For lunges to be effective, you need a shoe that has good support and cushioning. The best shoes for lunges are those that have a heel that doesn’t raise too high (1/2 inch or less), and a sole that provides good traction and cushioning for your foot. The following are some of the best shoes for lunges: Nike Free RN Flyknit – This shoe is made from a combination of mesh and synthetic materials. It has a breathable upper that allows your feet to breathe while you work out. The sole of this shoe is flexible so it can move with your foot as you bend down to do lunges or squats. It also has a durable rubber outsole which provides traction so you don’t slip when doing lunges on an indoor surface like wood floors or carpeted surfaces. New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 – This sneaker is made from leather and synthetic materials, giving it plenty of support for all types of workouts including lunges, squats and other exercises where stability is important. The Fresh Foam midsole cushions your feet from shock during exercise, while the molded EVA heel cup keeps your heel locked in place so it doesn’t slide around when doing exercises like lunges or squats where lateral movements

Best Shoes For Lunges

There are sneakers to go out in, and then there are sneakers to wear to the gym. Workout shoes have to strike the right balance of technology, support, and strength. Wear the wrong ones and your entire cardio routine is thrown off. And though it might seem intuitive to wear running shoes for all your workouts, you should avoid it as often as you can, because most running shoes are built specifically for forward motion. Good workout shoes, on the other hand, provide stability for lateral movements too, like when you’re playing tennis or volleyball. To find the best gym sneakers, we spoke to fitness-minded expert women for their favorites.

What we’re looking for

Support: We’re looking for a variety of features that lend support, some of which include: flat, supportive soles to push off from; reinforcements around the forefoot to keep everything locked in place during lateral movements; secure lacing systems; and upper constructions that provide stability during aerobic activities. Cushion: The majority of the shoes on this list have a flat, semi-cushioned sole, which is the ideal base for most workouts, but the sneakers all vary slightly. Some options that are built for weight lifting will have a thinner cushion for a more grounded feeling, while other, more aerobic sneakers will have more bounce and plushy foam in the midsole. We’ll call out the level of cushion in each shoe, from low to high, as well as the material, wherever it’s relevant. Outsole: We’re looking for shoes that have a solid grip on all types of surfaces, like rubbery gym floors, smooth wood studio spaces, and grittier roads and pavement. A shoe with good traction adds to a secure fit while keeping you focused on your workout. Below, we’ve specified what kind of grip you’ll get in each shoe.

Best overall workout shoes

Flat sole | High cushion | Maximum grip For cross-training, yoga teacher and author Shona Vertue likes shoes that are “varied in flexibility and stability” to adapt to the different types of motions those workouts usually require. The Nike Metcons — which she calls her “go-to all-around shoe” for working out— fulfill both requirements, because “they’re flexible at the front of the foot, which allows for good movement through things like lunges or running,” while also having a “stiff heel, which creates stability in movements like heavy deadlifts and squats.” Melanie Miracolo, the former head of retail at yoga studio Y7, loves the Metcons because they have a “sleek design, incredible fit, perform great, and stabilize your foot when doing any cross-training workout.” Jen Romanelli, the co-founder of Trooper Fitness, agrees the Metcons create stability, but says they also allow lateral movement, exactly what she needs for HIIT classes: “It’s a sturdy shoe, yet light enough to change directions and sprint.” (Vertue, Miracolo, and Romanelli initially recommended the Metcon 6 AMP, but the newer Metcon 7 offers the same stability and versatility in a slightly new design.) We think the Metcon is a solid gym companion, which is why we also picked it as the best workout shoes for men. $130 AT NIKE $130 AT DICK’S SPORTING GOODS

Best less expensive overall workout shoes

  Reebok HIIT 2 $100 Flat sole | High cushion | High grip The Reebok HIIT 2 isn’t the flashiest shoe, but it does have everything you could ask for in an all-purpose workout shoe: a simple construction and breathable mesh upper that keeps your forefoot secure, plus a foam midsole for comfort. Melissa Boyd, head of fitness at Tempo, considers cross-training and HIIT one and the same — including weighted and cardio movements. For these exercises, a shoe “should be flexible enough for speed work, structured enough for weighted movements, and responsive enough for jumping,” she says. These cross-trainers check off all her boxes, handling intense training sessions just as well as compound lifts. $100 AT DICK’S SPORTING GOODS

Best workout shoes for weight lifting

  Nike Free TR8 $100 Flat sole | Medium cushion | Medium grip Two women we talked to mentioned the Nike Free TR8. “I am a minimalist when it comes to running,” says Romanelli, who prefers less arch support in her running sneakers. “I have flat feet, and people swear by ‘arch support’ — I don’t. I’d rather have less support when doing more cardio-intensive activities, because it forces ankle stability and strengthens my foot.” With a simple lightweight shoe like this, she can engage more muscles and doesn’t feel like she’s being held back with each stride. Boyd recommends them for short runs but doesn’t like them for long runs, as there’s not enough cushioning for her. But she does count these as her favorite all-around sneakers — supportive and flexible enough for weight lifting and HIIT, respectively.   $100 AT NIKE

