Damned double post. I’ll use this one to elaborate on the straps. I find no difference in having the shoes strapped on or not. Maybe my feet are a good fit to the shoe,but beyond the first few uses I’ve seen them as nothing more than an ornament. Regardless I’m hooked to those shoes, and again, would recommend them to anyone who squats with a close stance.
I would get the Ironwork II’s. They are better shoe than the Adistar from 04. Three of my training partners have had them and completely destroyed them within a year of use. Leather separating, heels cracking, straps falling apart, eyelets being ripped, stitching going to shit.
If you are going to squat in them only, they will probably last quite sometime, but if you are training the competition lifts and training hard, forget it.
Doowins are exactly what you pay for–cheap chinese shit. I had mine for about 7 months before the sole of the shoe began separating from the leather upper and the sole itself began to split as well.
I have had my pair of Ironwork II’s for about 4 years now, with three years of solid training on them. They will need to be resoled here soon because the sole has become worn enough to expose the parts of the wooden heel. The leather is becoming a little worn and my big toe is probably going to poke through in about a month.
The Ironwork IIs are definitely tough shoes. Mine have seen 8 hours+ every week for the last 21 months and other than the wear on the heels they’re still in fantastic shape. I’ll probably get the heel resoled some time in the next few months before I hit the midsole.
to anyone who has used a couple pairs of lifting shoes before(or who wants to share info anyways - all help is appreciated), would you please describe how much (if any) difference the different heal heights have made?
i’m tallish (6feet) and mostly legs and have a hard time keeping back straight on overhead squats, i tried OH squatting in my dress shoes (wouldnt dream of doing actually lifts in them, but for squats i figured it should give a similar feel maybe?) last night and it seemed a little easier to be in possition at the bottom, however i hard a hard time transfering power from my hips down low…trying to figure out if more heal would be a bad or good thing , i’ve heard both ways
[quote]brian.m wrote:
to anyone who has used a couple pairs of lifting shoes before(or who wants to share info anyways - all help is appreciated), would you please describe how much (if any) difference the different heal heights have made?
i’m tallish (6feet) and mostly legs and have a hard time keeping back straight on overhead squats, i tried OH squatting in my dress shoes (wouldnt dream of doing actually lifts in them, but for squats i figured it should give a similar feel maybe?) last night and it seemed a little easier to be in possition at the bottom, however i hard a hard time transfering power from my hips down low…trying to figure out if more heal would be a bad or good thing , i’ve heard both ways[/quote]
Well, shoes are only going to help a little. My take…
Your body is going to find the path of least resistance to do something. If that means when you do overhead squats your lumbar spine rounds, ask yourself why? Could it be due to an inflexibility problem in the ankles or in the hips? Fix that instead of introducing some new variable which could cause other problems.
The Doowins have high heels, much higher than most conventional shoes. With me they caused problems in my lower legs, because of my knees eventually passing way too far forward, making full depth squats too painful. I thought I had damaged my knees ending my lifting, but switching back to my Ironworks… problem was solved.
thanks for the imput elih8er, i will continue to push the mobility and flexiblity work as always, but i appreciate the reply, from the sound of what you said, something a little more neutral would probably be the safer bet
anyone have experience with the new botevs and how they compare quality wise?
(adidas will probably be too narrow for me i’m guessing) so i’m thinking botev’s or the dowin rogues for the competition lifts
until then…dress shoes for OH squats and the like
I have seen them in person, although as I said, I use the older model. The new ones are a little lighter–mine don’t have a strap, as it’s unnecessary for keeping the front foot from sliding forward in the jerk. The heel is synthetic rather than wood, so it’s a bit more like the Ironwork II’s. Double stitching all the way around, so they’re very durable.
Not to side track the thread too much, but does anyone know why the Doo wins/ vs have so much heel lift in comparison to the Adidas? The difference, at least the way it feels to me, is pretty extreme. Because the price was right I recently bought a pair and I’m really unhappy with how much heel they have.
[quote]brian.m wrote:
to anyone who has used a couple pairs of lifting shoes before(or who wants to share info anyways - all help is appreciated), would you please describe how much (if any) difference the different heal heights have made?
i’m tallish (6feet) and mostly legs and have a hard time keeping back straight on overhead squats, i tried OH squatting in my dress shoes (wouldnt dream of doing actually lifts in them, but for squats i figured it should give a similar feel maybe?) last night and it seemed a little easier to be in possition at the bottom, however i hard a hard time transfering power from my hips down low…trying to figure out if more heal would be a bad or good thing , i’ve heard both ways[/quote]
I’ve got the Ironworks II and I love them, but they are really narrow and they get stinky because the insole is synthetic. I’ve used them for oly lifting and powerlifting. There is a guy in Winnipeg who sells lifting shoes that are awesome.
Everyone who I trained with for OL was using these, they are well built and the guy will send you a sample pair to try out for fit.
He is really low tech when it comes to payment though, no Visa or Pay Pal, just certified cheques/money order. But he is very reputable and has been in business for years.
[quote]dianab wrote:
I’ve got the Ironworks II and I love them, but they are really narrow and they get stinky because the insole is synthetic.[/quote]
The whole shoe is synthetic, but you can get around the stink issue by giving the insides a good spray of deodorant at the end of every session, and storing them with some little packets of silica gel.
