laces

So, here's how to tie your shoes so they're just right. As a general rule of thumb, "your foot should not be able to move around, but there shouldn’t be any discomfort,” says Fullem. Ideally, you want the lace tightness to be equally distributed across the top of the shoe, though it can be adjusted to alleviate stress in particular areas, he notes. For example, athletes with high arches might feel more comfortable by looping the lace up an eyelet instead of crossing over the top of the shoe, he says. Another strategy: “Starting the lacing one or two eyelets up from the initial hole can relieve pressure from the front of the foot due to conditions such as a Morton's Neuroma [an issue that impacts the ball, near the third and fourth toes].”As noted, how you plan to move impacts how you should tie, too. “Different athletic activities require varying degrees of lace tension,” says Coll. So until shoes that can sense your needs—loosening or tightening up on their own—hit the market, make the following workout-specific adjustments.Shorter, more explosive activities often call for tighter lacing.“In general, people will want the fit to be a bit more snug for sports like basketball that will involve more lateral movement,” says Fullem. The same goes for workouts like sprints. “If you observe world class sprinters, you will notice they often remove their shoes immediately after their races because they have laced them so tightly,” says Coll. Keep 'em snug for trail running as well, which exposes you to uneven surfaces.Longer, endurance events (marathon running, for example) require less tension. Feet can swell after miles of pounding the pavement, so it’s important to leave room. Says Fullem: “For [distance] running, there is typically not an issue with the shoes being too loose, but rather problems can develop if they are too tight.”<div> </div>

Performance hack: lace tightness

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