https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sun, 26 Apr 2026 07:46:54 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762486 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 21:05:45 +0000 SW Ann 1762486@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Two suggestions:&nbsp; make sure the heels you want to wear are fitting--many women wear their shoes too tight, and in a heel, as the foot pitches forward, the toes get scrunched.&nbsp; You many need to go up a size to get some toe room, depending on how pointy the toe is....Second,&nbsp; consider adding a ball of foot pad to help keep the toes from going too far forward AND for the padding (see up sizing again).&nbsp; This went a long way for me as I wore/wear heels.&nbsp;&nbsp; I used to do hours of public speaking, on my feet, and in heels.&nbsp;&nbsp; The above suggestions made it bearable, and even enjoyable.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762481 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:48:10 +0000 BlondeAmbition 1762481@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have a few friends that wear heels constantly and they have all mentioned heel training from a young age. &nbsp;Of course it is a matter of getting used, how can it not be!? &nbsp;</p> <p>Some heels are more comfortable than others so I don't bother with the ones that are wobbly. &nbsp;The key is to train your achilles heel to bear the strain of the taller heel. &nbsp;It's important not to wear heels all the time and to stretch your feet. &nbsp;My mom for example cannot wear a flat shoe, it pulls her achilles heel too tight and she always prefers at least an inch heel. &nbsp;Make sure to invest in shoes that keep your weight balanced throughout the foot and not just on the ball of the foot. &nbsp;You can do this! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762433 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 18:00:13 +0000 barbaraq 1762433@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think I have used up all the time allotted to me on this earth to wear high heels. &nbsp;According to the "test" I should be able to wear at least a 3 inch heel, but experience tells me otherwise. &nbsp;I have extremely high arches and insteps, so all my weight falls straight the balls of me feet when wearing any heel over 2 inches. &nbsp;I have also read that you tend to lose normal fat padding on the bottoms of your feet as you age, and I think that might be part of my problem with heels, too.</p> <p>There are lots of wonderful shoes I can wear wioth style and comfort, though, so I am not complaining.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762344 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 11:03:50 +0000 kittenwolf 1762344@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So many replies :)<br />I gave the dailymail link's measuring method a try, and according to that I should be wearing 5-6" heels lol</p> <p>My calves are.. usually not an issue, sometimes they get really tight but sitting down for a couple of minutes fixes that. I put that down to doing a lot of martial arts as a kid and 'fighting on my toes' so to speak.</p> <p>Foot arch though is probably a good point, since even in my otherwise comfy ~4.5" boots practically all my weight is on the balls of my feet, hence the burning sensation later on.</p> <p>I should try looking for something with some more arch support, though how to tell if heels have arch support I have *no* idea!</p> <p>Tempted to try and track down a decent pair of ~3" heels to basically wear as slippers around the house to try and narrow down on what works. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762328 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 08:40:30 +0000 Gigi 1762328@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm with the others here who have found that dancing classes are what has done the most for me as far as being able to wear higher heels and for longer periods. I'm not sure how you would replicate that with foot exercises, though. Maybe if you look online, you could find some foot exercises for heel wearing.</p> <p>I read once that a heel height is too high for you if, while you have the shoes on, you cannot raise yourself up on your tiptoes an inch above the footbed (this would be impossible to do with booties; you'd have to try it with classic pumps). I have definitely found that if I can't raise my foot up this high, my feet tire much more rapidly in the shoes, and I have more difficulty walking at that heel height. This might be a good way for you to pinpoint which heel height is your maximum. After you get used to a particular heel height, you can go up to the next-higher one. I would go in increments of .5 inch.</p> <p>It's good to change your heel height daily, to prevent the calf muscle from getting "stuck" at a particular length. I would get yourself a few pairs of heels, in different heel heights and with different surface areas of heel (chunkier heels are easier to walk in). It would also be a good idea to stretch your calves out after wearing the shoes.</p> <p>I agree that for whatever reason, certain shoes are just more comfortable than others, regardless of the heel height. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of experimentation to find out what works, which usually means some failed purchases. It took me a long time to find out what worked for me, and I still make mistakes! In particular, one interesting thing that I found out was that I normally wear a half size smaller in heels than in flat shoes. I think that the foot spreads less in heels, which would account for the size difference.</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762310 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 04:25:47 +0000 Ginger 1762310@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think I understand what you're wanting; you're not wanting to get used to pain, but you're aware that <i>at least for the shoes you own</i>, the ones with heels are hard for you to wear for long.&nbsp; And you want to learn if you really can wear heels before you give up on them forever.</p> <p>Usually in discussions about wearing heels, it's the lower leg muscles, especially the calf, that are immediately effected. The calf muscle has to work differently with heels. (That's part of what Greyscale is referencing with dance; I didn't do Irish dance, but I did ballet and tap, and there's a whole lot of muscle development that goes into dancing on the toe and ball of the foot.)