CrossFit, Photos

Types of shoes to wear to CrossFit

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Reebok-Nanos

Gotta say you guys, I’m eyein the Reebok nano’s.

pink nike freesMy hot pink nike free’s I purchased on eBay for my birthday the other year are not quite fit for the garbage, but eventually they will be. Which disappoints me since I love wearing them. They’ve been my go-to CrossFit shoe for almost two years.zootsI have a pair of Zoots that I also like to wear but recently I’ve been eyeing the Reebok Nano’s, designed for CrossFitters like myself. I’m hitting the two year mark at CrossFit at the end of the month (February 2011 I first joined!), and I’m thinking of giving the pink, or yellow one’s a try.

Have to say though, the look of the Reebok CrossFit shoes are just appealing to my eyes and I want them. Pink immediately stuck out to me, then the yellow. You’re not limited to the pink or yellow either. On the Reebok site there is a rainbow of colors to choose from. One of my CrossFit coaches has these in purple.

Did you know that there is proper footwear to wear to CrossFit?

  • Too much cushioning in a regular running shoe isn’t the most favourable for getting your lifting technique down pat. 
  • You’ll lose balance on cushioned shoes thus being unstable on the ground when you lift heavier weights. Meaning if you wear minimalistic shoes you’ll get better technique since you know where your heels are when you do certain movements. Having the knowledge and and pressure of where your feet are you can improve your form and technique.
  • Not only lose balance, but strength too since you’re pushing into the soles of your shoes, and not into your heels to the ground.

Sure I’m serious about going to CrossFit, but I don’t consider myself a hardcore CrossFit athlete. I get excited when I can RX a wod. So I’m not looking for the perfect weight lifting minimalistic shoe. Just looking for a comfortable one that I can wear outside running (less than 6km) and also to CrossFit but not too minimal to the point where I can feel pebbles under my feet.

Now if only I was sponsored by Reebok Canada. That’d be sweet, ha!

I posted this image on Facebook a while ago, and the consensus was that I should go for the yellow nano’s. What do you guys think?

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CrossFit, Daily, Fashion, FitFluential, Health, Photos, Reviews

My CrossFit footwear

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I’ve been wearing my pink and grey Nike Free Run 5.0’s to CrossFit since I bought them on eBay for my birthday in May 2011. Look how bright they were!

They are my favorite type of shoe to wear at CrossFit and to do short runs (5-10km) I’m not a huge runner and when I do run, it’s not for long distances, so I can get away with a bare minimum running shoe. They offer me support, they’re light weight and it doesn’t hurt that they come in super fun colors.

I could wear them to CrossFit, to go running in, and believe it or not – climbing. I do have my own climbing shoes (that look like ballet slippers, they’re very tight and conformed to your foot) but if I’m bringing someone new to the climbing gym who has never attended before. I tell them to wear a shoe where you can tie the laces tight and not have your foot feel like it’s moving around too much. Having too much of a sole on the bottom of your shoe, you won’t be able to feel the holds on the wall causing you to not have good footwork on the route.

Another shoe I’ve always had my eye on the Zoot’s. That’s what my Boyfriend runs in, when he races in Triathlons. They’re again, a nice flat minimal shoe which would be perfect for CrossFit and short running distances. Sport Chek fulfilled my request and sent me a pair. Unfortunately my usual size was too small, but I had no problem exchanging them for the larger size while I was in Toronto one time. I’ve been wearing these to CrossFit in conjunction with the pink Nike’s.

Have you ever tried CrossFit?
I can’t believe I’m coming up on year TWO in February!

What type of shoes do you wear to workout in?
Nike’s are my first choice and then it’s the Zoots.

Now I have to jet and research some wide selection of inuit pos system… I’ll explain why, later.

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CrossFit, Daily, Fashion, Fitness, Photos

Adventures at Sport Chek

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While I was in Newfoundland, my best bud Trev and Sandra, my sister-in-law went to one of the two malls in St. John’s to do a bit of shopping. I didn’t realize Sport Chek had completely took over one entire section of the bottom level!

The place was massive.

Since I had a gift card to spend and we had about an hour to burn before picking my nephews up at school, we had a ton of fun taking photos of one another playing dress up.

Winter hats anyone? Trevor ended up buying the orange version of the hat he was wearing in this picture!

I love just being silly like this with Sandra and Trevor. We were laughing constantly! So very much needed. I loved being home.

Sandra and I both loved this one coat, but it was a little out of our budget. But soo toasty warm.  I couldn’t justify buying a white coat, I’m so clumsy and I’d probably get it so dirty. Dirty white coats aren’t the prettiest. lol

This grey one was my absolute favorite and it’s by FireFly no less. I kept going back to it, even when I tried it on again in Ontario!See? I just love it. Plus it’s super long, so that the wind doesn’t drift up your back on those cold winter days. B-double-uh-rrr… Brrr.

One thing that impressed me, and completely took me by surprise, was that Sport Chek now sells climbing gear. When did that happen?!

Gri Gri’s, harnesses, and rope bags!

Plus, these cute little s-biners for your chalk bag or to use on a key chain. Aren’t they adorable?

You may recall that Sport Chek sent me an inspirational kit, including a new set of Zoot sneakers. Which unfortunately ended up being a smidge too small. I think they’re a small make to be honest! I’m always an 8.5 but my toes were squished up at the front. When the Boyf and I got back from Newfoundland we made the trip to the only place in our area that sold Zoot sneakers at Sport Check: Toronto. Luckily, we had more things to do in Toronto that day than just return the sneakers and drive back all the way home.

Look how fancy the Sport Chek was in this area of Toronto!!

Trying on a variety of different sizes to see which ones I should exchange for.

I’m going to do a comparison post about these Zoot’s and the Nike Free’s, coming up this week. Stay tuned for that if you’re interested.

I didn’t spend my gift card at the first two Sport Cheks (St. John’s/Toronto locations) and it was burning a hole in my pocket! So this weekend the Boyf and I went to our local Sport Chek and again… had more fun trying on stuff. I’m easily amused, I’m tellin ya’.

My boyfriend tried on this massive winter coat from the men’s section, then thought it’d be funny if he took a photo of me wearing it. I look so tiny! Betcha I’d stay warm in that, all winter long. Haha!

I felt like the pilsbury dough boy in this down-filled one — hence the face I’m making.But now that I look at the photo, it kind of fits well…

I ended up buying some of my favorite sports bras. Nike makes a few different kinds of bras, but the dri-fit one’s are my main ones that I wear to CrossFit. They’re tight fitting, but don’t budge, if ya know what I mean. When the boyfriend was taking this shot of me, a sales associate came up right behind him saying to us both “Doing a little photo shoot?” I immediately turned a shade of purple and mumbled something. I should’ve told her about my blog, but I was so caught off guard that I got embarrassed.

Your Better Starts Here.

I am part of the Sport Chek campaign called #MyBetterMVP / #MyBetter. Selected Canadian bloggers were sent an inspiration kit to help us reach our personal bests. Sport Chek has reached out to a lot of athletes in all sorts of areas of fitness. Everyone has all sorts of goals when it comes to being healthy and fit. I’m here to help people stay inspired and motivated.

Thanks Sport Chek!

How do you stay motivated?

Are you buying a new winter coat this year?

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