So far the shoe conversation has been centred primarily around straight line running
both distance and sprinting
but what's the best option when it comes to lifting shoes?
First up, let's start
with Olympic lifting shoes.
These shoes have two key benefits.
The first is an elevated heel wedge
that artificially increases your
dorsiflexion, allowing you to get deeper
into your squat position, which does have the tendency to
make you a little more quad dominant with your squatting; which if your goal is weightlifting,
then that’s great. But for most athletes,
chasing extra knee flexion and extra quad load
is rarely the goal.
The second benefit for an Olympic lifting shoe
is the solid, firm base
When you try to lift something heavy or create power,
having something soft and squishy on your foot makes it really hard to generate that force.
But an Olympic lifting shoe isn't the only option
if you want a solid, firm base.
Another great option to provide a solid base and remove the squishiness
of a normal sneaker is something like a Chuck Taylor or a Van.
These guys, as a bonus to being solid and stable are also zero drop, so they're a great option
when it comes to corelifting, deadlifting, or just a general all-round gym lifting shoe.
Another option in the zero drop, all-round shoe is a barefoot or a minimalist shoe, something like the Vivo.
Just like a Chuck Taylor and the Olympic lifting shoe,
a minimalist shoe doesn't have foam or any cushioning
to squish around on your foot.
Most of them also have super thin 4mm thick soles,
which allow you to feel the ground
allowing your intrinsic muscles in your foot to go to work.
The other benefit is the wide toe box,
allows your toes to spread and grip the ground.
Because Vivo’s are so lightweight
and flexible, they won't get in the way of natural movements like crawling and Turkish Get-Ups, either.
Now Vivo’s aren't the only option,
there's heaps of brands that do
a minimalist shoe with a wide toe box.
Now one brand that's not currently, technically doing a barefoot shoe,
but that probably will very soon is Nike.
Now, in the free range they do have
a 1.0, but it only comes in women’s at the moment
and it still has a narrow toe box. In the men’s, the lowest you can go is a 3.0.
But in saying that,
Nike Free’s are still a pretty good gym shoe.
They’ve got a pretty flat sole. There’s not a huge amount of cushion, and they’re super lightweight so they’re incredibly comfy.
A Nike Free or something similar
is a great option, if you're combining your lifting with what we call track time,
doing some cutting, jumping or sprinting technique work.
If you’re doing that,
it’s going to be harder to than the Chuck Taylor, something like the Free or similar is going to be a much better, more versatile option.
And then the last shoe I want to discuss today
is your traditional running shoe. Now if you have motion control or foot base problems at the moment,
switching to barefoot like I’ve said before is probably not a smart idea right now,
but for the rest of us this shoe when it comes to the gym is okay,
but it's far from perfect.
If you’re lifting light to intermediate type weights,
you're not going to notice the difference, but as you start to get stronger that squishiness and that instability under the foot
is going to ruin your ability to produce force. The other effect of a bulky shoe
is it ruins your proprioception and your ability to feel the environment, so you won’t be able to grip the ground
and get that sensation from the feet.
So what's the best shoe to lifting?
For your track time, your plyometric, your sprint technique work
the first place goes to
the shoe you play in.
Now this is probably the best option. It’s got a nice controlling upper,
a good heel lock, and it’s what you’re going to play in so you want to replicate that.
Second place though it goes probably
to something like a Nike Free, equally with a minimalist shoe
if you're making that transition
or even the structured running shoe.
It's going to provide a bit of arch support if that's what you need, and it’s also going to provide good grip but also
good upper to lock your foot in. And for your strength training,
if you’re going to Olympic lift or front squat, I’d probably you use an Olympic lifting shoe.
It’s going to provide the extra range of motion, so you can get in your positions.
For all the other heavy lifting I think
first place goes to minimalist shoe
because you've got your wide toe box, not much cushioning under here and you’re flat so you
can feel and walk through the ground.
But second place, I would say goes to
the Chuck Taylor or the Van,
and then third to something
that's not too much cushion,
but is also pretty lightweight.
The hidden side of this vlog is
sock colour is just as important as shoe selection.