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Summer is the perfect time to kick off your socks and shoes and just let your feet be free.  After a long, cold winter (especially here in Minnesota anyway), kicking off boots or closed toe shoes and slipping into a nice pair of sandals, seems like a little slice of heaven.  For some of us though, this can be kind of tricky.  As much as I would love to go barefoot all summer like I did when I was a kid, my feet (wide, with high arches) require more support in order to stay pain free.     Are you like me and love flip flops, but notice that your heel hurts when you wear them? Do you need extra support, but not sure what to look for in a sandal?  Dr. Langer from Twin Cities Orthopedics offers sound advice when it comes to choosing summer footwear.   "Summer is great because it gives us many more footwear options than the colder seasons do. It is healthy to allow our feet a reprieve from the confinement of conventional footwear.  Light weight shoes and sand ...

It seems as though we have gone from winter to summer overnight here in Minnesota...and I am not complaining..at all.  After this past winter (a.k.a the winter that refused to end), I feel like we are all doing a great big harmonious "WAHOO"!   So, I would like to officially welcome the warm weather back to Minnesota.  Warm weather, I have truly missed you every day that we have been apart.     Well, now it is that time of year when we transition from socks and shoes to sandals.  We get to peel off a layer and switch up our wardrobe.  I LOVE this time of the year.  My biggest problem though, when we go from shoes to sandals or sandals to shoes is that when I go to dig out weather appropriate footwear, very often they tend to look down right beat up.  Does that happen to you as well?  The silver lining to all of this is that we get to go shoe shopping.  AND, the very, very best part of all of this is to see all of the new colors and styles for the season ...

The last thing you want to do when your feet hurt is to be on them all day.  One of the best feelings in the world is when your feet hurt and you first sit down.  All of a sudden a wave of relief starts at the very tip of your toes and floods through your entire body.  Ahhhhh, relief!   For most, sitting down and kicking up your feet isn’t an option.  As a society, we are busy people.  We are on the move all of the time whether it is running carpool, waiting tables, realtors showing houses, nurses and doctors helping patients, school teachers or folks that just need to get their stuff done.   The funny thing is that not too many people stop during the day and think, “wow, my feet feel great today”.   When our feet don’t hurt, we don’t really think about it.  BUT, when you have sore feet that hurt, you really can’t think of anything else except those aching feet.   Dr. Langer from Twin Cities Orthopedics says th ...

Are you into the barefoot movement?  Minimalist shoes have been a pretty hot product for a few years now.  I think most people have either tried them, love them or know someone that has tried them or loves them.  Over the past few years runners, walkers, personal trainers, weight lifters, yoga professionals and more have made a shift toward “less is more” when it comes to footwear. In general, the minimalist shoe not only looks sleek and cool, but also offers some very nice benefits to the user.  Because this style of shoe has so little cushioning (with some, no cushioning at all), it promotes a more natural running or walking motion.  Dr. Paul Langer, Board Certified Podatrist at Twin Cities Orthopedics says "this style of shoe has so little cushioning, it promotes a more barefoot-like gait pattern which means the stresses and strains of walking and running are affecting the body in a different way.” The minimalist also offers better stability (much clos ...

One of my 7 year old daughter’s favorite things to do is to ask me about the teachers that I had in school when I was little.  She asks me to say each grade and say the name of the teacher for that grade.  My daughter loves all of the teachers that she has ever had.  Each one holds rock star status at our house. If we see them outside of school, she is star struck.  I think she likes to imagine that about my childhood as well.   I feel very lucky, as I hold a special place in my heart for so many of the teachers that I had growing up (from preschool to college).  My favorite teacher of all time was Mrs. Lavia.  She was my 5th grade teacher and she was awesome!  I was so lucky to have her as my teacher that year, as I had just transferred schools.  Not only was I the new kid, but also right smack in the middle of that awkward phase (braces, bad hair, everything else that seems bad at the time).  As a mother now looking back, I understand that she took ...

