Tell me about Weightlifting Shoes
Recently there was a post in our FWCF Member group asking about weightlifting shoes, why get them, what to use them for, and which ones were the best. Naturally I have an opinion on this, so I thought I would cover some the basics in this weeks blog post.
What do Weightlifting shoes do?
There are 2 main goals for weightlifting shoes. The first is to provide a stable platform while you are lifting. In comparison to regular tennis shoes, weightlifting shoes are heavier, have a hard incompressible sole (traditionally made of wood, but now plastic), and typically some sort of strap or straps near mid-foot. Those things help us to feel like we have a more stable platform while lifting. There is also a raised heel in lifters, which brings us to the second goal of weightlifting shoes, to help mechanical angles in the bottom of our squat position. The raised heel in weightlifting shoes means your ankle has less dorsiflexion to do, to achieve the optimal angles in the bottom of your squat.
Why should I get them?
There is no short answer to this question, as there are a lot of factors to consider. If you already have a good squat with good mobility, then it may be a good idea to get them. If you don’t have good positioning in the squat you would see more benefit in working on your mobility to achieve those positions. The weightlifting shoe will help with optimizing ankle dorsiflexion, but it isn’t magically going to give you that flexibility. Spending time working on that specific mobility will “magically” give you that flexibility. The other potential drawback is that if you are newer to squatting mechanics then the weightlifting shoe can blunt some of the feedback that you would get wearing normal shoes. What I mean is that the harder sole of the shoe will make it more difficult to get the feel for proper squatting mechanics. Along those same lines if you do have weightlifting shoes you shouldn’t use them as a crutch and wear them every time you squat. You also need to spend time in that deep squat at full dorsiflexion, and continually try to improve your squat mechanics.
When should I wear them?
For squatting movements! Back Squat, Front Squat, OHS, Snatches, Pistols, and Cleans are all great times to wear the weightlifting shoe. It could be argued that some of the pressing movements can benefit from the “more stable platform” of the weightlifting shoe also. You should not wear them while deadlifting, as the raised heel we discussed earlier will put you in a less optimal position for deadlifts. Personally I save my weightlifting shoes for when the weights are above 80-85% just like a weightlifting belt.
Which ones should I get?
At this time most of your “big name” shoe companies will have similar shoes that are all good in their own right. Reebok, Nike, and Adidas are the most popular by far and are priced similarly enough. I wear the original Adidas Adipower lifters, and have had them for about 6 years at this point. They’re only worn 2-3 times a month so they should last for a long time (which is good for a $200 shoe). The Adidas just happens to fit my narrow foot better than the Nike Romaleos did at the time. You can find weightlifitng shoes in store or online at www.roguefitness.com
Intramural Open
We are in the final week of the Open, and had some amazing performances last week! The Jonas Brothers retained their lead over the Outlaws overall, with the Chosen Ones, and Stacks on Stacks on Stacks in third and fourth respectively. Congrats to our top scores this week!
Top Mens RX’d Scores: Ryan Brown/Vince Lanning/Bryan Welker
Top Mens Scaled Scores: Michael O’Hara, Lee Geraci, Chad Hatfield
Top Womens RX’d Scores: Catherine Sanburn/Morgan Zimmerman/Shelby Kaiser
Top Womens Scaled Scores: Karley Jaracz, Leah Volpenhein/Dawn Beahr
Reminder 20.6 will take place this Saturday, immediately following the 9AM class!
