Training Shoes

I am looking for advice on gym footwear. My gym time is primarily spent lifting 2 days a week upper body and 2 days a week lower body. I use a treadmill 3 days a week for some cardio and an elliptical for more interval type work in conjunction with the treadmill. As far as the cardio goes my regular pair of running shoes is fine.

For the days I am doing lower body work I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for footwear. I feel I am killing my sneakers faster than necessary as they really weren’t designed to support my weight and a squat bar on my back. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate the feedback.

What about plimpsoles? they will go well with the fannypack. Seriously though, if you are worried about wearing out your trainers.

[quote]CV wrote:
I am looking for advice on gym footwear. My gym time is primarily spent lifting 2 days a week upper body and 2 days a week lower body. I use a treadmill 3 days a week for some cardio and an elliptical for more interval type work in conjunction with the treadmill. As far as the cardio goes my regular pair of running shoes is fine.

For the days I am doing lower body work I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for footwear. I feel I am killing my sneakers faster than necessary as they really weren’t designed to support my weight and a squat bar on my back. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate the feedback.[/quote]

What kind of shoes do you have that don’t support your weight? How heavy are you?

[quote]CV wrote:
I am looking for advice on gym footwear. My gym time is primarily spent lifting 2 days a week upper body and 2 days a week lower body. I use a treadmill 3 days a week for some cardio and an elliptical for more interval type work in conjunction with the treadmill. As far as the cardio goes my regular pair of running shoes is fine.

For the days I am doing lower body work I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for footwear. I feel I am killing my sneakers faster than necessary as they really weren’t designed to support my weight and a squat bar on my back. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate the feedback.[/quote]

Get a set of Chucks, and try them on before you buy them. They run a little large. I found that they helped me greatly getting lower in my squat. I had tried many different shoes, but once I put on the chucks my squat has gone lower. If you are having a problem with getting at or below parallel with your squat try a set of chucks.

This post goes around every few months or so but I have found I stick to a pair of beach moccasin type Nike shoes. Very flat, pretty deep tread for traction. I find that I opt for them over my higher end Nike cross trainers when I am doing ME squats or basically anything OH… helps me use & “feel” my feet all the way up into my legs moreso getting into the lift.

Got them from a Kissimee, FL Nike outlet years ago and was going to rock them at the beach but instead I squat in them :stuck_out_tongue:

Everyone else on this board seems to use Chucks or wrestling shoes so I guess flat soled shoes would seem to be the way to go.

Try to avoid the overly cushioned shoes and get your feet to do some work

Ditto what chewman says. That was my experience with Chucks as well.

[quote]Chewman wrote:
CV wrote:
I am looking for advice on gym footwear. My gym time is primarily spent lifting 2 days a week upper body and 2 days a week lower body. I use a treadmill 3 days a week for some cardio and an elliptical for more interval type work in conjunction with the treadmill. As far as the cardio goes my regular pair of running shoes is fine.

For the days I am doing lower body work I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for footwear. I feel I am killing my sneakers faster than necessary as they really weren’t designed to support my weight and a squat bar on my back. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate the feedback.

[/quote]
Chucks seem the thing in the USA. Im yet to see ANYONE wearing them here in the UK and ive worked out at several gyms too. I use adidas superstar or any flat soled shoe with a good support and not too much cushioning. Ideally you want a little heel foe squatting and as flat as poss for deads but i find my adidas superstars work well. Ive used stan smiths too. The superstars i have are beckenbauer all round. Look good too.

thank you all well for the most part. The flat soled advice is along the lines of what I am thinking my running shoes are quite padded and feel odd when I am squating heavy. I will look into the chucks. Thank you again for the assistance.

my 2 cents… most people wear a shoe with a raised heel for squatting olymic style, if you’re doing more of a power lifting style squat chuck’s rule.

I only hear bad things about lifting in Nike Shox. Also, I know when I pull a real heavy deadlift or rack pull, I can feel my shitty running shoes “squish” a little, so I can relate.

Sometimes I lift in combat boots, but I look goofy as hell.

[quote]conorh wrote:
I only hear bad things about lifting in Nike Shox. Also, I know when I pull a real heavy deadlift or rack pull, I can feel my shitty running shoes “squish” a little, so I can relate.

Sometimes I lift in combat boots, but I look goofy as hell.[/quote]

I lift in Nike Free 5.0 shoes. They are the most comfortable shoes I own. My Chuck Taylor’s never get put on anymore. I actually wear them too much, even when not lifting.

For squats, I use weightlifting shoes. Back then I used Chucks. For deads, I use flat soles that are thin like taekwondo shoes

I wear a couple different styles basket ball shoes. A pair of chucks and a pair of high top that offer really good support

Is it ok to squat in wrestling shoes? I have those and I’m too cheap to buy another pair of shoes. Wrestling shoes have no cushioning on the back half at the heal but there is a thin cushion near the toes. What about squating in my work boots?

I wear Bowerman Elites.
The soles are real sturdy and are fantastic for squatting, it’s like wearing a boot’s sole(albeit a little thinner).
For running, they’re great because of the thin front of the shoe.
Best training pair I ever had.

read the “what i learned in 2006” article for more info. on footwear

I have worn chuck taylors since a few months ago and haven’t looked back since. It really does help with your balance and getting lower to the floor compared to a regular cross training shoe.

Only time I use an arch support shoe is running or sports where it is needed(cross trainer shoe).

LOL guys this thread is near 1 year old the guy hopefully has shoes by now LOL

I do agree though for what its worth, I use chuck type shoes as well and rip the insoles out to get even thinner hard base.

Phill

Just got these from American Eagle.

Flat sole, just a small amount of padding, feels almost like barefeet.

this shoe looks pretty good.