What do weightlifting shoes do

It depends. You may even be running or otherwise moving around fast on your feet. So it becomes a question of priorities. Will weightlifting shoes help you more than they will impede you? Think about the movements in the workout. Weightlifting shoes will definitely help in squat-based movements where you need extra stability, range of motion, or position - thrusters are a good example.

The question is, how much do you need that help compared to how much the shoes will impede you in the rest of the workout? For example, running in them is still pretty difficult. If they slow you down in other movements, weigh up what will be better for your movement efficiency overall - where do you need to most help? Once you have them, and have lifted in them even a few times, it will feel wrong, in all senses, to lift without them. Do they go some way to making amends for some mobility issues?

But like any aid, if you ignore the underlying issues, you will form a reliance. If you can do a decent squat in weightlifting shoes but your air squat in bare feet sucks, you need to work on your mobility. Yes, know that if you walk back home, to the train station, or generally wear your weightlifting shoes for anything other than lifting, I will cry a little inside.

Treat them with care and respect, and they will last you a long time. Check out these simple workouts and fun exercises that can be done at-home with makeshift or no equipment at all. Topic: Fitness. See more about: lifting shoes , oly shoes , crossfit , weightlifting , olympic weightlifting , weightlifting shoes , olympic weightlifting , Win.

Stay at home, stay fit! Next Article. If the data is conflicting in the research, why take the chance? When adjusting a body to function better, think Formula One meets regenerative body.

Only so much can be done to adapt, so save the biological resources for performance and not for fighting excessive and perhaps unnecessary wear and tear. On the record, I have seen external and internal rotation changes from both shod and barefoot motions when squatting. One study lead by Sinclair and colleagues showed an increased peak activation in the rectus femoris with the running shoe compared to barefoot conditions, but not in Vibrams or weightlifting shoes.

This was very strange, but a thesis from ETSU , while not comparing running shoes, showed that activation strategies were the same. I used EMG sometime around with the Retrainer from Chattanooga with little success, as the device was inappropriate for real research. Although no solid data was collected, years later both clinical EMG and tensiomyography use did reveal that muscle recruitment is still foggy on connecting activation and motor unit recruitment.

Some other technologies are rarely used to show muscle adaptations or changes from training, but based on current information, nothing extraordinary is happening with heel elevation.

The differences may feel notable, but the changes are not going to go beyond comfort and adding visible improvements to joint motion, that we know of. If the joint motion changes the option of using an exercise, that will obviously enable different benefits.

Obviously, squatting data on EMG is all we really have for weightlifting shoes, so conventional trainers and elevated heels are also not likely to be different, but nobody can be sure yet. One very interesting and resourceful study on forces and footwear looked at four different shoe conditions with force plates.

I wish it included a barefoot condition and a very low-profile shoe like a minimalist shoe option, but it was very useful because it tossed in the old 2. The study involved bilateral force plates, but it really focused on anterior and posterior forces of the forefoot and rearfoot.

In addition to the force plates, the research team measured the core ankle mobility of the subjects: a wonderful inclusion, to say the least. While it was with a goniometer, and perhaps done with unknown expertise, the intent of determining whether eversion, inversion, plantar flexion, or dorsiflexion range of motion contributed to the output was better than including nothing. The four types of squatting conditions were only different based on the shoe used and, of course, the inclusion of a heel elevated by the weight plate.

Three models of shoes were used: the cross-trainer, the high-end powerlifting shoe, and the weightlifting shoe. The fourth condition was using the cross-trainer again, only with additional elevation to the heel. All four options had elevated heel positions and materials that were close enough to each other, with not enough differences to matter statistically, for the most part.

I think the outcomes were not surprising and definitely not shocking, but forces in squatting with low-level student volunteers are not what coaches want to know. Athletes, especially intermediate and advanced athletes who likely need more stability, will have increased confidence when going maximally.

In general, force transfer is about leg strength and experience more than overall shoe design. Peak force in squatting will be universal between nearly all shoe types, but the way that forces move through the body is a different topic. The magnitude of the change from elevating the hips in the Center of Pressure CoP of lifts is unknown. The CoP is used in modern podiatry and biomechanics to show how forces are likely to be transmitted from the ground up the kinetic chain.

CoP can be calculated using high-resolution pressure mapping or high-fidelity force plates. As I shared earlier from my article on force plates and pressure mapping , the data from inside a shoe is not the same as the force analysis coming from a transducer embedded in a contact plate. However, they can, for the most part, tell similar stories about locomotive events like walking, running, cutting, and jumping. The research on Olympic lifts, like the snatch or clean and jerk, is very thought-provoking.

I consider two studies, published roughly 20 years apart, as landmark papers. The first is the classic Garhammer study in the early s that proliferated in different forms years later with regards to the CoP in the weightlifting movement.

In that study, the author was instrumental in explaining how forces move through the feet in a boomerang pattern. The second study on the snatch was less novel, but interesting because it connected the motions of the joint actions to the foot pressure pattern.

The CoP not only moves back and forth, but lateral action happens due to the structure of the foot. A concluding question is: What happens differently with other shoes or barefoot?

No theoretical benefit exists for performing those activities barefoot, so not many studies will likely come out. Along with that, the weight, density, and flatness of the shoe increases stability, making you feel more locked in and cemented to the ground.

Aside from that, weightlifting shoes have no magical properties. Weightlifting shoes should be considered a useful tool, and used as such. First, before you consider weightlifting shoes, you should be able to squat and squat well. If you are still learning to squat there is important proprioceptive feedback that a thick and incompressible shoe might mask. More importantly using a lifting shoe to overcome a lack of ability to squat due to some sort of flexibility or mobility issue amounts to pushing the problem down the line- and you will pay for it at some point.

If you can already squat well, it is still worthwhile to use your lifting shoes sparingly, and to have a reason for doing so. This is far more important in full versions of the lift- power cleans and snatches in lifting shoes are a bit easier due to the hard sole, but not incredibly so. However, the Reebok Nano is perfect for bodybuilders because of its impressive versatility.

Bodybuilders perform various styles of lifting and may even integrate other elements of sports into their training, such as Olympic lifts and CrossFit-style workouts. For example, "functional bodybuilding," a term coined by former CrossFit Games athlete Marcus Filly, encompasses the slow and hypertrophy-focused lifts you'd see in a bodybuilding routine, as well as explosive and powerful lifts you'd find in a CrossFit program.

The Reebok Nano accounts for all of those factors and more with a flexible but durable Kevlar-infused top, a reinforced heel counter and a molded, compressive midsole. Your feet will feel snug, secure and ready for all types of weightlifting. You can get Nanos in men's and women's sizes in a variety of sizes. To put together this list, I first recounted my own history with various lifting shoes.

I've been bouncing between powerlifting, Olympic lifting and CrossFit -style training for more than eight years, so I've worn my fair share of trainers and lifters. I also scrubbed the web for reviews of weightlifting shoes and training shoes, looking for key components like comfort, durability, stability and versatility. I looked to the well-known, longstanding brands for shoes that have several successful iterations for example, the 10 versions of the Reebok Nano , but I also looked to newer brands doing something innovative.

I read hundreds of Amazon reviews and RunRepeat a massive database of athletic shoe reviews became my best friend for the duration of this project. We'll periodically update this article as I try more weightlifting shoes and come across new reviews online.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice.

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