Copyright © 2021 Graham Tuttle Fitness, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome to The Athlete’s Shoe Guide!

I wrote this simple guide in response to the most common question I get asked by clients: “What shoes should
I get?” Though it should be straightforward, a mixture of complicated marketing and misleading information has
made this decision anything but simple. When it comes to shoes, it’s important. (Obviously not as important as
having healthy, strong feet, but what you put those feet into matters!) The shoes you wear can either encourage
functional foot movement and support injury free feet, or they can restrict movement and lead you down the
road of endless “rehab” and chronic pain.

What’s more is that the decision on what you wear will impact your running form, your standing posture, and
your ability to balance and prevent falls. For example, did you know that the raised heel of the modern day
“running shoe” actually makes running with proper form harder? If you consider yourself a runner, that should
bother you! This report will briefly touch on the nuances of how to run well, what shoes you should wear, and
how to manage rehab effectively. This guide has 3 parts:

1. A Discussion on Running and Movement

2. A List of my Recommended Shoes/Footwear
3. My 10 Rules for Rehab

Let’s start with movement, biomechanics, and running. Running is a skill. It requires strength, control, balance,
coordination, and healthy feet, ankles, and knees. Anyone can go out for a run - all you need is a pair of shoes
and a bit of space. That’s why running is considered a ubiquitous marker of health and fitness; it is accessible to
everyone. Unfortunately, this also creates a problem. Just because you can go run, doesn’t mean you have the
ability to run well. Without a focus and practice of proper technique, a solid foundation of strength, and a base
of movement specific conditioning, many people run themselves straight into injury. Pun intended.

As bipedal mammals (moving on two feet instead of four) there are two different types of movement patterns
available to us: walking and running. The difference between the two is the introduction of flight phase, or time
spent in the air. When we walk, we always have one foot on the ground. As you step from side to side you are
just shifting your weight from one foot to the other. This is an amazing achievement for a mammal, allowing for
several advantages in movement proficiency and a natural upright posture that four legged animals do not have.

For example, switching from moving on four limbs to two freed up our arms to work with tools and hold things.
And you can thank your heels for this. The ability to heel strike and maintain balance over a longer ground
contact time as we step allows us to cover greater distances with minimal effort. But it doesn’t come without a
cost. We lose a significant amount of speed and acceleration as bipedal movers… just go race a horse or dog.

In this walking pattern we are essentially balancing on one foot at a time in constant contact with the ground.
But the moment we transition into a jog, no matter how slow, we introduce flight into our stride. This means
we are jumping from one foot to the other with time spent in the air. The literal definition of what constitutes
race walking is that one foot appears to be in contact with the ground at all times. This transition to a flight
phase requires a new movement pattern – the forefoot strike.

To help you visualize this, imagine you are jumping rope, with no shoes. You’re jumping on the front of your foot,
right? Now shift to jumping on your heels. Not as easy and pretty painful… Our ankles, calves, and Achilles’
tendons are designed to work as shock absorbers for our strides; allowing us to land softly, absorb force, and
reproduce it repetitively without injury.

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But it’s not as simple as a linear force absorption, our feet also pronate. Although much maligned by common
marketing (just look for “pronation control” shoes next time you go to the shoe store), pronation is a completely
natural and essential part of running and movement. Just as a parkour athlete rolls when landing from a big
jump to dissipate force, our foot naturally rolls and splays across several bones to spread out the impact.

Unfortunately, even in the face of a large body of evidence, people continue to accept heel striking as a
proper form of running. But just because you can do something, (even for a long period of time) does not make
it ideal. For example, you can drive on a flat tire for a while, but that doesn’t mean it’s best for the car!

When we heel strike (contacting the ground with the heel

first) we lose the benefit of the shock absorption complex. As
a result, the force of impact is sent straight up the body - first to
the knee and then to the back. At lower thresholds (jogging in
thick soled shoes) some runners may be able to get away with
this. However, over time this will lead to overuse injuries, shin
splints, and muscle strains in the lower leg and hip from
improper loading.

Of course, heel striking isn’t possible without the modern

shoe and its thick foam padding and raised heel that can
easily exceed an inch of material under your foot. While this
sloped heel design aims to approximate the correct forefoot
strike upon landing, it ultimately reinforces sloppy running
form that leads to injury. Without this extra padding, heel
striking would be prohibitively painful – that should be evidence
Same speed - which one looks better to you? enough for avoiding it.

Much like the modern-day office chair promises ergonomic features and gimmicks to reduce back pain, today’s
shoes promise stability, performance, and safety. But just like back pain hasn’t been fixed by improving chair
technology, poor running and leg injuries aren’t going to be fixed by more shoe technology.

