Just got some info from another lifter that my depth issue might be caused partly, if not fully by the flat soled shoes I wear. He gave me the link to a paif of adidas that are for lifting that have a 1" heel. Now that I look at this situation, I realize I NEED proper lifting shoes to compete. What shoes does everyone reccomend, and did you notice and improvement on squat form, and depth?
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The way to Jordan's heart, is through his left ventricle.
I got the sst safe shoes. I squat very wide though.
I love them.
Noticable difference in balance, better walkouts. Depth not soo much and weights prob a little but more in terms of safety due to much better balance and less loss of energy
These are great. By far the best shoes I've squatted in, and they don't have as extreme of a heel as other oly shoes. Plus they don't cost as much. I used to squat in chucks but it didn't makes sense since I don't squat with a wide stance. Moving to these shoes helped.
It depends. I squat better in flat shoes (safe's = relatively flat), but others (NickU) need a heel. It depends on the person and their biomechanics. If you have flat shoes, you can try it both ways. Work up to about 70%. Video the flat shoe. Keep the weight the same, but on the next set put a 10# plate under your heels. Did the video get better?
Thanks for the input guys. Putting a 10 pound plate under my feet is a great idea (one that I should have thought of) and it might save me 200 bucks if there is zero difference. I will try that before shopping.
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The way to Jordan's heart, is through his left ventricle.
To be honest with you, I use a pair of Converse's I got for $30 and they work great for squatting. Some of those squat shoes run $120 or even $140. Thats way too much. They better get you 50 pounds on your squat for that much and I doubt they do.
Problem with those Mike G is that they are flat soled. I have high-top, old school adidad that are cheaper and work great. I have been reading a lot lately and shoes seem to be much, much more important that I would have ever guessed. I need a 1" heel to hit good depth which converse shoes do not have. Even if they did they would have rubber or be air cushioned. All heels compress when you are pressing up a squat which in turn makes you lose power and effieciency in the actually heel itself. When you press through the heels of a weightlifting shoe that has no compression because of wood inserts, the power is not lost through the heel and more power is made. This also keeps you more stable in a squat than wearing a squishy shoe. I am looking towards getting a pair of adidas adistars. They are pricey, but supposed to be top notch.
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The way to Jordan's heart, is through his left ventricle.
You can find good shoes cheaper than the adistars. Check these out: http://www.quest-nutrition.com/store/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=30
Also check out VS Athletics.
Regarding the Chuck Taylors... I think they are a decent entry-level shoe. But once you get to an intermediate stage, they leave some to be desired as far as stability. They squish more than you think.
I agree with you Mike. Yeah my Chuck Taylor's arent the best option out there. Right now Im unemployed so I cant really afford $140+ powerlifting shoes. If I could, I would though. Once I get back working I'll probably pick up a pair. Those BAF Weightlifting shoes you posted the link to look nice Mike.
I understand. I felt the same way about Safe's for a long time. Chuck's aren't "bad" either, so I don't think you're hurting yourself or anything in the long run.
