Yea I agree..... I been watching/listening to all the top power people for the past 2 weeks. I know his book must be real good and he has affected change in the community. I see the narrow mindedness as his weakness and it even got me hesitant to buy his book. Instead I got the Strong First:Foundations of Strength video. I really like the SFG community better as for more practicality in the exercises and movements. Also I am working on minimalist running."Lifting heavy weights is potentially damaging to a bare foot. You aren't supposed to lift bare footed."
Lifting heavy weights is also potentially damaging to the hands, elbows, shoulders, spine, hips, and knees. But the pros outweigh the cons.
That is a very vague statement. The thing is, Mark clearly knows his stuff with the barbell, but every opinion he has is "fact" when there is more than one way to do something.
If the sole doesn't compress, then its not even "absorbing" forces from your foot, which is exactly what you want! Yeah, it could come into play when you are pressing the limits of human ability, but this is purely a matter of whatever you feel like doing. The big benefit is that with the heel lift, you get to make up for some mobility issues in the squat. Why not address those issues and train them? Yeah, your numbers will go down, but if you aren't competing, its about the training effect, not the total weight. We try to make light weights heavier, right?
I remember seeing him in a discussion with Dan John, and in the conversation you couldn't come up with more polar opposite intellectual approaches to strength training. Dan John even tried to give Mark a gracious cue to open mindedness when he suggested that if Mark came across a more effective method to teach the squat in a group setting, he would use it. Mark just replied, "No, I wouldn't change the way I do things." And that clip plays in my mind any time I consider advice from Mark.
I remember seeing him in a discussion with Dan John, and in the conversation you couldn't come up with more polar opposite intellectual approaches to strength training. Dan John even tried to give Mark a gracious cue to open mindedness when he suggested that if Mark came across a more effective method to teach the squat in a group setting, he would use it. Mark just replied, "No, I wouldn't change the way I do things." And that clip plays in my mind any time I consider advice from Mark.
I like Rip, but his dogma frequently crosses the line to arrogance. It doesn't matter if he's talking about squats or whiskey. It seems disingenuous at time.
It makes me wonder if he has intentionally adopted "the grumpy old coach" personna as a branding tactic.
@MikeTheBear to be fair to rippitoe I believe he only recommends lifting shoes for squats from what I read.
Deadlift slippers are a common thing in powerlifting and if you look at how rippitoe teaches deadlifts the more vertical shin angle of slippers/barefoot/flats would suit this.
I love lifting shoes (own adipowers) for olympic lifts and barbell squats of all types but go socks, slippers or rebook crossfit lite for other things
I don't agree with @jca17's criticism of the shoe as primarily a means of compensating for mobility issues. Successful competitors in weightlifting are some of the most mobile athletes in the world (see below) and I'd wager they don't wear the shoes for no reason. Raising the heel of people with really tight ankles is definitely helpful for adequate squat movement, but for most people with at least average mobility I think it's the stability that a solid shoe provides that helps the most.