The vast majority of footwear today is built around aesthetic appeal and marketing. Please, try to explain the
difference between a running shoe, a training shoe, a tennis shoe, and a walking shoe... We’ve been led to
believe for decades now that the next jump in performance or foot pain fix is a new pair of shoes. We’ve been
sold pronation control shoes, insoles, stability shoes, and ankle support shoes that were supposed to have
fixed all our problems. But I don’t see the incidence of foot pain and overuse injury getting any better, do you?

To help you understand this better, let’s discuss the three categories of footwear that shoes fall into:

• Aesthetic Shoes are simple shoes that look good. High heels, dress shoes, and most every type of “training”
shoe that is sold at typical footwear stores fall in this category. Outside of aesthetic appeal, these shoes have
little to no value and almost always come at a cost to your foot functionally.
• Competition Shoes provide a specific benefit to your foot that is helpful for gaining an edge in a specific
environment like cleats or spikes to grip the ground, stiffer midsole to enhance force, or straps to keep the
foot braced. These are part of the game and athletes wear them for a reason. While these are essential for
some sports and protect the feet in many cases, they generally work by improving one performance aspect
at the expense of another. Sacrificing health for performance is part of the game at some point, but it’s
important to understand that they take a toll on your foot and aren’t meant to be worn for long durations.

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• Everyday/Training Shoes are designed around functionality.
Walking, training, shopping, yardwork, etc. These should be
flexible and provide your foot ample space to function well. The
big problem is that most people confuse aesthetic shoes for
everyday shoes. As a result, the foot becomes weak and loses
function. For example, these shoes, though popular, are
aesthetic shoes – you will roll your ankle if you try to wear them
for anything athletic. Case in point ->

Though shoes can provide an advantage, the reality is that there is

no shoe that can do for our feet what our feet should be able to do
for themselves. In reaction to the minimalist shoes I wear, people
ask me “But what about the support? How do you move? You run in
those too?? They don’t look very comfortable…” It always makes me laugh. Your feet have built in support
through a beautifully designed arch which is a composition of fascia, muscle, and bone. You just have to put in
the work to develop it. And that takes time – it takes toddlers 1-2 years to build requisite foot strength. Your
shoes are either supporting this process or preventing it.

Now, I am not suggesting that shoes aren’t beneficial! I wear shoes every day and am super grateful when I
don’t cut my foot or bruise when I step on a rock. But I am saying that the industry has gotten carried away and
people have fallen for the simple fix that’s too good to be true. When it comes to your feet and shoes, we’ve
gotten it backwards. The shoe should be made for the foot, not the other way around! Ideally, the shoe is a
tool that allows your foot to naturally maintain function and strength, not a cast that impedes movement.

But if you’ve got foot pain or weaker arches from years of ankle
sprains, what can you do to fix this? First, you need to set
yourself up for success by choosing shoes that allow your feet to
move naturally. Without this you’re basically shooting yourself in
the foot (pun intended). The shoes you wear create the milieu
that your feet live in. It doesn’t matter how strong you are if
you’re smashing your toes into footwear made for an elf. Want
some evidence of this? Take a quick Google search of “Chinese
Foot Binding” and see what happens when you don’t give your
feet adequate space.

But just having good shoes isn’t enough. You have to put in the work to develop the skill and strength required
to reclaim functioning feet. That means developing the intrinsic musculature of your feet (toe taps, toe
spreading, toe flexing and extending) and building up strength in your lower leg, specifically the calves and
tibialis muscles. And if you’ve been sedentary for a while, you’ve likely got some work to catch up on. (Good
thing you bought this program, right?)

This leads to the question of what shoes to buy? Ultimately, it’s a personal decision on the tradeoff between
function and aesthetic appeal. The sad part is that it’s almost impossible to buy a functional pair of shoes at an
actual footwear store. Most of the space on those racks is devoted to whatever overstuffed trend is happening
at the moment. Maybe you’ll even get an “expert” that sizes you up into an overpriced cast that will actually
lead to more pain and bad running form. No-one ever asks what the sales clerk’s qualifications are when they
perform this service, do they? My first suggestion is to buy shoes online, but if that’s not your thing, the best
place to start is by redefining your selection criteria…

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Almost everyone picks out a shoe based on two questions – How comfortable is it and how good does it look.
Of course, I’m not saying that these are bad metrics, but they aren’t sufficient. In addition to this you have to ask
“How well can my feet function in these shoes?” “Are my toes squished in a narrow toe box?” “Can my foot bend
at all?” “Would I sprain my ankle if I stepped on uneven ground with this big cushion?” To help you define better
metrics, these are the most important factors to consider for any shoe choice:

1) The shoe needs to be flat – This means that the heel and
the toe need to be on the same level as they would be if you
were barefoot. This is called the “drop” of the shoe. A 4-
Inch-high heel would have a 4-inch drop. The closer you get
to a zero drop, the better, but anything less than 1cm (.4
inches) is acceptable. Higher sloped shoes limit ankle
mobility - when the heel is elevated, the ankle doesn’t
have to bend as far. Over time this leads to stiffer ankles
that can cause knee pain and limit mobility in a squat or
lunge position.

