Most people are proud owners of one or more pairs of trainers, and it doesn’t matter what age an individual is because part of the success of trainers is that they appeal across all age groups. Some subtle differences in design also make trainers more suitable for different activities – discover more.
The grip on the heel can be more suited to running or gym training, or for five aside football pitches. Whether we buy trainers for these activities or simply as a comfortable fashion accessory, the key is getting a comfortable fit.
The Importance of Comfort
If you are active and you are buying trainers to suit the activity of your choice, then getting the size of the shoes, and the comfort of them right is vital. If trainers are too big, then they will not hold feet into position or support them, and they may even come off whilst running. Too small, and trainers may squeeze feet and even cut in at the ankle, affecting performance and causing injury.
However, it can be hard to judge all this from wearing trainers in a store for 5 minutes, before purchasing them. The most common mistake is buying trainers that are too tight around the foot. However, many wearers face the frustrating conundrum of not being able to step up to the next shoe size, because this would just be too big.
Stretching Trainers Safely
If you cannot achieve that broken into your comfort zone with your trainers and climbing the next shoe size up is not an option, then as a last resort, you may want to consider stretching your trainers. This should be done carefully because the last thing that you want is a pair of trainers that finally feel comfortable but have been irreversibly damaged.
Water Works
A surprisingly risky-sounding solution to tight trainers is commonly touted as an effective way of safely stretching trainers fractionally, to fit more comfortably. This involves filling two zip lock bags full of water and placing one into each shoe, so they fit tightly.
This should be done gently to avoid any leakage or popping of the bag. Water can damage the interior of shoes and cause padding and insoles to deteriorate and become unstuck from the trainer’s surface.
The trainers must then be placed in the freezer because when water freezes, it expands. This gradual expansion should apply enough pressure to the interior of the trainers to gently push them outwards. It is believed that 24 to 48 hours max is needed for optimum results. It is best to let the sneakers stand and warm up once they are removed from the freezer because this prevents your feet from freezing, but also allows the trainer material to warm and soften back to its natural state.
Shoe Stretchers
If you fancy paying to get trainers stretched, then you can take them to shoe repair shops that will use special tools to do this for you. Or you can invest in a shoe stretcher device yourself, these can also be used on trainers. You can also buy a shoe stretching spray that gently saturates the trainer, making the material more susceptible to these stretching machines.
