shoes

What about shoes Guys? I have always lifted in running shoes (hey-real comfortable) but the other day my partner commented on how much the air bubbles (under the heels) compressed when i picked up the bar for squats. Heels down_toesup cant be good. I went to my local sportsarama (from kayaks to soccer balls) and they dont sell weight lifting shoes. any help would be appreciated.

Get yourself a pair of the old, old style converse basketball shoes…you know the plain looking canvas ones? They still sell them I believe at places like Wal-Mart. I believe they’re called Chuck Taylor’s.

John, keep watching for the “Stuff We Like” column Chris Shugart and I are writing. The first edition is completed and awaiting publication; we’ll be covering various weight training footwear options in the column (though not in the first one). Find a better she store, in the short run, as most makers of running shoes also make quality training shoes that are heavy duty. There are some specialized shoes for deadlifting and squatting we’ll be reporting on. In fact, tonight for my leg workout I’ll be using a pair for the first time; gotta put 'em through the paces.

Guys, you want a great training shoe? I have had the same problems and you will not believe the difference, especially with squats. Contact Otomix.
Get yourself a pair of “the ultimate trainer” shoe and you’ll be very happy. They are $100 but worth the expense.
With those I can usually squat 20 pds heavier and feel very confident.

Otomix is a good source (you can buy them online). If price is an issue, buy some wrestling shoes. Almost every sporting goods store has them. They don’t provide great comfort or padding, but they are unbelievably stable and provide excellent freedom of motion. A lot of powerlifters use them.

I agree with Max. I have flat feet with a fucked up left ankle from a serious sprain about eight years ago. The Ultimate Trainer by Otomix is the best training shoe I’ve found. Don’t do cardio or run in them though.

Buy some Chuck Taylor All-stars. They run about 20-25 dollars. They are built low to the ground, which is great for deadlifting. Plus they won’t roll over when you are doing heavy squats or Good Mornings. Louie Simmons said “You can have a thousand dollar shoe and a ten-cent squat”

In my own ‘humble’ opinion, I say there’s a pretty simple way to find shoes to lift in…

Listen to your body.

If your running shoes feel comfortable, and you aren’t having any pain related to a lack of shoe support, stick with em. No sense in fixing something if it isn’t broken.

Oh, and as a side note- Whether squatting or just doing pullups, I lift barefoot, and have never had any problems. I think it’s ultimately a question of what your body can handle, not which shoes are the best on the market.

But, that’s just my $.02

-kolk

when i work my legs, i do it barefooted. i find this very corfortable and it prevents any unbalance due to your shoes compressing.

In movements when your balance is an issue, I would wear anything with a flat sole, and not too much cushion, alot of people actually lift barefoot. But don’t worry about your shoes when your doing bench etc.

For a great workout, especially squats, use golf shoes on a hard and very wet floor (doesn’t work on carpets). It works the stabilizer muscles like anything else. just kidding…

i just were my old school sea shell toed adidas, no air pockets in those puppys

In high school I started lifting in my wrestling shoes and have done so since. They are fairly comfortable and are really stable. I especially like them when doing squats and deadlifts. However, I still wear running shoes/cross training shoes when doing lifts that don’t require much stability (such as bench).