “best” shoes all shared certain characteristics, but now more engineers, designers, and biomechanists are improving the “best” shoes in radical ways. As a physical therapist, I am particularly interested in how these new technologies impact the body, and I’m curious to see if they will allow me to run faster and safer than ever.

First a little about the foot! For being as complex as it is (26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles), the mechanics of the foot are beautifully simplistic. As we turn our foot out to make contact with our heel to the ground, the bones shift and align in such a configuration that they are moveable. In this position, the foot is prepared to absorb shock, which in running can amount to three to four times our body weight. This incredible amount of force is absorbed in a couple of ways. Some of the force is absorbed up through our body, and some of the force is stored as elastic potential energy (think of a loaded rubber band) in the muscles that hold up the arch (namely tibialis posterior) and the fibrous tissue lining the arch (plantar fascia).

After the shock of our step is absorbed and all of our body weight is fully loaded on our foot, we need it to perform an entirely different role. We no longer want a moveable shock-absorber; we now need a very rigid lever over which to launch our entire body. When we roll onto our toes at the end of our step, the bones shift into a new alignment where they are rigid and locked. In this position, the foot now creates more torque that propels our body forward.

The classic running shoe is designed to do as much of the work for our foot as possible. It absorbs shock for us, which provides more elastic “spring”. It also creates a stronger, more supportive sole, which strengthens the foot’s lever. This logic is not necessarily wrong, but the new running technologies are challenging the principles on which they stand. Foot injuries and foot pain among runners are still both very common, and many would claim that it’s even more common than it used to be.

So, what should a good running shoe do? I’m going to attempt to answer that over a series of blog posts. During my training, I will run in three very different ways: barefoot on soft and hard sand, with a traditional, supportive running shoe, and with my new pink ProSpeed SRR fitness sneakers. I will share the different biomechanics of each style as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each shoe, so that we can all run a little faster and avoid injury!

Written by: Maureen McClure
Maureen is a Doctor of physical therapy, active in running, swimming, and beach volleyball. She regularly trains for marathons and triathlons.

The Speed of Science – SKECHERS ProSpeed

Having tried on and worn a lot of running shoes, I am very impressed with the new SKECHERS ProSpeed running shoe.  I think once people realize just how forward-thinking and advanced this shoe is, it’s going to be very popular.

First things first, the shoe looks good.  I know that’s not really important in a technical running shoe, but some running shoes out there are just a bundle of features with no style. There will be people attracted to the ProSpeed for looks alone.

It’s amazingly lightweight. As in under 10 oz. (can be up to 15 oz. for larger sizes) per shoe lightweight.  Usually that kind of weight means you get little to no comfort and cushioning, but in the ProSpeed you get an impressive amount of cushioning and technical features. That light a weight, and it doesn’t feel at all flimsy or featureless – it feels solid and ready to run.

Even before you get to the midsole design, the ProSpeed has a lot of neat features.  There’s a tiny but perfectly placed piece of hook-and-loop fastener that holds one side of the tongue perfectly in place even during a long run. The ventilation of the shoe is well designed to keep your feet cool. There’s good internal stabilization so that your foot stays in place and doesn’t tend to pronate.

They took everything that I love about the Resistance Runner– and I really enjoy the comfort and support of that shoe – and made it more efficient and lighter weight. Where the Resistance Runner makes running a natural fluid motion, the ProSpeed almost makes me feel like I could race anyone and win.

The instructions call the midsole design a “SmartShoe with Mid-Foot Strike”, and I can see why. A traditional heel strike forces you to land on your heel, an area of your foot that also brakes and reduces speed. ProSpeed directs your foot to land past your heel, giving you a more fluid stride and using your body’s energy more efficiently. It feels entirely different from my old running shoes, which have lots of cushioning at the heel and not a whole lot at the mid-foot or toe. I didn’t even have to think about changing my stride – it just happened naturally and feels right, whether I’m walking or running.

There’s a lot of advanced scientific design built into the ProSpeed; that much should be obvious just by looking at them. But wearing them, and running or walking in them, feels a little bit more like magic than science!

Written by: Tim the Shoe Guy
Tim is the web merchandising manager for SKECHERS and has years of experience selling running and athletic shoes for other retailers.