THE RIGHT SHOES

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:05 am

Wouter wrote:I don't know, but is it possible that when you lift barefoot your posture will improve?

Absolutely. Correcting posture requires a whole lot of things, doing more activities bare foot is definitely one aspect that 'helps the cause'. As foot position helps to determine what leg muscles will be used, going barefoot enforces proper balance because their isn't anything to restrict it. Footwear often impairs this and also reduces sensitivity of the foot which is why your balance may be terrible when going barefoot in comparison to the footwear you normally use...

Personally, I do my warm up barefoot and occasionally dead lift barefoot (when I feel like confusing the other members).

KPj

Post by **Jungledoc** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:18 pm

I did martial arts for years, so everything feels more natural to me barefoot. I lift in a small weight room shared by about 10 friends, so no one objects. I personally don't think there is a good reason for gyms to require shoes, but telling them that some guy on ExRx forum said so probably won't make much difference at your gym!

MrWonderful · Post by **MrWonderful** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:15 pm

Jungledoc wrote:I did martial arts for years, so everything feels more natural to me barefoot. I lift in a small weight room shared by about 10 friends, so no one objects. I personally don't think there is a good reason for gyms to require shoes, but telling them that some guy on ExRx forum said so probably won't make much difference at your gym!

I think there are many reasons why gyms force patrons to wear shoes mostly having to do with safety. While your average shoe wont stop your foot from being crushed by a 45 or toes snapped by a 5 it will stop them from being hurt by people stepping on your foot as well as stubbing your toe on a apparatus. Also, who wants to look at other peoples moldy toes.

As to the topic, it's weird but since high school I thought it was common sense that lifting in running and other cushy shoes was not a good idea. But I have found that if you have a pair of running shoes that have no juice left in them they can work quite well. Though the best shoes for lifting are Pumas, they often have the most variety of shoes that have little cushion, most feel like you are walking in bear feet.

Post by **ironmaiden708** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:36 pm

Also, who wants to look at other peoples moldy toes.

You should see a doctor or do a better job washing if you have mold growing on your toes.

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:16 am

MrWonderful wrote:I think there are many reasons why gyms force patrons to wear shoes mostly having to do with safety. While your average shoe wont stop your foot from being crushed by a 45 or toes snapped by a 5 it will stop them from being hurt by people stepping on your foot as well as stubbing your toe on a apparatus. Also, who wants to look at other peoples moldy toes.

As to the topic, it's weird but since high school I thought it was common sense that lifting in running and other cushy shoes was not a good idea. But I have found that if you have a pair of running shoes that have no juice left in them they can work quite well. Though the best shoes for lifting are Pumas, they often have the most variety of shoes that have little cushion, most feel like you are walking in bear feet.

LOL!!

Gyms (most comemrcial gyms) try and force patrons to do lot's of things in the interest of 'safety'. If they could tell their a$$ from their elbow, they might even make some sense.

Funnily enough, less than a week ago I got asked by someone who worked in the gym what your Glute was. Then she proceeded to point to her bicep and tell me it was called a Tricep. She literally couldn't tell her a$$ from her elbow. She wasn't a PT, so I guess it's not her job to be able to tell the two apart... but, come on? The conversation hit the nail in the head as far as i'm concerned. This is a gym that that put a thick rubber matt over a wooden floor and called it the free weights area. Needless to say that every time you DL, you crack a floor board (secretly, it's enjoyable). The most unsafe thing about that gym at the moment is the Bosu Floor.

On foot wear, Chuck taylors are unrivaled, especially for DL's and squats. In terms of footwear that makes you feel like your barefoot, Nike Frees are unrivaled in that respect. I've heard there's an Addidas equivelant. But other than that, nothing else comes close.

KPj

corless319_ · Post by **corless319_** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:14 am

Whats up with those new underarmour training shoes? Are they really good for training or is it just a bunch of crap?

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Thu May 01, 2008 4:14 am

corless319_ wrote:Whats up with those new underarmour training shoes? Are they really good for training or is it just a bunch of crap?

"bunch of crap" sounds about right.

From an actual poundage perspective, look how much extra ROM those heels will put on your DL.

From a functional perspective, shoes with elevated heals enforce crap ankle mobility and encourage the tendency to be 'quad dominant' - when your bodyweight is more towards the front / balls of your feet, your quads will activate more than your hams & glutes. Being 'quad' dominant is a common problem. Having poor ankle mobility also causes problems further up the chain, especially when your lifting, and more so during bilateral movements.

