Can Shoes Make Me a Better Athlete?

Can shoes make you jump higher? Do running shoes really make a difference? Does wearing specific types of sneakers make athletes better? For hundreds of dollars, shoe companies make claims that their shoes will make you a better athlete. And this isn’t a new marketing idea, since the inception of the running show, brands have been claiming that their products can be the difference in winning that race, scoring in that game, or getting to your goal weight.

Whether you're a Nike stan who only wears Air Jordans, an Adidas fan, or you're into those Reebok Pumps, sneakers and athletic footwear aren't just designed to be atheistically pleasing, they're designed with a performance purpose in mind. But can they really make you run faster or jump higher? Sneakers are generally designed similarly, but some companies will adjust their dimensions, claiming that they are better for your athletic performance.

In this episode of What the FAQs, Andy breaks down the history of running shoes, chats with experts to find out how and why shoes are designed the way they are, and he visits New York Dynamic Neuromuscular Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy Clinic to run some tests and ultimately figure out if shoes really influence an athletes' performance.