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Barbell To squat barefoot, or to not squat barefoot, that is the question.

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marcelotine

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What is the prevailing attitude in the StrongFirst community regarding footwear or the lack thereof when it comes to performing squats? What are the pros, cons, risks and benefits of doing it one way over another?

I have been squatting barefoot, and would especially like to hear from others who squat barefoot as well.
 
I tend to do all of my unloaded or light squats without footwear but I'd be wary of performing any kind of heavy squat barefoot as I've heard it can be rough on the arches of the feet. I'm sure it depends on how you're built though.
 
marcelotine said:
What is the prevailing attitude in the StrongFirst community regarding footwear or the lack thereof when it comes to performing squats? What are the pros, cons, risks and benefits of doing it one way over another?

I have been squatting barefoot, and would especially like to hear from others who squat barefoot as well.
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For me, it's contextual.

Because I compete in weightlifting, and weightlifting mandates shoes, I wear lifting shoes when I do barbell squats.

For kettlebells or bodyweight, I do it barefoot.
 
Chrisdavisjr said:
I tend to do all of my unloaded or light squats without footwear but I'd be wary of performing any kind of heavy squat barefoot as I've heard it can be rough on the arches of the feet. I'm sure it depends on how you're built though.
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What would youu consider to be "heavy"?
 
I am barefoot as much as possible. All my Weight training is Barefoot, to the point I would squat and deadlift in socks at a gym. I also run in sandals. My way is not the way but I sure like it. I’ve been told I’d get hurt for years and... and while I do occasionally get hurt it isn’t from the lack of shoes :)
 
Coyotl said:
I am barefoot as much as possible. All my Weight training is Barefoot, to the point I would squat and deadlift in socks at a gym. I also run in sandals. My way is not the way but I sure like it. I’ve been told I’d get hurt for years and... and while I do occasionally get hurt it isn’t from the lack of shoes :)
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Do you do barbell squats? Can I ask you how much weight you are working with these days?
 
Dan Green posted some stuff on Instagram today (Or yesterday since it's past midnight). He hit two sets of 551# high-bar squats for 5 reps each. Then he did a set of 6 deficit stiff-leg dl's with 540#. This was all done barefoot. He's a pretty seasoned power-lifter.

I'm at 370# for my low-bar squat and expecting Prs soon. Also, counting on hitting a 500# dead-lift within the coming month if not the next couple of weeks. Never even gave a second thought to wearing anything other than socks with grippy bottoms. You can really feel what your feet are doing without shoes.
 
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marcelotine said:
What would youu consider to be "heavy"?
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Good question! For me, 'heavy' when squatting is anything equal to or greater than my own bodyweight. It's not necessarily heavy in terms of %1RM but it's heavy relative to the kind of loads I work with for other movements.

Oddly, while I feel a solid connection with the ground when deadlifting without shoes, there's something about squatting in either flat shoes or weightlifting shoes that's always felt better to me.
 
I'm squatting barefoot, though I'm just getting back into it after a loooong time without doing a barbell squat.

The thing I notice in particular is that it feels more difficult to get below parallel without a little heel lift from shoes. For me, that's not unique to a barbell squat, I see the same for bodyweight squats. So I'm sure it's something inherent in my mobility restrictions.

But, since I started training barefoot a few years ago, I really just love it - I like feeling like I can grip the floor with my toes.
 
Chrisdavisjr said:
Oddly, while I feel a solid connection with the ground when deadlifting without shoes, there's something about squatting in either flat shoes or weightlifting shoes that's always felt better to me.
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I have the same experience on pulls vs squats.
 
WhatWouldHulkDo said:
I'm squatting barefoot, though I'm just getting back into it after a loooong time without doing a barbell squat.

The thing I notice in particular is that it feels more difficult to get below parallel without a little heel lift from shoes. For me, that's not unique to a barbell squat, I see the same for bodyweight squats. So I'm sure it's something inherent in my mobility restrictions.

But, since I started training barefoot a few years ago, I really just love it - I like feeling like I can grip the floor with my toes.
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Re: lifted heels

Can you ATG goblet squat?
 
I have done squats barefoot at home, mostly with kettlebells, very little barbell experience that way. In the gym I have trained in socks, and lifting shoes with both a heel and without.

I got up to 400-500lbs in socks, so decently heavy.

I really like how the weightlifting shoes feel, but as I've gone on I'm not sure I like the heel. That's why I got heelless lifting shoes, which I mostly use these days.

I like shoes, they make things more comfortable in the gym, and make me less likely to hit my toe in something.

With some surfaces I think the extra grip of the shoes may be helpful, at least with cases like the very wide sumo deadlift.

I typically deadlift in the same shoes. If I go really heavy or really hard on a set, I sometimes take them off just before the lift, sometimes forget to think about it.

If it's not clear, I don't think shoes make or break anything most of the time.
 
marcelotine said:
What is the prevailing attitude in the StrongFirst community regarding footwear or the lack thereof when it comes to performing squats? What are the pros, cons, risks and benefits of doing it one way over another?

I have been squatting barefoot, and would especially like to hear from others who squat barefoot as well.
Click to expand...

At SFL, Doc Hartle teaches that either barefoot or with shoes is OK. You can practice and test either way at the cert.

I prefer lifting shoes to squat, especially low bar squat and front squat. High bar back squat for some reason feels about the same to me with or without lifting shoes, and I do it both ways.
 
I use inch thick yoga mats to help protect my hardwood floors from my kettlebells, and if I go barefoot, my feet stick to the mat and compromise my form. Therefore, I usually train while wearing socks. If my socks were to stick to the mat, it would be a sign that I really, really need to change my socks.....
 
I use barefoot. I don't own any gym shoes. The only exercise i think that i should wear shoes is running, and i have stopped running for a while.
 
If you can squat barefoot then go for it. This is quite new to me. Recently a 21 yo Finnish sub 93kg (?) boy squatted 300kg on his socks, raw. IPF and all, if it means anything.

 
Timo Keskitalo said:
If you can squat barefoot then go for it. This is quite new to me. Recently a 21 yo Finnish sub 93kg (?) boy squatted 300kg on his socks, raw. IPF and all, if it means anything.

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Wow, he squats fast! 280kg looked like a warm-up rep!
 
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