Best status workout shoes

  Nobull Training Shoes $129 Low profile | Medium cushion | Light grip Fitness director and personal trainer Bari Lieberman loves the “versatile and durable” Nobull training shoes, which she had initially told us about when we investigated the next status gym sneakers for women. The Nobull shoes have a flatter sole, Lieberman explains, which allows you to stay more “grounded and stable during heavy lifts.” Well+Good senior beauty editor Zoë Weiner agrees: “I fell in love with these shoes before I actually put them on because of how sleek and minimalist they looked, so I was very happy to discover that they are also the most comfortable shoes my foot has ever become acquainted with.” She adds that they have great traction and support during workouts: “It feels like I’m standing on a cloud.”   $129 AT NO BULL

Best workout shoes for everyday wear

  From $60 Flat sole | Medium cushion | Medium grip These classic Converse also have a flat bottom, and two of our experts wear them while weight lifting. Our men’s fitness experts also love their Chucks for weight lifting; they made our list of the best workout shoes for men. “When you are power lifting, you need to feel the ground beneath your toes,” says Romanelli. “This helps to engage your feet, calves, glutes, etc. Thus the flatter the sole, the less the cushion, the better because your feet are connected to the ground, allowing you to become planted.” Denajha Phillips, a NASM-certified personal trainer, says she feels a “greater and more secure impact on the ground” when she wears them. She’s partial to the traditional colorways, while Romanelli likes to spice it up with an animal-print pair.   FROM $60 AT NORDSTROM $65 AT CONVERSE

Best less expensive workout shoes for everyday wear

  $25 Flat sole | Medium cushion | Medium grip Strategist UK contributor Anna Fielding spotted these sleek and (very) affordable sneakers from Feiyue and decided to do some digging. “The trainers originated in 1920s Shanghai, where they were adopted by martial arts practitioners,” she wrote. “These days parkour enthusiasts use them too, as do Chinese schoolchildren during PE lessons and Shaolin monks. They are lightweight plimsolls, with a canvas body and a cushioned sole. They have bounce. They have grip. And unlike other plimsolls, they’re actually supportive.” As we mentioned in our roundup of the best men’s workout shoes, the Fe Lo sneakers have the features of a solid weight-lifting shoe: a flat, cushioned sole and a supportive canvas upper construction. “You can easily wear them without socks, and — good for the sockless to know — I’ve also found they stand up to repeat washing machine cycles,” Fielding continues. “They stay looking fresh, whites stay white, and colors sharp, longer than any pair of Converse. They don’t fall to pieces, as Keds can, even if you treat them badly and kick them off without bothering to undo the laces.” $25 AT AMAZON $25 AT FEIYU

Best workout shoes for tennis

  Asics Gel Resolution 8 Women’s Tennis Shoes From $130 Low profile | Medium cushion | High grip Tennis shoes make great workout sneakers because the sport requires lots of lateral movement and quick bursts of speed. Plus, sliding around on a court calls for durability under your feet. Former Strategist junior writer Sanibel Chai picked the Asics Gel Resolution 8 as the best women’s overall tennis shoe. “The Asics Gel Resolution came highly recommended by four of our experts and is a safe bet if you’re not sure where to get started,” she wrote. Claire Ann Pollard, head coach of Northwestern University’s women’s tennis team, calls the Asics Gel Resolution her favorite, and Karen Moriarty, co-owner of the Tennis Professionals — Sportech in Rye Brook, New York, says they are consistently a top pick for her customers.   FROM $130 AT AMAZON $140 AT ZAPPOS

Best workout shoes for spin

  Tiem Slipstream Cycle Sneaker From $135 Narrower fit | Medium cushion EVA midsole | Medium grip | SPD-compatible  “Despite the fact that I spin multiple times a week, investing in spin shoes always felt like a huge waste of money, because you can’t actually wear them on the street,” says Weiner. She loves these Tiem sneakers because you can “hop straight from the street onto the spin bike without having to change your shoes.” If you prefer your workout sneakers to pop, the shoes also come in nine other colors, including bright pink, red, and blue.   FROM $135 AT REI $135 AT NORDSTROM

Best workout shoes for running

  Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 38 From $120 Narrower, rockered sole | High cushion | Tread for road running, medium grip Like we mentioned, above, you shouldn’t use your running shoes for workouts that require lateral activities, but if you’re looking for a basic gym trainer with running in mind, look to the Pegasus. In her guide to picking the best running shoes, former Strategist senior writer Karen Iorio Adelson recommended the Air Zoom Pegasus if “you’d rather not think too much about your running shoes,” she wrote. “The Pegasus has been a dependable part of Nike’s running lineup ever since it was introduced nearly four decades ago. Its cushioning comes from a generous layer of Nike’s proprietary React foam in the midsole.”