Avoid shoes with cut out sides or without laces. They may look great, but these types of shoe will offer little support for your feet. Laces are important for adjusting a shoe so you get a really good fit.

Toning trainers are extremely popular right now, with many brands making fantastic claims about the results you’ll get from wearing them. Beware: things which seem too good to be true generally are! In fact one big company is being pursued by the trading standards people for making false claims. Another point to remember with “toning” shoes is that if you wear orthotics or have knee problems you may end up with injuries.

If you mainly do one kind of activity, such as running or aerobics, buy a specialist shoe designed for that purpose, otherwise a cross trainer is fine if you do mainly indoor gym workouts. Dance and Zumba are activities where the correct shoe is important. A trainer with a smooth sole and a pivot point on the ball of the foot is a good choice; the more support you can get the better, as often these activities take place on tiled or concrete floors which are very unforgiving on the lower limbs.

Search out a good sports store. Trainers can be expensive purchases, so it pays to shop well. Trained staff can help you get a perfect fit and spot any postural faults. I can highly recommend a visit to a running shop if you intend to run seriously.

Running shoes come in various designs, depending on how your foot strikes the ground. Many people over pronate and roll their feet under as they run. The correct shoe can help the feet strike the ground better to avoid injury.

Don’t just try and then buy. Move around in the shop, jog up and down: whatever it takes to make sure you have a perfect fit. The heel cup should fit snugly - check it doesn’t slip up or down. Make sure the arch support is also snug, and that the front has a little room between your toes and the end of the shoe.

Trainers have a limited life. Use them three or four times a week and they will need to be replaced every six months or so. Make them last a little longer by keeping them dry and cool, replacing the insoles occasionally and not putting them in the washing machine(OK for fashion trainers, not OK for sports shoes which contain different materials).