weight lifting shoes

[brikis98]

i'm going on a shoe shopping spree this weekend and i've decided to finally invest in some weight lifting shoes. I do a rippetoe style workout that includes squats (back and front), deadlifts, overhead press and some olympic lifts (power clean, clean & press).

1. what exercises should you use them for?
i've heard they are a must for olympic lifts, but what about just plain squatting & deadlifts? i've noticed most of the shoes have relatively high heels, so what impact will that have? i don't want to have to change shoes mid-workout.

2. what are the best shoes to go with?
i've found several sites that have weight lifting shoes: site 1, site 2, site 3, site 4, site 5. what should i look for in a shoe? what retail stores carry them so i can actually try them on first?


Update

does anyone know of a retail store that carries weight lifting shoes? I went around to a whole bunch of shoe & sports stores near me and not one has them.

Update 2

just ordered these shoes from Pendlay's site. $99, size 10.5, and hoping for the best. will update once they get here and I try them out.

 

[brikis98]

bump.

 

[GenHoth]

You wear them throughout the whole workout. They can change the focus of some lifts slightly (a raised heel puts more emphasis on quads in the squat). If you try and search (I know its terrible) we've had a few people with recommendations before.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

I've heard that regular old converse are good. Heck I've seen guys in the gym doing all that stuff with no shoes.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
I've heard that regular old converse are good. Heck I've seen guys in the gym doing all that stuff with no shoes.

bearfoot would be my preference, but i don't think my gym allows it. i've heard the converse chuck taylors are good, but i'm not sure if that's only for deadlifts (since they are totally flat and very low) or if they'd be good for squats and olympic lifts as well.

 

[crt1530]

What I wear in the weight room:

Chuck Taylors for deadlift.

adidas adiStars for everything else. They really make a difference on squats and any movement where you are putting the weight over your head. I also like them on bench because they help me stay tight and use leg drive.

You can wear the olympic weightlifting shoes for deadlifts (Mark Rippetoe does), but they put you at a mechanical disadvantage. I like my shoes, but they are expensive. I've talked to a few people who really like the new Rogue DO WIN shoes.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: crt1530
What I wear in the weight room:

Chuck Taylors for deadlift.

adidas adiStars for everything else. They really make a difference on squats and any movement where you are putting the weight over your head. I also like them on bench because they help me stay tight and use leg drive.

You can wear the olympic weightlifting shoes for deadlifts (Mark Rippetoe does), but they put you at a mechanical disadvantage. I like my shoes, but they are expensive. I've talked to a few people who really like the new Rogue DO WIN shoes.

thx for the detailed reply. i think i'd want just one pair of weight lifting shoes, especially as there is a day in my workout where i do both squat and deadlift, so maybe i'll go for the adistars or similar.

any idea how much of a mechanical disadvantage it really is? i don't lift competitively, so as long as it's not too big of a disadvantage and doesn't expose you to injury, i probably won't care. and just about anything - even adistars for deadlifts - would be better than sneakers, right?

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: crt1530
What I wear in the weight room:

Chuck Taylors for deadlift.

adidas adiStars for everything else. They really make a difference on squats and any movement where you are putting the weight over your head. I also like them on bench because they help me stay tight and use leg drive.

You can wear the olympic weightlifting shoes for deadlifts (Mark Rippetoe does), but they put you at a mechanical disadvantage. I like my shoes, but they are expensive. I've talked to a few people who really like the new Rogue DO WIN shoes.

thx for the detailed reply. i think i'd want just one pair of weight lifting shoes, especially as there is a day in my workout where i do both squat and deadlift, so maybe i'll go for the adistars or similar.

any idea how much of a mechanical disadvantage it really is? i don't lift competitively, so as long as it's not too big of a disadvantage and doesn't expose you to injury, i probably won't care. and just about anything - even adistars for deadlifts - would be better than sneakers, right?

Regular athletic shoes/sneakers suck for lifting weights.

I can't really say how much of a difference you'll see between a flat sole and oly shoes in the deadlift as I haven't really done any significant deadlifting in oly shoes. You aren't going to expose yourself to injury, but you will probably lift a bit less.

Just FYI, don't expect to be able to do any running, jump-rope, or other cardio in oly shoes.

 

[brikis98]

update: i went to a whole bunch of stores near me to try to find some weight lifting shoes, and not one store had them. i tried sports authority, dick's sporting goods, olympia sports, footlocker, marathon sports, city sports and a couple others.

does anyone know of a retail store that carries weight lifting shoes? i could order them online, but i'd really like to try them on first to make sure i get the right size & fit.

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: brikis98
update: i went to a whole bunch of stores near me to try to find some weight lifting shoes, and not one store had them. i tried sports authority, dick's sporting goods, olympia sports, footlocker, marathon sports, city sports and a couple others.

does anyone know of a retail store that carries weight lifting shoes? i could order them online, but i'd really like to try them on first to make sure i get the right size & fit.

There aren't any. If you order from Wichita Falls Weightlifting, just tell them what size you wear in Nikes (or what you currently wear) and they'll send you the right size. I wear size 12 nikes and got a size 11.5 in the adistars.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: crt1530

Originally posted by: brikis98
update: i went to a whole bunch of stores near me to try to find some weight lifting shoes, and not one store had them. i tried sports authority, dick's sporting goods, olympia sports, footlocker, marathon sports, city sports and a couple others.

does anyone know of a retail store that carries weight lifting shoes? i could order them online, but i'd really like to try them on first to make sure i get the right size & fit.

There aren't any. If you order from Wichita Falls Weightlifting, just tell them what size you wear in Nikes (or what you currently wear) and they'll send you the right size. I wear size 12 nikes and got a size 11.5 in the adistars.

interesting idea - I just shot them an email to see what size they recommend. thanks!

 

[brikis98]

just to confirm, i went to a few more retail stores today to see if any carried weight lifting shoes, and absolutely no one does. the entire list of stores that don't carry them:

dick's sporting goods
sports authority
footlocker
city sports
olympia sports
marathon sports
gym source
omni fitness equipment
modell's sporting goods

i think i've forgotten a few, but long story short, you can't buy them retail in the US, as crt1530 said. i sent an email to the Wichita Falls Weightlifting folks asking for fitting advice, but still haven't heard back...

 

[cthulhu]

I just started stronglifts 5x5 beginner program and I use converse chuck taylors.

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: brikis98
just to confirm, i went to a few more retail stores today to see if any carried weight lifting shoes, and absolutely no one does. the entire list of stores that don't carry them:

dick's sporting goods
sports authority
footlocker
city sports
olympia sports
marathon sports
gym source
omni fitness equipment
modell's sporting goods

i think i've forgotten a few, but long story short, you can't buy them retail in the US, as crt1530 said. i sent an email to the Wichita Falls Weightlifting folks asking for fitting advice, but still haven't heard back...

You didn't believe me, huh?

You could probably try on the shoes if you live near Wichita Falls, TX (WF Weightlifting Club) or Gahanna, OH (Rogue Fitness), but other than that, unless you have friends with similar size feet who own a pair of weightlifting shoes, you're SOL.

 

[gramboh]

If you have a Crossfit gym near you there will probably be people there with various weightlifting shoes, they might look at you funny if you ask to try them on, but you never know

 

[brikis98]

Update: just ordered these shoes from Pendlay's site. I emailed Glenn my various sneaker sizes and he recommended size 10.5, so I'm hoping for the best. will update once they get here and I try them out.