[quote]ninearms wrote:
dianab wrote:
I’ve got the Ironworks II and I love them, but they are really narrow and they get stinky because the insole is synthetic.
The whole shoe is synthetic, but you can get around the stink issue by giving the insides a good spray of deodorant at the end of every session, and storing them with some little packets of silica gel.
[/quote]
If I had waited that long those shoes could have be labeled a WMD. I have to clean them out regularly and it’s funny because I’ve never had stinky shoes in my life, even runners without socks. They are by far the hottest shoes I’ve ever had.
thanks for the help dianb and sneakyweasel, i checked that manitoba website, but they looked almost as expensive and they were out of most sizes, although they could probably order them
i think i’d probably stick with one of the bigger names (dowin rogues or botevs) as i keep hearing of quality being an issue, and i’m cheap and these shoes are not, so i’d like to only buy them once if possible (and the adidas will be too narrow i think)
The new Risto shoes look like they’d be pretty decent if you like a higher heel, plus they’ll do them in whatever colour you like.
[quote]dianab wrote:
ninearms wrote:
dianab wrote:
I’ve got the Ironworks II and I love them, but they are really narrow and they get stinky because the insole is synthetic.
The whole shoe is synthetic, but you can get around the stink issue by giving the insides a good spray of deodorant at the end of every session, and storing them with some little packets of silica gel.
If I had waited that long those shoes could have be labeled a WMD. I have to clean them out regularly and it’s funny because I’ve never had stinky shoes in my life, even runners without socks. They are by far the hottest shoes I’ve ever had.[/quote]
Mine still smell like flowers. Kind of. Definitely not stinky, even after about 600 hours of wear.
Gwen Sisto (above link) is good people. Give her a call; she’ll take care of you.
[quote]shuddupNsquat wrote:
Strange I always found it the opposite, when going ass to ground, I prefer squatting barefooted or in chucks.
Especially with deadlifts, I find I can drive my heals in to the ground and generate way more force.
Deadlifts in my chucks or bare foot really helps me keep upright to take my lower back out of the movement, rather than leaning forward and using all lower back and risk getting injured.
Odd. Maybe Im just an exception.
[/quote]
Im going to use this in reviewing the Nike Romaleos.
When i wore them for the squat, I sank straight down into the hole sitting upright with a nice stance. However because your upright the knees go further out, and that puts strain on my knees I dont like.
This case i prefer squatting in my chucks, get more back/glute activation. For the deads i LOVE them. I find it the best shoe ever for that lift. I sink straight into a setup tighter than a virgin and keep massive lover back out of the equation.
Overall Squat- so so not great, but good for squatters with flexcibility issues
Deads-AWESOME…LOVE THEM…
[quote]brian.m wrote:
thanks for the help dianb and sneakyweasel, i checked that manitoba website, but they looked almost as expensive and they were out of most sizes, although they could probably order them
i think i’d probably stick with one of the bigger names (dowin rogues or botevs) as i keep hearing of quality being an issue, and i’m cheap and these shoes are not, so i’d like to only buy them once if possible (and the adidas will be too narrow i think)[/quote]
The doowins are poorly made. The rogous cost the same as the higher quality Ironwork II’s. They will stretch quite a bit, besides you want them snug.
http://www.dynamic-eleiko.com/products/shoesFR.html
[quote]brian.m wrote:
to anyone who has used a couple pairs of lifting shoes before(or who wants to share info anyways - all help is appreciated), would you please describe how much (if any) difference the different heal heights have made?
i’m tallish (6feet) and mostly legs and have a hard time keeping back straight on overhead squats, i tried OH squatting in my dress shoes (wouldnt dream of doing actually lifts in them, but for squats i figured it should give a similar feel maybe?) last night and it seemed a little easier to be in possition at the bottom, however i hard a hard time transfering power from my hips down low…trying to figure out if more heal would be a bad or good thing , i’ve heard both ways[/quote]
For me Adidas Ironworks II improved my technique a whole lot. Heavy squats for me tended to look too similar to a good morning, but after i got the shoes, there was a massive improvement in my ability to stay upright. It did take some training sessions getting used to, and in the start I sometimes would end up putting the weight on the toes instead of the heals. But after one 4 week cycle of sheiko, my squat technique was massively improved and I can’t picture myself going back to flat shoes in the squat.
[quote]duck_dodger23 wrote:
Nike has some new ones that are bout to come out $150-180.
I have a few friends who compete in Oly lifting at the national level, and they say they’re the bomb.[/quote]
I have a pair and they are f0cking heavy.
My feet fit better in Nikes then Adidas purely because my feet are wider at the front then the Adidas fit.
I had the budget Adidas ones that are going strong after 6hrs. Adistars are 4yrs on and still solid. Nikes are 5months on and are good. They are all about the same. I prefer 3 straps over 1.
A few Swedish internationals have said the Nikes are softer then the Adistars.
Koing
I have had Do-win Rogues for about 4 months. They are my first pair of weightlifting shoes and honestly I’m a little disappointed. There was a lot of praise for them from Rippetoe etc. Honestly, they’re not that flexible, they breathe pretty poorly and the rubber sole is already separating.
At the price I paid, I think it would’ve been better for me to get Ironwerks or Adistars.
That being said, I’ve got a spare pair of Rogues in size 42. Should fit between an 8.5 and 9. They run big so I ended up swapping for a 41. Half price!