Lifting Shoes?

Hello. I have purchased a 3 inch belt. Now I need lifting shoes. I’ve read lot of threads about shoes but cannot decide which model to pick up. Adidas Adipowers vs Adidas powerlift vs Adidas Crazy Power vs Inov-8 Fastlift. I have narrow feet. I’d like a 0.65 inch heel height, incompressible sole and flexible enough to do lunges. I’m considering Inov-8 Fastlift 335, what do u think about these shoes? Too flexible? Thanks for replying.

Are you purchasing these shoes primarily for:

  • Olympic lifting
  • Powerlifting
  • CrossFit
  • Something else?

It’s pretty unusual to have a good Olympic/squat shoe that will be flexible enough to do lunges. The “incompressible sole” seems pretty incompatible with that goal, IMO.

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I got the Adidas Powerlift 2 (theyre up to 3.1 now) and they’re flexible enough to bend toes, but the sole isn’t as stable or stiff as Romaleos or Adipowers.

Adidas Crazy Power looks flexible too, but I don’t know anyone who has them

I personally use my converses or vans for lunges. I only use my lifting shoes for Squat, Bench, Row, OHP, and any accessory I may have. But I don’t like bending my toes with that.

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Ya I see what u mean.

I’m following the 5/3/1 beginner program. Press, deadlift, bench press and squat. I’m doing some lunges, push-ups… as assistance exercises.

I think innovate Fastlift is nice for lifting and i want to buy them because my friend have these and he says it damn good.
But i wanna to try adidas too.

If I get new shoes, I’ll prolly get Romaelo 3s (definitely if Nike hires me), or Reebok Legacy.

Or I’ll just go back to flats for life.

Personal opinion, the biggest mistake a beginner can make is feeling like they need 7 different pairs of shoes. Chucks are just fine for everything you do with 5/3/1; except, maybe conditioning.

If you’ve got the money and want specialized shoes, you can’t go wrong with Romaelo’s for squatting, but my favorite all-around shoe is the No Bull Trainers. They’re stupidly expensive for a training shoe, but I love them.

I also have Crossfit Lite’s (Reebok) They’re essentially a thicker Chuck, but I don’t know if they’re still available.

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how long have you been lifting, and what is your squat max?

EDIT: also, weightlifting shoes like these are not the appropriate option for lunges. I’ll be honest, no beginner should be investing in weightlifting shoes in the first place.

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I prefer minimalist shoes for my lifting, but I don’t compete in anything. If I competed I’d probably be looking for whatever extra pounds I can get out of footwear like weightlifting shoes or even Chucks. As it stands, I like training in my hideous toe shoes, which is basically the same as barefoot.

If you just want to get strong a’la 5/3/1 and don’t have any issues with ankle mobility I’d recommend Chuck Taylors or any other flat-soled shoes without any kind of squish or compression in the soles. Nobody really needs fancy shoes to do basic movments like squatting and picking up barbells.

I can’t remember who said it, but don’t be a guy with 100 dollar shoes and a ten cent squat.

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That was Confucius.

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I loved my Nike Romaleos, so did the person who stole them out of my car however. Now i’m going with a more practical approach and have a pair of Metcons and have been pleased. They’ve been a solid gym shoe for me and were half the price of Romaleos

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A Beginners subforum thread asking about which lifting shoe is preferred, replete with specs to the hundredth of an inch. Yeesh.

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I love this quote and I’m saving it. Would make for a great T-shirt when paired with the 5/3/1 emblem.

It’s a Louie Simmons quote, so it wouldn’t be quite right to give it one of the guys Louie trained.

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Louie Simmons trained Confucius?

Yes, but Confucius broke away from him to start his own gym, and being decidedly of the “East Side” of the world, Louie founded Westside Barbell to spite him. The rest is history.

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