What Shoes Should You Be Wearing TO LIFT?
The massive surge in popularity of gym training has brought with it the inevitable raft of consumer products ready to cash in on the public’s fitness obsession. Some of these products are actually beneficial (think of the shaker bottle), but most of them are simply time and money wasters.
At first glance, you might be inclined to put weightlifting shoes in the latter category. After all, the old-time lifters didn’t wear special training shoes. In fact, you can find dozens of photos online of the greatest physiques of all time squatting in bare feet (yes, I’m talking about Arnold!).
That may be true, but before you dismiss weightlifting shoes as just another superfluous cash cow, it would pay to check out the reasoning behind them. You might be surprised.
Why Weightlifting Shoes
Popular sports shoes often feature a lot of compression for comfort. But, when you’re on the gym floor, compression is something you want to avoid. When you’re lifting weights, you need stability rather than squishiness. Weightlifting shoes provide the solid lockdown and stable heel and ankle support that you need to get the reps you want.
When it comes to squatting, a raised heel can help you to get into the ideal ergonomic positioning for the greatest biomechanical efficiency throughout the movement. Those 70s era barefoot squatters sure appreciated this. Arnold may have been squatting in bare feet, but he usually had a two-inch block under his heels to give him that perfect ankle alignment.
An upright torso is ideal when you’re talking about the Olympic lifts like snatches and cleans. A good pair of weightlifting shoes will allow you to be more vertical. If you’re not convinced yet at how a pair of heel elevated weightlifting shoes can help you to maintain the proper alignment when doing these moves, simply perform 10 bodyweight squats with your feet flat on the floor, then repeat with your heels sitting on top a pair of 1 kg plates. You’ll immediately notice that your body is more upright when you do the squats with your heels elevated. That is what weightlifting shoes can do for you.
Tips to Get the Most out of your Shoes
So, you’ve weighed it up and decided to invest in a pair of weightlifting shoes! Smart choice. The following tips will help you to get the most out of your investment:
When you get a new pair of shoes, you don’t want to put unnecessary stress on them. When you’re first fitting your shoes, you want to make sure that you have a quarter to a half-inch of space at the top of the toe. Having a too tight fit will cause the leather to wear faster.
When you’re fitting your shoe, it’s really important to take good care of your strap. Most straps are made of leather, which is very strong. Still you need to ensure that you don’t overstress the strap. That’s why you should tighten the strap tangentially, spreading the stress across the whole strap. This will have the dual purpose of giving you a better fit and not stretching out the leather too fast.
Do not lift the strap directly upward when tightening. Pulling the strap straight up will do nothing but stretch the strap out faster while putting undue stress on the seam.
Always tighten the shoe laces of your weightlifting shoes in a crisscross pattern, pulling them back and then over. Do not pull them straight up.