If you do have poor ankle mobility, then shoes with an elevated heel will feel good... Most people have poor ankle mobility, largely because they wear crappy shoes. This is why they're such a big seller :-)

KPj

Post by **stuward** » Thu May 01, 2008 6:57 am

Cross trainers are designed to provide some benefit for court, field or track and can be used in the weight room but they're not optimal for any of it. Ideally you should pick a different shoe for each or if you do mostly one type of training get a specific shoe for that and a crosstrainer for the rest.

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Thu May 01, 2008 7:26 am

I hate to sound controversial but...

If their were benefit to wearing shoes with an elevated heel in certain circumstances that I knew of I would also mention that. And if those other circumstances applied to anything else I done, such as football(soccer), sprints and agility stuff, then I would deffinitly wear them. I still own a pair of the shoes in question, but I only use them for painting & decorating ;-)

This is something I have asked about constantly because I couldn't get my head around the fact that their were so many negatives associated with them, yet, they were every where in sports shops, channels, athletes recommend them etc...

Really it's all just sales pitches. The only situation I have been told they could help in is the 1 in a million people who have shortened Achilles tendons... So they have a biomechanical reason for poor ROM at the ankle that they can't change.

Here's an interesting article that is somewhat relevant. It was posted on Eric Cresseys blog.

Feet Hurt? Stop Wearing Shoes
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... d=89830802

Obviously, it's possible i've just not found a plausible explanation as to why you should wear cross trainers. I'm always open minded to one but as far as I can tell, they feel comfortable because most people have crappy ankle ROM... I know when I started wearing Nike frees, my feet were killing me for about 2 weeks but I can't wear anything else anymore, apart from chucks of course.... Or anything else that doesn't a have a big heel...

KPj

Post by **stuward** » Thu May 01, 2008 7:50 am

It may just be this brand that has the elevated heal. Probably more marketing bull$h1t.

I wear Nike crosstrainers but the heal is not elevated. They're not much good for running in but they do everything else "good enough". I guess that was my point. A generalist shoe is "good enough" if you use it for a variety of things. I was just speaking about crosstrainers in general. I have no experience with the UA model.

I like the barefoot idea. That's what we were designed for.

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Thu May 01, 2008 9:09 am

stuward wrote:It may just be this brand that has the elevated heal. Probably more marketing bull$h1t.

I wear Nike crosstrainers but the heal is not elevated. They're not much good for running in but they do everything else "good enough". I guess that was my point. A generalist shoe is "good enough" if you use it for a variety of things. I was just speaking about crosstrainers in general. I have no experience with the UA model.

I like the barefoot idea. That's what we were designed for.

Fair enough :-) It is just the elevated heal i'm referring to. As long as they're flat shoes, I have no gripe with them...

I was at a PL competition, watching it on Sunday. It was amazing the amount of lifters who done the DL with those socks that have rubber grip on the soles... Maybe times are changing... Although I think 'real' PL and OL types have probably always known... The older guys in the PL club I go to train in 'plimsoles'.

KPj

corless319_ · Post by **corless319_** » Thu May 01, 2008 10:22 am

WOW Ok i wear flip flops occasionally well I call them John Kerrys but whatever. When I wear my jks my feet hurt i usually wear dress shoes to work with a slightly elevated heel. First off when I wear the jks I think my arch is going down due to no arch support is that arch support crap, crap? I dealifted yesterday with running shoes on because Thats all I really have. I need a pair of chuck taylors or something but they say at my gym you HAVE to wear shoes so the sock option is out. I guess thats for safety but clumsy people would hurt themselves anyways.

nygmen · Post by **nygmen** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 3:23 pm

Bringing back an old thread... Sorry

So I bought some Chuck Taylor's toady… They didn't come with laces, I'm totally stumped on that one, and the kid didn't mention that when I bought them.

I should go buy laces right? I mean I'm squeezing into the 11's as it is, so laces aren't going to make them much tighter, but…

Man this blows my mind… Do I get laces?

pdellorto · Post by **pdellorto** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 3:28 pm

You should get laces. If you got them in a store, go back and ask for them...mine came laced, never mind with laces.

robertscott · Post by **robertscott** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 9:17 am

I've started working out barefoot because the battered old pair of trainers i used to wear provided no arch support which was making my knees collapse in when squatting. Switching to bare feet sorted this problem out straight away.

It's not all sunshine and smiles though, the other day i was adjusting the safetys on the squat rack and when i pulled one out the handle came off in my hand and the bar came crashing down right onto (you guessed it) my toe. It hurt. It really really did.

I know have a bloody purple mess of a toe. At least i get to revel in the colouful irony that i was injured by a "safety" bar.