2) The shoe needs to be flexible – This means that the shoe

should be able to bend through both the midsole (middle of
the shoes) and twist rotationally (rolling left and right).
Cleats and competition shoes have a stiffer midsole that
aids in speed by acting like a spring to propel the athlete
forward. This is fine during competitions but keeping a stiff
board in the shoe that prevents full range of motion at the
feet will weaken the foot over time and potentially lead to plantar fasciitis. You need low levels of motion to
build mobility and your everyday shoes are the vector for encouraging this. If you’re walking with inserts that
limit motion, you lose this.

3) The shoe needs to be wide in the toe box – This means that the front of the shoe where the toes are should
be wider than the heels. When you put the shoe on you want to be able to wiggle and move the toes with room
to spare. Your toes are meant to spread and engage with the ground in the same way that your hands are built
to spread and engage with objects. This space for movement is critical in building balance and stability at the
ankle. If you tied your fingers together how well would you be able to write? You can still achieve a firmer fit of
the shoe by tying the laces tighter at the ankle and leaving the lower laces loosened for toe movement. This
keeps the shoe in sync with the foot during movement to grip the ground well.

4) The shoe sole needs to be thin – The more proprioceptive (tactical) feedback your foot receives from the
ground, the more you are able to adjust to the footing. It’s similar to wearing gloves, you’ll have a better grip and
control on what you’re doing if you have thin, form fitting gloves than if you wear thick mittens. Also, the higher
platform you are on (the thicker the sole of the shoe is), the more likely you are to roll an ankle laterally. A
Ferrari is less likely to roll over in a turn than a school bus.

The thickened sole is an adaptation strictly for comfort. If you’ve been wearing shoes with dense material
underneath for years, you’re likely not going to enjoy the feel of a more minimalist shoe at first. But just as the
feel of a shirt on your skin is soon ignored, this will become more natural. Think of it like being more connected
to the ground! If you walk on a pillow all day long, your body has no ability to adjust for force of impact. In the
same way that you pick up an empty cup with less force than a full one, this adaptation to differing levels of force
is essential for regulating the amount of stress that your joints, bones, and muscles can deal with.

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A quick note about slip-ons and slides… These are not good for athletes. As you step your toes naturally splay
out to grab the ground. This is important to keep the fascia and muscles mobile. When you’re wearing shoes
without a heel strap, this doesn’t happen because the toes are forced to squeeze together and grip the shoe.
Over time this causes excess tension in the foot, stiffness in the tendons, and loss of fascial motion. I know, it’s
not fun to hear, but the simple solution is to footwear with a heel strap. Remember, it’s a constant tradeoff
between function and aesthetic – you choose your battles. I’ll say it this way: None of my athletes wear slides.

“So you’re saying NOT to wear insoles, arch supports, or ankle braces? What if I’m dealing with injury or pain like
plantar fasciitis? Why would my doctor or podiatrist tell me to get an insole if they don’t work?” These are all
good questions. While these can be extremely beneficial as short-term crutches, that is all they can do. The
biggest problem I have with the entire industry surrounding foot “support” is that it’s all symptom treatment
without actually addressing the root cause. Moreover, these treatments rarely have a plan to egress.

Nothing frustrates me more than hearing a story about a kid being prescribed insoles for their foot pain. It’s
far too common for a doctor in their 50’s or 60’s to frivolously throw out inserts as a recommendation simply
because they wear them. It’s insane – you’re telling a young athlete that they have to now wear this thing for the
next 70-80 years of their life? This is almost a guarantee for future knee pain and ACL injury. Rarely, if ever, is
this part of a comprehensive program to strengthen the feet. It’s like being told you have to use crutches for the
rest of your life simply because you have patellar tendonitis. Or another example, how many people would sign
up for dental braces if you had to wear them for the rest of your life? Not so attractive anymore, is it?

