I am thinking about buying some weightlifting shoes so I am looking for some insight. I am not a power lifter and I don’t compete, but I am getting tired of working out in chucks. I can feel the sole compress sometimes. Basically I am looking for all around dedicated weightlifting shoes. I have been eyeing the very popular Adidas Adipowers, but how much will the .75" heel interfere with other lifts besides the squat?
Any other suggestions?
Do they make similar shoes with a flat incompressible sole?
Perhaps you can try the Reebok CrossFit Lite TRs, they’re supposed/basically to be flat incompressible soled chucks. Personally haven’t tried it but I would say that having weightlifting shoes(I own one) solely for the purpose of squatting is rather unnecessary.
I have the Reebok lite tr’s, they are great. Definitely an updated version of the chucks 100%. If your not powerlifting perhaps the Adidas powerlift shoe is another option, from what I hear they were created for the crossfit crowd and might provide a good oly style shoe for a wide range of exercises.
I wear the Adidas Powerlift for squats and oly lifts, but not for deadlifts, for which I take them off. The Powerlifts’ heel is only elevated by about 1cm, which is much less than most weightlifting shoes with 2cm or more of heel elevation. So this might be a good transition.
I’m interested about the Reebok Crossfit Lite TR though. How thick is the sole? I just saw that there is a TXT version of it, which is specifically designed for deadlifts. Any experience?
The sole of the tr’s I don’t think is any thicker; just looked side by side with my chucks. The sole however is much flatter; the chucks tend to rise up in the toe area where the tr’s are flat all the way down. Chucks are narrow and the tr’s almost flair out around the toe area for much more room.
Excellent deadlifting shoe and comfortable for walking around in. I haven’t once regretted buying them.
You can both squat, front squat and bench very well with weightlifting shoes like Adipowers. I also do most standing squat assistance work wearing them since that’s the leg position and alignment I need to be strong at. With deadlifts, just get a pair of those canvas slippers kids use and you’re good to go. You can also get flat-soled boxing or wrestling shoes for benching, deadlifting and general training.
Unless you absolutely want to get Adipowers, I’d recommend Adidas Power Perfet II’s instead. They are much cheaper and just as good as Adipowers. Also if you want to save even more money, the Finnish manufacturer Karhu also makes quality weightlifting shoes for even less than that.
I have a pair from Amber sports, very solid sole and heel excellent for the powerlifts and Olympic lifts. For less than $90, didn’t think I could go to wrong.
Weightlifting shoes will change how your squat feels - not necessarily a bad thing but you need to be aware of that. That applies to all standing exercises too.
I’ve used Do-Wins (in the USA I think they’re the basic Rogues) and Nike Romaleo IIs. Both are good, the Nikes much better. Honestly, I’d recommend sticking with a flat sole like Chucks or wrestling shoes. Again, I’ve used both and I prefer Chucks.
If you’re going to get WL shoes I’d say the Adidas Power Perfect look good, the Rogue/Do-Wins are fine and you could also look at Risto Sports which are pretty good.
If it has a raised heel, it matters. .75" or 2cm raise changes your positioning in the deadlift quite a bit. Unless you are a sumo puller, you don’t really need shoes for deadlifting so you can pretty much should use canvas slippers or something with as little in between your feet and the ground as possible.
I read an article on this site that was about chucks VS weight lifting shoes and they said the weightlifting shoes were best for narrow stance high bar squat or people that wanted to build massive quads.
At this point strength is my only goal, but my squat is more of a mixture between PL and OL. It’s medium stance, pretty high bar, and hamstring/ass dominant .
IF I want to continue being an ass dominant squatter should I still try weight lifting shoes or just continue to use my chucks??
FIT is the most important aspect. They should feel comfortable snug with little to NO movement.
After that the rise of the heel will come into play.
I got used to the fact that my Adidas Power Perfect 2 have a forefoot to heel difference of 1 1/8".
When I tried other shoes with less of a difference it did not feel as good, for me.
Huge amounts of weight have been squatted with the classic Chuck Taylor and the Adidas equivelent. There is virtually no heel lift…
Take into account though, that with a Powerlifting Squat your shins remain close to vertical. Wherein with an Olympic Squat the knees pass over the feet and toes. This is where having the heel lift in olympic shoes comes into play.
Everyone will have their personal preferences. Unfortunately, this is a fringe sport at best, so trying to find different shoes to try on is going to be a Big Pain in the Ass.
Know though, that the Adidas generally run Narrower than the Nikes.
My cred’s ? I have been a professional boot/shoe fitter since 1998 as well an Olympic Teams Massage and Stretch therapist. … so take all this with a grain of salt.