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by Sandy Dover / @San_Dova
In the NBA world, athletes are subject to physical rigors that most laypeople cannot comprehend. For the elite basketball player, his/her body is his/her literal temple and principal livelihood, and while the roughly 400 players in the NBA put their bodies and minds to the test daily and yearly, those outside of that realm (in the so-called real world) also have become just as conscious about their fitness and health. The FIT is a series that will concentrate on the Fuel, Information and Training (F.I.T.) that it takes for both NBAers and laypersons to be at their very best in the world, as well as focusing on the literal Food, Intelligence and Technology that also comes into play in our physical fine-tuning—because after all, without having the vital fuel, guidelines and tech advancements to feed our bodies, help us better absorb and process what’s necessary, and make the labor efficient and effective, we don’t have much to advance our collective health and performance. The FIT is here to bring to light what can make us all the uniquely tuned creatures who we presently are and can continue or aspire to be.
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Most times, running shoes aren’t built to be dual performers in the gym and on the road, and rightfully so. Running shoes and training shoes usually have different builds from the bottom, because the needs of the wearers are specifically different according to the activity. In this case, adidas has produced a running shoe that acts as a secondary training shoe for strength and conditioning workouts in the adidas adizero Sonic 3. What follows is adidas’ brief product description and additional specifications concerning the adizero Sonic 3:
A lightweight feel and great support, that’s what these men’s adiZero Sonic 3 running shoes from adidas are all about. They feature a FORMOTION® decoupled heel for smoother landings and SPRINTWEB to help keep your foot locked down without extra weight.
FORMOTION® adapts to the ground to ensure the smoothest, most comfortable run possible
Full-forefoot ADIPRENE®+ maintains propulsion and efficiency
Air mesh upper for maximum breathability; Air mesh tongue for cooler comfort
SPRINTWEB construction for lightweight upper support
Blown rubber outsole for lightweight grip
The adizero Sonic 3 is maybe the most well-rounded general purpose athletic shoe currently on the market. Made principally to endure tough workouts, the adizero Sonic 3 built to be a fitness chameleon; virtually anything that revolves around running, walking, and everything else in-between is all good for the shoe. That doesn’t make for a whole lot to say about the adizero Sonic 3, but it does make it easy to say why it was so agreeable to me.
Having evaluated the shoe over a period of several weeks, the adizero Sonic 3 exhibited many qualities that I found to be very positive in my training experiences. One such quality was the step-in comfort of the shoe; it was very plush. There was no break-in period necessary for the shoe to be workout-ready and it made the adizero Sonic 3 a joy to wear. Even though the shoe employs the use of adidas’ adiPRENE technology (a necessary cushioning attribute of any adidas shoe—and I’m hoping that the three stripes begin to use it in the adizero Rose series soon), what seems to contribute heavily to the comfy feel is the thick sockliner housed within the runner, layered over top of its corresponding thick EVA midsole, which is likely a premium-grade foam. The comfort is extremely good, and this made a great impression with me, not just in standing in the shoe, but in actually running and training in the shoe altogether.
Secondly, the adizero Sonic 3 has very good breathability, which makes a lot of sense, considering that the entire upper’s base is air mesh, and it made for an elevated sense of comfort in its own right. Thirdly, the adizero Sonic 3 was designed in such a way that (for me) it hugged my foot without being ‘tight’, and there is a difference. Though the shoe wasn’t engineered to be the kind of shoe that you might normally think is supposed to fit like a glove, it does so successfully, because of its use of the SPRINTWEB. The SPRINTWEB is so meticulously webbed around the forefoot and up the eyestay, that the lockdown of the adizero Sonic 3 is top-notch (and improving the matter is that the laces don’t present any kind of uncomfortable lace pressure at all, an underrated aspect of shoe fit).
And like all other adizero products, the adizero Sonic 3 is very lightweight. To be clear, there are lighter models from the adizero series, but not many, and because the adizero Sonic 3 is also built to be supportive in addition to being lightweight, it makes for a near-perfect trainer. The outsole helps to accentuate the positive with its segmented design and the traction of the adizero Sonic 3 is superb and has deep grooves; the sole also isn’t too narrow, so that sufficient training can be done with adequate lateral stability and the traction pattern allows for multi-directional movement, perfect for a running shoe that can do double duty with other types of training.
It really doesn’t have any weaknesses. It could get lower to the ground and it could get a tad lighter, but as it stands, the support, the cut, and the weight of the adizero Sonic 3 make it perfectly ideal for athletes (in particularly, hardwood heroes) who are looking to cross-train and improve their fitness and conditioning without having to pack heavy in the gym bag.
Sandy Dover is a published author, media consultant, and web & print magazine columnist in the world of publishing, while serving as an expert sports product evaluator and as an independent wellness & training consultant, advocate and journalist in the health & fitness industry (with the two worlds often colliding). You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as at about.me, Facebook and Twitter.