At best, the industry is misguided. At worst it’s full of charlatans that are wasting your money on expensive
shoes, custom inserts, and pointless treatments. I understand this is strong language, and I do not disagree that
these supports can be acutely helpful in very short term uses for a specific pain reduction. But I have never seen
a successful, long term rehabilitation story where the foot is able to restore function because of the supporting
device. You don’t see doctors recommending stiff braces to fix a bad posture anymore (hopefully!) because we
understand that the core and posture muscles are the key to supporting a healthy spine. Why is it different for
the feet? The simple truth is that this quick-fix mentality is only going to exacerbate your problems.

“So, if shoes are that much of a problem, should I just run barefoot? I’ve heard that barefoot running is a thing,
should I go and try that?” Short answer – no! You’re not ready for that. If you want to do the months of work to
strengthen your feet and lower legs to withstand the load and stresses, then absolutely go for it. But anything
less than that will lead to stress fractures and injury from overuse. If you’ve spent the majority of your life in
shoes, it’ll take some time to undo that.

I don’t want to present this as a mutually exclusive situation –

shoes are incredible technological inventions that protect our feet
and provide a significant movement advantage. I still wear shoes
and don’t plan to stop anytime soon! That being said, if you never
spend time barefoot, you’ve got a problem. Being unshod is how
we were meant to interact with the world. There is a significant
portion of our proprioceptive feedback that’s designed to engage
with texture in our environment. Earthing, or grounding, is a
process that conducts electricity through contact with the Earth’s
surface when barefoot. And yes, it’s a legitimate thing.

The major point is that we are mammals, born without shoes. Most people spend the majority of their life
completely disconnected from the nature they evolved from. Health is impossible when disconnected from

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nature. This doesn’t mean you should start barefoot running tomorrow but is does mean that spending more
time barefoot around your house and in your backyard can have huge benefits.

Shoes are not the enemy. But they are also not natural. If you have to wear shoes that limit the natural
movement of your feet and ankles for competition purposes, you HAVE to do extra work around practice to make
sure that your feet and ankles stay healthy. A few simple ways to accomplish this are to do your weightlifting
barefoot or in socks, do your warmups/cooldowns for practice barefoot, including a quick foot/ankle session as
part of your post training routine, and spending more time walking around barefoot in general.

It takes time, but you’re in the right place to make these changes happen! Now, without further ado, let’s get
to my top recommendations for footwear:

The shoes I wear (and obviously recommend):

• Merrell Vapor Glove – *MY CURRENT SHOE FOR SPORTS* These are my preferred shoes for playing sports. I
wear the 5-finger shoes for everything else, but I’ve found that dragging the toe in those can tear them up.
These are better for minimal shoes that don’t look too weird. Keep in mind that these are VERY minimalist,
so you’ll need to spend time walking/moving in them before jumping into full running. Also, they are
basically unisex, but the men’s and women’s variations just have different colors available. I’ve always worn
the Vapor Glove 3, but they’re now only to the 5, and it seems that the only place to find them is Amazon. I
like the 3, but there isn’t much difference between the models.
• Vibram V-Alpha 5 Finger Shoes - Yes, I’m that guy with the weird shoes. And I’m afraid to say that they are
the most comfortable shoes I have now… I do not recommend jumping straight into these for running but
they are fantastic for lifting and everyday movement. After a few years of wearing minimalist shoes, I
transitioned to this type of shoe. I now run, lift, and do most everything in these shoes. If you are ready for a
new level of cool, these are great shoes for maximizing foot strength while still wearing being shod.
• Vibram KSO EVO 5 Finger Shoes – *MY CURRENT SHOE FOR EVERYTHING ELSE* These are the pair I wear
currently. Not a substantial difference between the V-Alpha and these, but I feel that these conform a bit
better to the feet and give a more “athletic” feel. And yes, I have toe socks I wear with these shoes to keep
them fresher. You can find them here.
• Earth Runners Sandalsm – I know, these might be pushing a little too far, but these are my go-to for
sandals/slides. They have a heel strap so you can run, hike, or go in the water and your toes are still free to
splay out with each step. Just be forewarned, they are only for the coolest of people.

Other shoes that will work for you as an athlete:

I get that you’re probably not ready to give up being cool, so these will work as a transition running/training
shoe. And as a disclaimer, it’s almost impossible to go to a sports store and find a decent pair of shoes. The vast
majority of shoes available are either ridiculous or absolutely inappropriate for training in. Remember, you want
a shoe that is flat, flexible, wide in the toe box, and has a thinner sole. Past that, pick what color and style you
like. But shoes absolutely matter! If you don’t believe me yet, watch this short video!
• New Balance Minimus 20v7 Cross Trainer
• Inov-8 F-Lite G 230
• Inov-8 Bare-XF 210 Cross Training Shoe
• Altra Vanish R
• Altra Solstice XT
• Xero Shoes Prio
• Vivo Barefoot Primus Lite III
• Hylete Circuit II Cross-Training Shoe (Just take the insoles out to keep the 0mm drop!)

