Finished the Shredded Ninja program this morning. I can't say it was my favorite workout program I've ever done. I got bored with it a month and a half in but instead of giving up, I doubled down and did two workouts a day until I finished.
Over the last few months, I've been learning more about my body, particularly my feet. You would think that after 38 years of having this body of mine, I would know all about my feet and what shoes work best for me. My feet are very odd. I have very narrow heels, but the front half of my foot is very wide. Over the last six months of jumping rope, I have begun to develop a Taylor's bunion or bunionette (a bunion on the pinky toe side). This is a direct result of cramming my feet in shoes too narrow for my toes. I've been doing a lot of research about feet, bunions, and how to correct them. Unfortunately, to fully correct a bunion I would have to have surgery, however, there are steps I can take to reverse some of the damage. I am beginning to wear toe spacers every night, increasing the time I wear them by a half an hour. Eventually I should be able to wear them all the time without pain. Second, I will be working on strengthening the muscles in my feet. After a few months of doing that, I will transition to shoes with a larger toe box. This will fix most problems from the bunion. I'm just glad I caught it now instead of assuming it was just normal foot pain from exercising.
Years ago, narrow shoes were the style. It meant you were wealthy. Why? Because owning horses meant you were wealthy, and narrow shoes fit very well into sturups. Til this day, narrow shoes seem to be the style. Especially for women, which is why women are more prone to bunions than men are. We women are constantly stuffing out feet into narrow dress shoes. This results in shoe shaped feet. We should be wearing foot shaped shoes! Everyone, please take care of your feet! Wear shoes with a large toe box, especially if you're having foot pain! I can't stress this enough! Foot health is incredibly important because if our feet aren't in good condition, chances are, you've got bone structure problems from your toes to the top of your head. It all starts with the feet! Let's take care of them!