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Barbell Lifting Shoes?!?!

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Chase Hines

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Exploring the idea of getting some lifting shoes.

I’m wondering if there are some key benefits I’m missing out on or if I should just continue down the barefoot squatting path.

Overarching Training Goal - Being generally strong at everything life throws at me.....if that leads to moving some bigger weights in certain movements like the squat & DL then that’s just a plus.

Here’s a few questions I’ve already asked myself -

Will I ever be in a competition setting? No.
Will I be practice OLY lifts? No.
Will I ALWAYS continue to DL & practice KB movements barefoot? Yes.
Have I ever worn lifting shoes before? No. Trained barefoot at home for the last 7 years. All movements.
What movements will I use these with? Front squat & Zercher Squat.
 
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Investing one, if you plan to hit deep squat/front squat. Maybe your ankles mobility is good, but a couple cm higher in the heel will help you easier to stability your self when you squat atg/front squat.

In my country people still play sport with barefoot (I play football/soccer sometime with barefoot). I squat with barefoot nearly all the time, or with very thin shoes (most of the time it feels like a pair of thick socks), and get 140 kg squat/ 135 kg front squat (at 70 kg) after a year of focusing on squat. So I'm quite comfortable with it. But after nearly one month using Olympic shoes, I hit the mark 145 kg squat for three times this week. It's much easier to stabilize - and I can actually get tighter before/during the squat. Give it a shot!
 
It depends on your level of comfort and mobility performing front squats/zercher squats barefoot. If you have no problems hitting depth and coming back up again without losing your balance I would say it's not worth buying lifting shoes. If your mobility is limiting your squatting depth or your not quite satisfied with your stability in the bottom position, a reasonably-priced pair of lifters will be worth investing in.

I got my first pair of weightlifting shoes - Adidas Power Perfect 2 - primarily for squatting and picked them up off eBay for about £35/$50 second hand. They were in great shape and were machine washable so I had them looking brand new. I've owned four pairs so far (Power Perfect 2s and 3s, Reebok Crossfit Lifters and Nike Romaleos 4) and only bought one pair brand new (the Nikes). I'd definitely recommend buying used as you can save a lot of money and experiment while having the option to resell and make your money back (or even turn a profit).

I would recommend the Reebok Crossfit Lifters or Adidas Power Perfects for general strength training whereas the Nikes are very expensive and would be overkill for anything other than Olympic lifting in my opinion. Adidas Powerlifts are a very common lifting shoe and tend to be cheaper with somewhat less of a lift to the heel, which might make them a better choice if you're looking for a shoe that will give you a stable base without shifting your position too much.
 
q.Hung said:
Investing one, if you plan to hit deep squat/front squat. Maybe your ankles mobility is good, but a couple cm higher in the heel will help you easier to stability your self when you squat atg/front squat.

In my country people still play sport with barefoot (I play football/soccer sometime with barefoot). I squat with barefoot nearly all the time, or with very thin shoes (most of the time it feels like a pair of thick socks), and get 140 kg squat/ 135 kg front squat (at 70 kg) after a year of focusing on squat. So I'm quite comfortable with it. But after nearly one month using Olympic shoes, I hit the mark 145 kg squat for three times this week. It's much easier to stabilize - and I can actually get tighter before/during the squat. Give it a shot!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I do everything barefoot so this is strange move for me. Maybe it’s worth exploring.

Looking at these for the wide toe box. I hate it when my toes can’t do their thing properly.

www.roguefitness.com

Do-Win Weightlifting Shoes - Black & White

These Do-Win Weightlifting Shoes feature a hi-duty artifical nubuck leather with breathable mesh upper and a hi-tech nylon/rubber outsole with a 0.75" effective heel height. Get your pair today!
www.roguefitness.com www.roguefitness.com
 
I've heard good things about the Do-Win shoes. Never tried them myself but the reviews on the Rogue Website are good and the price isn't bad. There's a lot of talk about various weightlifting shoes on the r/weightlifting subreddit if you want to do some more research; weightlifters love to talk footwear!
 
Shoes can matter a lot on overhead work and front squats. It also depends on how much you rely on technique and hitting a very specific groove. I have a pair of Safe SST's. I don't know if they even make them anymore, but I have EEEE feet and shoes are an enormous pain to buy for people with wide/tall feet. The Safe's are custom sized. Adidad literally doesn't make a pair of shoes that fit me, of any variety. Nike only make one pair of shoes that fit me and they aren't for lifting. The foot wear doesn't make a lot of difference for some people. I've been lifting in flip flops from Walmart lately, my Safe's are in the US and I am not. I'm saying, don't count on the shoes doing anything special for you, and Weighlifting shoes are not great if you do low bar backsquats and I don't lke them for deads either.
 
Update - Going can this idea for now.

Explored some squats with some NIKE SBs that are wide toe box, completely flat solid base with around .75 heel raise. Not lifting shoes but close enough for a test run. I could definitely feel the feeling of being “stuck” to the floor but it’s just not the same as barefoot. Feels a bit disconnected.
 
@Chase Hines, I have a pretty simple approach. I'll tell you what I do.

Bare feet or socks unless there's a reason to do otherwise. Bare feet are best. This includes all kettlebell work.

For Front Squats or High Bar Back Squats, I wear Olympic lifting shoes.

For Low Bar Back Squats and Bench Presses, I wear Chuck Taylors. I compete regularly and that's my competition footwear so I practice in it. (I'd still wear shoes if I didn't compete for BP because my legs are short and wearing shoes is easier than using blocks.)

For Deadlifts, I train in socks or DL slippers because I wear DL slippers in competition.

-S-
 
Chrisdavisjr said:
My first weightlifting coach used to wear Chucks when coaching. She could drop into a full overhead squat/front squat in those things without tipping over. If you have strong and mobile ankles you can lift in just about anything!
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And short femur too.
 
Chrisdavisjr said:
My first weightlifting coach used to wear Chucks when coaching. She could drop into a full overhead squat/front squat in those things without tipping over. If you have strong and mobile ankles you can lift in just about anything!
Click to expand...

What, you mean you can't? ;)

I take off my Adipowers when I do mobility work for this reason.

That way when I put them back on, I have super powers. :)
 
I used to have a pair and they make front squats feel awesome.
But I stopped wearing them because swapping shoes was a hassle. I only got a couple weeks out of them.
 
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