So now you that you’ve bought a brand new pair of tennis shoes, you may be wondering how you can lace them quickly and with minimal hassle. There are some ways to lace your tennis shoes that can make them easier to put on and take off which we’re sure you’ll want to know about it.

Although lacing tennis shoes — or any type of footwear for that matter, can seem like a straightforward, even simplistic thing to do, there are really only three acceptable methods to ensure that they’re comfortable to wear depending on the shape and size of your feet.

The three styles of lacing that we’ll be covering in this guide to lacing tennis shoes are:

• Gap Lacing
• The Loop Lacing Lock
• Lydiard Lacing

No method for lacing one’s shoes are inherently better or worse than any other (let’s be real here!) However, each style of lacing has their specific applications, such as if your shoes feel too tight or too loose, you might want to give one of our lacing methods a try.

Lydiard Lacing

This style of lacing your tennis shoes could do the trick if your shoes feel too tight to wear. Lydiard Lacing goes by a few other names as well, such as “Straight Bar Lacing” or “Parallel Lacing”.

Feeling that your shoes are too tight for your feet can be a major annoyance, but did you know that it can also be a cause of injuries? That feeling you get when your feet are in a bind is uncomfortable because your shoes are cutting off the circulation to your feet, which can lead to foot cramp.

So, if you value the health of your feet, then give Lydiard Lacing a try with the following steps:

1. Begin straight across the outside and go in through the bottom eyelet.
2. The left lace should run straight up the inside and then go straight on the outside.
3. Both ends run straight up the inside, skipping every other eyelet.
4. Each lace end continues straight across the outside and in through the adjacent eyelet.
5. Alternate until lacing is completed.

Gap Lacing

This one goes by a few different monikers as well, such as crisscross lacing. This is the lacing style that you are probably using now without even realizing it. Gap Lacing is best used if you have wide arches or wide feet.

Gap Lacing is one of the easiest methods to start with, but we encourage you to branch out into different styles if you feet demand it!

1. To begin, go straight across the inside and out through the bottom eyelets.
2. Then use the crisscross lacing style until just below the area that needs the most room.
3. Run the laces straight up the sides to the next higher set of eyelets, creating the gap.
4. Continue with the crisscross pattern until finished.

Loop Lacing Lock

Finally, we have our last style of lacing tennis shoes with the Loop Lacing Lock. Coincidentally, this lacing style is also known as the “Runner’s Tie”. If your heel is prone to slippage while you are running, then this style of lacing should do the trick.

As one of the easiest lacing methods around, the Loop Lacing Lock has only three steps:

1. Lace to the second eyelet from the top.
2. Run the lace ends up on the outside and in through the top eyelet.
3. Cross the lace ends, and then pass them under the opposing vertical section.

The Runner’s Tie works because as you tighten your laces, you’ll notice that it pulls the rest of the shoe inwards, thus increasing the stability and comfort of your feet!