Best indoor workout trainers 2021: flexible, light and perfect for getting fit at home

Trainers, sneakers, runners or whatever you want to call them have different needs, depending on whether you wear them inside or out - just like the difference between boots you wear for astroturf and boots you wear for grass pitches.

If you do cardio indoors - think exercise biking and treadmills - then you could do with some trainers to stand you in good stead for those particular surfaces. 

Even if you just do the odd home workout, you’re going to need a different kind of grip on your soles than the one you require for the pavement. Plus, you don’t want to get mud indoors, do you?

What are the best indoor trainers?

Different indoor trainers provide different benefits - but cost can also play a big part in the trainers you buy too. 

For our money, you can’t go wrong with the Adidas Asweerun range. They’re packed with all the technology that you’d expect from the brand, and stylish enough without being too showy - you don’t feel like you should add “Adidas athlete” to your Insta bio once you’ve bought them. Altogether, the Asweeruns are a solid, reliable trainer for whatever workouts you want to get up to indoors.

But let’s face it: one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to shoes. Speed merchants and deep-lying midfielders do not shop at the same section of Sports Direct. 

Would you like to see some more options? Sure you would.

Best indoor trainers, in order

It’s hard to go wrong with Adidas. Just ask Arsenal fans: their team’s form may have wildly fluctuated in the last few years but since switching to the German manufacturers for kit production, their gear has been nothing short of lush.

The Adidas Asweerun trainers are everything that you’d expect from an Adidas product: understated, cool without blowing its own horn, but most of all, capable and reliable. There’s a reason that the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus have long-term deals with Adidas: they know they’re always going to provide the goods.

Nike are the kings of minimalism. When they get that simplicity right, they can’t be beaten: we’re thinking of England’s home and away get-up from the 2018 World Cup, or even those legendary Guardiola-era Barcelona shirts, before things got a bit wacky. 

This is cut from that very cloth (although probably not literally - shoes are made from different material... right?). The T-Lite XI are sleek and extremely comfortable: with a sole that bends to your foot as you’re running, these are perfect trainers for heavy-duty indoor use. 

Just because Liverpool are binning New Balance, doesn’t mean you should shun them too. 

NB has grown in the last few years into a giant of the sportswear world, and with the Minimus fitness shoes, it’s clear to see why. The material is great, and though the sole isn’t as durable as some of the indoor efforts on this list, it makes a great option for someone valuing comfort.

Back in the day, footwear was always leather. Could you even imagine the likes of Roy Keane and Dennis Wise wearing knitted football boots? 

The Puma Persist shoes take the knitted style for an all-over look that resembles boots that you’d find today’s stars wearing, but combines them with the thick sole that you need for indoor workouts. We’re not saying that this is the exact pair that Marco Reus would go for, but if we had to put money on it...

Alright, we hear you. You want to make a statement. Working out indoors is less about sweating and more about looking good on Instagram. Fine. 

Adidas’s Nemeziz Tango efforts might not be for everyone - i.e., the over 30s - but they’re everything you’d expect from a company that uses Paul Pogba as a key marketing tool. Besides the garish design though, they’re durable, extremely comfy and if you’re not keen on paying tribute to the Tiger King with your creps, they’re also available in other colours.