[Backarch]

I go barefoot or wear wrestling shoes. Def barefoot for squats.

[Revolutionary]

After some research today, I decided against special weightlifting shoes and in favour of wrestling shoes, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you - maybe it helps someone else.

I think one disadvantage of weightlifting shoes like Adidas Adipower or Nike Romaleos might be a lower versatility. They may be great if you only do olympic powerlifting, but might be detrimental for other exercises which require more flexibility in the foot. See, for example, these exercises: Scott Herman exercises

The dude from the video (Scott Herman) shortly explains his choice of shoes (also while deadlifting) here at 17:02 minutes: Scott Herman explanation on deadlift mistakes.
He basically just says the shoes should have a thin sole (as close to barefoot as possible). The advantage to being barefoot, in my eyes, would be (a) not having to take off shoes between various exercises in the gym and (b) increased support for the foot.

Powerlifting guru Mark Rippetoe advises against lifting barefoot in this video. He says the shoes should provide support, and that it increases the risk of injury. He also doesn't like Chucks. According to him, they are mere mocassins made of canvas.

The versatility of wrestling shoes (as compared to weightlifting shoes) became fully apparent to me when I realised that I could also wear them for martial arts. They are sold alongside boxing and Muay Thai equipment in the online stores.

The way I see it now, barefoot lifting is a a bit of a cheap way for powerlifters who do not have optimal shoes, and Chucks are a cheap way to wear shoes with a flat sole. Cheap does not necessarily mean bad, but I'd prefer to have shoes that are well usable for various purposes which I do not need to take off in the gym. Personally I came to dislike the cheap quality of Chucks. I think Chucks are primarily worn because everybody else does it and people want to be cool, not for real quality.

For these reasons, I had a look at a range of wrestling shoes - among which I also count the brand Otomix - and ended up purchasing the exact ones worn by Scott Herman in the first video (Asics Split Second 9 in black/red). I haven't tested them yet but will post a review here in a few months.

[Oz.]

[BrewDog]

[Thrill Jackson]

Running shoes, nothing special. I do cardio after weights.

[CaptainChardonnay]

Adidas Adipowers

[Revolutionary]

(03-05-2017 08:45 AM)Thrill Jackson Wrote:  

Running shoes, nothing special. I do cardio after weights.

If the running shoes have a heel cushioning, they would not be an ideal choice for powerlifting. It might cause injury, and it hurts your lifting results. Fortunately, there are also other running shoes.

[NickDunne]

Reebok Nano 6

[ShotgunUppercuts]

Adidas samba.

My white/reds soles are beat but I got another pair in black /white

Insole has more arch support this time around.dont know for sure if it helps or harms my lifting because I have flat feet.

[Vet-Boy]

I deadlift, calf raise and squat in my socks, feels realy nice and natural to me.

I only do it for these exercises or variations of these exercises though

I dont think your type of shoes really matters when your benchpressing for example

[Stallion]

Why would anyone want to wear shoes while doing compound movements? Why look for the shoe with the thinest sole, instead of just dumping the shoe? I don't get it.

I have tried lifting heavy with shoes and it feels so unnatural and unsafe to me, that weird clunky thing in my foot disconnecting me from the ground/messing my balance. I can only lift a fraction of the weight when wearing shoes, although maybe that's psychological.

If you really need shoes for squats or deadlifts, that's because of imbalances/weaknesses, so wearing shoes isn't going to fix that. If you can lift without shoes, wearing shoes only creates new imbalances. Foot support is bullshit, all the support you need is strong feet/ankles, and wearing shoes weakens them.



For me, socks all the way for anything where you are standing up. I end up doing the whole workout in socks just so I don't have to put shoes on and off...

I would prefer totally barefoot, but don't do it out of respect of other people in the gym.

[tobehero]

Barefoot or chuck taylors. Got the idea from Joe Rogan.

[S3K2]

http://www.roguefitness.com/nike-romaleo...lack-white

It's worth the money.

[rafaeld]

You need FLAT SOLES for deadlifting, and almost every single standing weight exercise (except the squat, which can be better with raised heels). Running shoes are the worst because they contain a lot of padding, it's like balancing on a cushion whilst lifting 135lb overhead, pretty stupid idea. Barefoot is ideal but many gyms will yell at you about this and you might get athlete's foot so some kind of shoe is a good idea.

I particularly like the Vibram Five-fingers El-ex for general gym shoes because I like to grip the ground with my toes, it gives me a more solid base and feels more natural for my foot. You can even go hiking in them if you like.



When it comes to squatting, you can squat with flat soles, but raised heels is better. I use these:



These are Wei Rui squat shoes. They are quite cost effective and come with nice, heavy, solid heels. These shoes make squatting much easier on my knees and add a good 20lb at least to my max.

