Go Green Get Fit Week Six – ECCO BIOM Lite 1.3 Shoes Review

Last week was mostly pretty sad on the fitness front. I only got to the gym one time. Yeah, pathetic. I went hoping to swim but the pool was closed. That is what I get for assuming it would be when they gave a July 8th expected re-open date. Ha!

On Monday I just lifted free weights, did planks, weighted box step-ups, and used a medicine ball to do lots of Russian twists and situps. I kept get getting the weirdest stares from ladies on the circuit machines, like they did not understand why on was on the floor exercising when there so many machine around me. I am really trying to avoid machines though because using free weights and dumbells requires so many more muscles groups than what you use on a  machine. You are of course using the muscle specific to that exercise, such as the biceps and trapezius muscles for a push press but you also use your core to stabilize and even your legs to help you explode that push. Circuit machines just hold no allure for me anymore.

After the weighted part I got on the treadmill and did a mile. My legs were still pretty sore after the almost two mile run from the day before.

Then for the rest of the week I did a big fat nothing but I am back on the horse this week. It’s a good thing too because I have at least one but possibly two bootcamp workouts I will be doing in New York City next week. This is no time to be lolly gagging around!

So this week it was off to CrossFit with renewed vigor and NEW shoes! PlanetShoes generously sent me a pair of ECCO BIOM Lite 1.3 shoes. They are pretty darn close to barefoot shoes and PlanetShoes recommended them for CrossFit so I hoped they would be a good fit for me.

The most remarkable thing about them is that they are super comfy. I am used to toe shoes like Skeletoes or Five Fingers but I was pleasantly surprised to find that these were also uber comfortable. I have a hard time finding shoes that fit well and that are comfortable because I have very wide feet and high arches. It is a non-issue with these. The narrow-looking shoe expands quite comfortably and my toes have wiggle room. The heel area did not dig in and give a blister either which is another thing that commonly happens with new shoes. The true test of course was Crossfitting in them…

They performed like a dream. They feel very minimal and barefoot, which I love. Though do not allow for a grip like my toe shoes do so I did feel my heel lift off the ground during some of the squats but I just need to concentrate on my form a bit more with “regular” shoes. Running in them was super breazy though and that really surprised me. I prefer these to toe shoes for sprinting/running short distances because I have a tendency to heel strike when I am getting competitive and going all out. I end up getting a headache after class. The natural foot position and minimal sole make running much more pleasant because I don’t have to focus so much of form. When you are racing someone…or ten other people, who has the time??

I can see already that I will gravitate to these shoes on days when I will be running/sprinting and less so on days when I am lifting weights. But for any CrossFit WOD you can’t go wrong with these. Plus I LOVE the color. I often wear the brightest, loudest shoes I can find and at first I thought these may be too tame for me but I really enjoy the purple/orange contrast. I give them an enthusiastic A+. Thanks PlanetShoes!

* I’m one of 30 bloggers participating in the 12-week Go Green, Get Fit Challenge as part of the EcoMom Alliance Sustain YourSelf™ Program presented by PlanetShoes.com. This is my week five update, you can read about week four here.