Foot Pain Solved: The New Cardio Ultra from Reebok

Her One and Only Shoe.

Lucky, thrilled, excited, and eager are all really good adjectives you could use to describe how I felt when I found out that I had been chosen to receive and review a pair of not-yet-released to the public, Cardio Ultra shoes!

When my shoes arrived, I won’t lie. I felt glamorous. Rock star status. On my kitchen counter sat a big shiny black box with shimmering letters and it was all for me. Inside, bright yellow shoes winked back at me. And athletic pants too? And a top!

Thank you Reebok and Fitfluential for hooking up this deal.

Enough of my childish glee–you want to know about these new shoes, right?

Let me get straight to the point: I love them. Not because Reebok gave them to me, not because I’ve received more compliments on them than any other shoes I’ve ever worn,

“Steph! Sweet shoes!” –Albert

“I love those shoes! They remind me of lemon-meringue pie!” –Janielle

“Oh they do kind of look like dessert!” –Sandra

“Nice kicks! Are those the new Reeboks?” –Chad

“Hey! Those are cool shoes!” –10-year-old

but I love them for how they have helped my feet.

I’ve been wearing a flatter style shoe for a long time now and I never realized how much better I feel with a little bit of cushion. No, these are not a minimalist shoe: they have a lot of support–the heel, the arch, and the mid-foot are packed in tight for this supportive piece of footwear, and my favorite part of the whole Cardio Ultra shoe is the cushioned heel. It’s incredible. The tightness around the tops of my feet is snug (I have wide feet) but I was quick to break them in. It did not take me long at all to get cozied up and comfy with these new kicks, and I haven’t worn another pair of athletic shoes since I put these on my feet a few weeks ago.

Taking it one step at a time.

I’ve been pretty cautious with my feet recently. A couple months ago I noticed that my heels were starting to hurt. A lot of people told me I was getting Plantar Fasciitis and that I needed to start preventative measures right away! I received more advice than I care to list here, but I tried a LOT of it and nothing worked. When I saw my physical therapist, he diagnosed me with calcaneal bursitis–or inflamed heels. My left heel so much that he thought I might have even fractured it a little bit.

That’s how bad my foot hurt. A possible stress fracture.

I started putting gel inserts into my other shoes. And when my Reebok Cardio Ultra shoes came in, I’ll be honest–I was scared to test them out. “What if my feet hurt too much to write a well-tested review?”

When I put the shoes on, there was no “Aha!” moment and birds didn’t start singing around me, but I did notice that they felt a heck of lot different from the shoes I typically wore. And when I went for a test-jog, I couldn’t believe that I was putting pressure on my feet without feeling jolts of pain in my heels.

When I swung the kettlebell around, I felt no cringing pain, or no need to shift weight into my right leg to take pressure off the left.And best of all, I was pretty shocked when I woke up each morning after training in the Cardio Ultras and my feet felt better than they had in weeks.

My “Aha” moment

actually came to me when I was chatting with my bootcamp members last week. I was talking to Marlin, a competitive runner. We talked about foot positioning, leg stride, running technique, and that’s really when it dawned on me. Sure, some people can train with a flatter shoe. But because of my gait, I needed support! Cushion!

And that’s what I’ve found with the Reebok Cardio Ultra: A shoe that supports my heels when my not-so-perfect running form hits the road.

Here are the Reebok Cardio Ultra features and benefits:

• Adaptamove– upper naturally cradles the foot, perfectly supporting multidirectional movements
• Turnzone– integrated into the outsole and is designed to allow the foot to turn freely in 360 degrees
• Trifoam-this forefoot cushioning perfectly absorbs impact and provides rebound needed between moves

And unlike other options, it includes enhanced medial arch support and a wider base, so you get more ground contact, more mobility, and more cushioning where it counts.

I know it’s called a “Cardio” Shoe, but let’s not forget the “Ultra,” either.

I thought these shoes would make a great pair of running shoes for me but one of the best things about them is that I can wear them for anything. I tested these cushiony lemon drops inside the gym and suddenly I could do push presses and split jerks with so much more ease because I wasn’t slamming my heels directly into the floor anymore.

My feet didn’t ache from rowing or box jumping, and the shoes are light enough that they don’t feel like extra weight when doing CrossFit moves like kipping pull-ups, or even rope climbing!

Typically, my feet hurt at the end of intense conditioning work. Not this time!

I started with a 1000 meter row, and then did 5 rounds of 30 second air dyne sprints, 5 pull-ups, and 5 push-press.

Or this time,

3 rounds of 10 snatches each arm, 20 swings, and 3 rope climbs.

Or even this time!

Four rounds of max effort split jerks and headstand holds.

I’m thrilled with my new shoes.

Any lifter, runner, or general exerciser, in my opinion, would really get a lot out of the Cardio Ultra just for its versatility alone. I can go from outdoors to in, lifting to jumping, and not have to change my shoes three times–and that’s something I would typically do.Testing out the new Cardio Ultra shoe has provided me with more than just a new pair of bright shoes; it has provided me with an anatomical education and it has given me the support, comfort, and relief that I didn’t even know I so desperately needed. What a shoe!

 

This is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Reebok.