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For field sport athletes, these are my favorite cleats:
• New Balance BurnX2 Low - This are very flexible through the midsole and are wider in the toe box. Yes, they
are technically lacrosse cleats but that’s mostly marketing. I’m a big fan of the movement these shoes allow.
If you need a higher ankle support (still not my favorite) there is a higher version of these.

For indoor and turf shoes, this is my recommended option:

• Adidas Nemeziz Messi Tango 18.3 Turf Shoe – Most turf shoes are flat, but rarely are they wide enough in
the toe box. With any shoe you’ll need to break it in to get more flexibility in the mid sole, but these provide
space for performance without sacrificing too much foot movement.

For basketball players, these are my recommended options: Keep in mind that this isn’t an exhaustive list. If
you have a different preference that is fine, but the same rules apply – wide, flexible, flat, thinner. These shoes
are about as good as you can find while maintaining an advantage on the court.
• Nike Kobe Mamba Fury
• Nike Kobe AD NXT 360
• Converse All Star Pro BB Then and Now

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 10 Rules for Rehabilitation After Injury
1. Never work through pain. Pain is a signal that something isn’t working well. Learn the difference between
discomfort (burning, fatigue, or stretch) and pain. If something causes you pain, regress the movement to
make it easier or find another substitution. You still need to get the blood flow but doing it in a manner that
causes pain is never the right option.
2. Maximize blood flow. Blood flow is the most important part of recovery. Being sedentary and not moving a
joint will cause negative adaptation and further loss of strength and use. Get as much movement as you can
in the point or muscle with movement that does not cause pain. This can be gentle movement, sled
push/pulls, walks, backwards walking, biking, swimming, rowing, etc. The goal is high volume, low intensity.
3. Pain inhibits muscle activation. Your body will quickly shut down muscles in reaction to a painful movement
in the same way you pull away from a hot stove that burns you. Therefore, any pain is limits your strength.
Good muscle pain/burning means positive adaptation and building. Bad joint pain means destruction and
continued injury. Never work through pain.
4. Develop resiliency in the joint and muscle. There is no such thing as a bad movement, just unprepared
tissues. Joints and muscles that aren’t ready for the load, stress, or range can easily become painful. Take
your time to develop strength and motor control in any range of motion, then add load. You can work up to
incredible levels of resiliency if you do this properly and give yourself adequate time for recovery.
5. Improve your strength. Strength is your top priority. Strength is the foundation upon which all other
movement competencies are built. As you gain pain free range of motion in the joint, you must build
strength as soon as possible. Understand that all movement is some variation of strength training. With
progressive overload, you continue to build in volume, load, and intensity and the body adapts
6. Prehab work before surgery. In the event of surgery, you want to do as much as possible leading up to that
to build strength in the joint. This will go a long way toward reducing the time of recovery and will improve
neuromuscular control in the joint. You won’t make things worse with low intensity movements.
7. Fix your movement. Most injuries are from non-contact tissue failure or overuse. To fix that you must
address your movement patterns, coordination, and overall mobility to correct the fault that’s leading to
injury. It’s not enough to just get back to the baseline – that’s where you got injured in the first place! You
have to become stronger than you were before to prevent re-injury.
8. Scale down the athletic movements. Running, jumping, and cutting are all essential for performance as an
athlete. Your rehab is not complete until you can do these things. But don’t rush it! These movements are
intensive and put a big load on your body (think multiples of bodyweight in force). You must build the
requisite strength in the muscles to actively transfer force to the connective tissue for these movements.
9. Movement compensations add up. Remember that while you are recovering from an injury or surgery you
will be using other joints and muscles in your body more to make up for what is not working. This can easily
become a permanent adaptation. Be mindful of any new movement pattern and carefully correct it as you
notice it and become stronger. Spending time massaging these newly overworked muscles is helpful.
10. Casts, crutches, and braces are tools, not solutions. These are incredibly helpful tools to aid in your
recovery, but they are not long-term solutions. Inserts, braces, straps, and any other equipment can help
you recover but your goal should be to get out of these as quickly as possible. If you broke your leg and need
a wheelchair, that’s fine. If you’re still in that wheelchair a year later, that’s not fine. Make these a short-
term help, not a long-term necessity. And please don’t buy an incredibly expensive brace, it’s not worth it.

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