&nbsp; Last winter I wore practically nothing but flat boots, and in the spring when I started wearing my 2.5" heels again, I could feel some unusual strain and tiredness in my calves just from them being unaccustomed to heels.&nbsp; So there's a muscular component.</p> <p>I can also get sore on the balls of my feet. Some of if can be from friction; this is especially so in strappy shoes where my foot is sliding on the sole with every step. The better-fitting your shoes are, the less you'll deal with this. Snug but not pinching.&nbsp; And pain can come just from pressure. Greyscale explained this really well; if the shoe fits the curve of your foot, it will distribute the weight. I have high arches and very very few shoes fit like that. So I've been using thin gel inserts. They take up excess room inside the shoe, to keep my feet from sliding, may fill in the arch a bit, and add padding just where I need it.</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762298 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 03:01:54 +0000 Greyscale 1762298@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've spent a lot of time conditioning my feet for Irish dance, which involves dancing very high on the ball of my foot. After I got serious about dance, I could suddenly wear high heels for hours. ...And then I hurt my foot dancing and now there's a long-term problem with the ball of my foot, so heels are uncomfortable again.</p> <p>So yes, there are things that make it easier to wear heels. Foot strength does help. But there are also downsides; wearing heels too much can shorten your Achilles tendon so that wearing flats hurts, for instance. I have friends with that problem.</p> <p>What makes a heel comfortable for me is if&nbsp;the curve of the shoe lines up perfectly with my arch. If so, my weight gets distributed along the shoe, with most of my weight resting on the heel. That matters more than the actual height of the heel. (Every arch shape is different, but some people find Superfeet insoles helpful for this.) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762296 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 02:50:30 +0000 Liz 1762296@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm baffled at the thought of trying to train feet not to hurt in order to be able to fit into a certain kind of shoe. Why not, instead, put the effort into finding a shoe and a heel height that doesn't hurt? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762283 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 01:25:24 +0000 JAileen 1762283@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Somebody posted this a couple months ago. It's supposed to tell you how high a heel you can wear. It's when they're too high that my feet hurt.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3824090/There-formula-finding-heels-won-t-cripple-s-remarkably-simple.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....imple.html</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762280 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 01:14:42 +0000 rachylou 1762280@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm not sure one can do any conditioning for ball of the foot pain - it's a problem I have too. I think inserts are what you have to do. It's not like for the leg muscles, where conditioning helps. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762275 Thu, 22 Dec 2016 01:06:53 +0000 Alexandra 1762275@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't think there's a way to get your feet used to wearing heels. Either the shoes are comfortable or they are not. You might be able to develop higher tolerance for pain, though I don't know how or why you would want to. Life is too short to wear uncomfortable shoes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762236 Wed, 21 Dec 2016 22:43:58 +0000 kittenwolf 1762236@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have a feeling that I've used a term generally when it has a specific meaning I wasn't aware of :)</p> <p>I'm not quite game to google and find out! 'Reshaping an arch' sounds like Chinese foot binding.</p> <p>I more meant getting used to/teaching my feet to be able to wear heels for a day/for out clubbing or such without the balls of my feet turning to lava ;). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762214 Wed, 21 Dec 2016 20:55:34 +0000 Emily K 1762214@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I had to google 'heels training" and I think I'd not mess with it. My feet are generally happy, unfussy, and good in heels up to 3.5 inches (for a short amount of time). I do not want to mess that up and wind up with fussy feet. ''Stretching out/reshaping" my arch just isn't something I want to do. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762196 Wed, 21 Dec 2016 20:17:39 +0000 Angie 1762196@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Tisa offers great suggestions. </p> <p>Low heels are the best option in my book. No aching balls of the foot. I love a 1 or 1.5 inch heel. 2 inches can work, but not as well.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762074 Wed, 21 Dec 2016 12:47:58 +0000 Tisa 1762074@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is the first time I hear about heel training and I'm not sure such a thing even exists. In my limited personal experience I've noticed that some shoes simply fit better than others. Arch support, good fit and an appropriate heel type can matter far more than heel hight.<br /> I owned mid-heels that weren't all that comfortable, while I could stand much longer in a different shoe with a higher heel.<br /> High heels aren't really made for walking long distances or for standing for long periods of time. Especially if the heel is narrow. Stilletoes are a 'walk a short distance then sit down' type of shoe. Wider heels offer some more support.<br /> What I'm trying to say is that perhaps you could try finding a better type of shoe for your needs instead of trying to change your feet.</p> <p>Good luck! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/heels-training-help#post-1762036 Wed, 21 Dec 2016 08:11:28 +0000 kittenwolf 1762036@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm kinda wanting to give heels training a try since while I have no trouble walking in them, after a couple of hours, even in my comfy boots, damn the balls of my feet get sore!</p> <p>Does anyone have suggestions on how to go about it? I've heard suggestions somewhere about grabbing some mid-height heels to basically use as slippers to... acclimatise... my feet?</p> <p>I can't really wear them day to day/socially which does cut options down somewhat. </p>