I love warm weather.  I love summer and I love when we experience unseasonably warm spring and fall seasons.  I love it.  I REALLY love it because it extends the sandal wearing season.  LET THE TOES BE FREE, I will yell from the rooftops. Well, not really from the rooftops, but you get my passion for warm weather and cute sandals.  As you may have noticed this year, our winter is dragging out a bit too long.  Let's be done with it!  Throw all of our socks in a drawer and get on with spring 2013.   So, to get us in a warm weather state of mind, I met with two experts who certainly know shoes, style and fashion trends and asked what to expect this spring.   Leslie Butler, VP of Merchandising for Schuler Shoes says "Spring 2013 brings lots of fun in footwear! Sandals are colorful with blues and corals leading the pack.  Embellishments are more toned down, not as much bling.  Softer touches such as tonal details like tooling or embossing or stones of tona ...

Well, there are two answers to this question. If you mean, is it ok to wear your "work out" shoes for different activities throughout the day, that aren't necessarily "working out", the answer is sure.     But, if what you mean is, is it ok to wear your athletic shoes all day long, every day...well, then the answer is no. What you don't want to do is wear your "work out shoes" all of the time (working out, doing chores and to work) day after day after day. For one thing, it breaks down your shoes really quickly.    It is best to have a few shoes to rotate from activity to activity, throughout the day or on a daily basis. This gives your shoes time to dry out (your feet do sweat) and it also works different muscles in your feet and legs. If you are rotating different styles of shoes (running shoes, clogs, dress shoes, sandals, boots, etc) every other day or even throughout your day, you also rotate which foot and leg muscles that you use.  If you are required to wear an athletic shoe ...

A few weeks ago, my family and I went to my friend Jarrod's birthday celebration.  He had invited a few families over to help celebrate his big day.   As we all stood around talking, Jarrod shared with everyone that I work for Schuler Shoes.  This is always fun because almost all of the time people love Schuler Shoes and have a favorite shoe, brand, sales person or store they want to talk about.   This is always lots of fun because, well...I love Schuler Shoes too!   As we talked about Schuler Shoes, the discussion shifted to Plantar Fasciitis (this happens quite a bit as well, as SO many people suffer from this extremely painful heel pain).  Well, my friend Jarrod is a successful real estate agent in Maple Grove and is on his feet all day long and he suffers from Plantar Fasciitis.  Once he shared that he has Plantar Fasciitis, about 4 other people said they suffer from the same issue.  In fact, one guest said that his heel hurts the most when he is simply standing ...

  Source: schulershoes.com via Schuler Shoes on Pinterest     Are you on your feet ALL DAY LONG?  At the end of the day are your feet, legs, back and even neck achy and sore?  Let me ask you this, do you invest your money in good, quality shoes? If so, that is great, because you deserve quality shoes that support your whole body.  Everybody does.  But, do you also invest your time in good, quality shoes?   We all know that quality shoes aren't cheap, right?  So, we spend our money on good shoes.  Well, it shouldn't end there.  Make sure to invest TIME in finding shoes that fit YOUR VERY SPECIAL feet.  It honestly will make all the difference in the world.   Look at your feet.  Do you have wide feet?  Narrow feet?  Do you have bunions?  Well, the next time you are going to buy shoes, make sure to come in to a Schuler Shoes location.  We are a "sit and fit" model shoe store.  So, that means that you sit ...

  Like many, I have gone into the new year looking for ways to get fit and stay healthy.  I recently attended a fitness bootcamp with Certified Personal Trainer Josh Hutton at Be Fit in Maple Grove, MN.  Josh offered a tough workout, but more importantly had us focus on how to do exercises correctly to avoid injury.  I have been to classes before that focus more on intensity and often forget about form.  I found Josh's approach very refreshing.  Josh is also passionate about proper footwear during exercise.  I invited Josh to share his expertise and advice on how to stick with a fitness program throughout the year to successfully reach goals.  Here are Josh's top 7 tips... 1. Set a goal Make this goal attainable and realistic. Don’t say you want to lose 50 lbs.  Start with "I want to lose 5 lbs this month." Goals need to be specific and realistic. 2. Make A Commitment To That Goal If your goal is making it to the gym 4 times per week, make that h ...