To anyone who says squatting with flat soles is better than raised heels, I would ask them to look at the heels of Olympic weightlifting shoes.



Look at the heels of this Olympic lifter. Raised up about 1.5 inches.



Here is Arnold Schwarzenegger squatting. Look at his heels. He is using a support to raise them, because this is a more effective squatting position.

[Steelex]

I'm going to go totally against the grain here and say it doesn't matter unless you're a competitive power lifter. I usually train in whatever shoe feels comfortable (I'm partial to underarmor cross trainers) and I don't feel it has hampered my progress at all. My theory is that the heavier the weight is, the more compressed the shoe gets, and the less wobble you have.

Not to say I wouldn't buy some weight lifting shoes some day, but I think it's just a really miniscule detail.

There's always some stocky 55 year old wearing white new balances with the velcro straps who will rep your PR for his warm up set.

[monster]

(03-03-2017 07:29 PM)Revolutionary Wrote:  

After some research today, I decided against special weightlifting shoes and in favour of wrestling shoes, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you - maybe it helps someone else.

I think one disadvantage of weightlifting shoes like Adidas Adipower or Nike Romaleos might be a lower versatility. They may be great if you only do olympic powerlifting, but might be detrimental for other exercises which require more flexibility in the foot. See, for example, these exercises: Scott Herman exercises

The dude from the video (Scott Herman) shortly explains his choice of shoes (also while deadlifting) here at 17:02 minutes: Scott Herman explanation on deadlift mistakes.
He basically just says the shoes should have a thin sole (as close to barefoot as possible). The advantage to being barefoot, in my eyes, would be (a) not having to take off shoes between various exercises in the gym and (b) increased support for the foot.

Powerlifting guru Mark Rippetoe advises against lifting barefoot in this video. He says the shoes should provide support, and that it increases the risk of injury. He also doesn't like Chucks. According to him, they are mere mocassins made of canvas.

The versatility of wrestling shoes (as compared to weightlifting shoes) became fully apparent to me when I realised that I could also wear them for martial arts. They are sold alongside boxing and Muay Thai equipment in the online stores.

The way I see it now, barefoot lifting is a a bit of a cheap way for powerlifters who do not have optimal shoes, and Chucks are a cheap way to wear shoes with a flat sole. Cheap does not necessarily mean bad, but I'd prefer to have shoes that are well usable for various purposes which I do not need to take off in the gym. Personally I came to dislike the cheap quality of Chucks. I think Chucks are primarily worn because everybody else does it and people want to be cool, not for real quality.

For these reasons, I had a look at a range of wrestling shoes - among which I also count the brand Otomix - and ended up purchasing the exact ones worn by Scott Herman in the first video (Asics Split Second 9 in black/red). I haven't tested them yet but will post a review here in a few months.

I use asics wrestling shoes. Cheap as hell (30-40 bucks), pretty durable (had mine over a year, use 1hr day/5x week). Works well mixing heavy bag work between sets. When I'm feeling treadmill-tastic I even run on the machine with them.

See no reason to switch.

[Mig Picante]

Deadlifts - Flick shoes off and just socks
Squats - Nike Romaleos 2

I would only take the Romaleos to the gym when I'm doing heavy squats over 1.5x BW.
They aren't cheap and are specialist and non-versatile.

[B00G3r]

I've worn my Nike Romaleos 2's 3-4x a week for the past 5 years for squatting.
Nike wrestling shoes for the past 2 years for deadlifting and everything else.

[Itsbrokeagain]

Adidas Adipowers here. Picked up a pair in the black/black combo. I started with a pair of Reebok Olys and managed for 4 years, I honestly wish I had jumped ship sooner. Squat/cleans/any complex lift went way up and my feet felt glued to the floor.

[Revolutionary]

(03-03-2017 07:29 PM)Revolutionary Wrote:  

For these reasons, I had a look at a range of wrestling shoes - among which I also count the brand Otomix - and ended up purchasing the exact ones worn by Scott Herman in the first video (Asics Split Second 9 in black/red). I haven't tested them yet but will post a review here in a few months.

I'm very content with my Asics wrestling shoes so far. They are light, feel good, and serve the purpose well.

[Kaizen]

Chuck Taylors

[J_Sway]

I lift at home and go barefoot for just about everything. If I need extra grip or impact protection, I'll slip on my Merrell Trail Gloves. Ripped the pads of my toes open a couple too many times from doing barefoot lunges and similar exercises.

[lex the impaler]

I've been trying the Reebok CrossFit nano 7s. Excellent shoe imo. Good cushion plus strong elevated heel.