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Deadlift and squat shoes [Article]

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Oct 2, 2018 9:30:00 AM

Deadlift and squat shoes

Deadlift and squat shoes

 

Both have their place. If you are a powerlifter get both. Weightlifters only need squat shoes. Weekend warriors might want to consider a pair of Crossfit shoes or Adidas powerlifter to save money and space. 

 

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What are your goals

 

Why are you looking for deadlift and squat shoes? Do you want to get strong? Do you want to pack on some muscle? Have you started Olympic lifting? Whatever brought you here it is important that your goals are clear. Clear goals get you clear results. Fussy goals get you fussy results. I often find with beginners that they spent more time researching how to do something rather than asking themselves why they do something. What you can do for more clarity is to prioritize better. There are three main fields of interest in fitness:

 

  • Looks
  • Performance 
  • Health 

 

If you are all about looks you are in for a tough time. It is hard to achieve the ideals which are laid out in front of us on social media and in the movies. Be prepared to be hungry, tired and angry. The main ingredient for perfect looks is diet. If you want that six pack your body has to be around 10% body fat. Most of us only achieve this by extracting water from your system and denying yourself entire food groups. Getting to the perfect physique will not always be healthy and also not help performance on the pitch. You won’t care when you smile form the next magazine cover. 

 

If you are in the group of performance you care mainly about results. You want to run faster, lift stronger and jump higher. The end goal is that trophy, that local, regional, national or international record. You will choose your exercises based on how relevant they are to your sport. The main determinant of success is intensity. You will train hard and injury is common. You will also not care much a lot whether you look pretty while performing unless the sport demands it. 

 

The last group is all about health. The main goal is balance. The choices are moderate and extremes are avoided. With this approach, you might not become the next Michael Jordan or Giselle Bündchen but you will be less stressed. For this approach, it is important to couple mind and body. 

 

As you are looking for squat shoes and deadlift you most likely belong to the looks or performance group. There is a slight slant towards performance as most Bodybuilders do not care that much about lifting shoes. 

 

Squat shoes 

 

Squat shoes are a result of a development that started with the growing popularity of weightlifting. During the Cold War, eastern and western lifters experimented with different lifting techniques and how shoes can support them. Today you find the clean and jerk and snatch in the Olympic program. Most of the lifters wear special lifting shoes to enhance performance. These shoes are also known as squat shoes.

 

The main differences to normal runners are the sole and the tilt of the sole. The sole of squat shoes is solid. There are no springs or foam in them. As you are not running you need no cushioning. Based on physics it is beneficial to have a hard sole to transfer force better from the feet to the ground. Your average sneakers are not ideal for that. 

 

The second difference to normal shoes is the tilt. For squatting and Olympic lifts, it is beneficial to be able to get quickly under the bar. If you tilt your feet as if you were on your toes your shins also lean forward. The makes it easier for your body to get into a deep squat quickly. Flat shoes do not provide this advantage. 

 

The most popular squat shoes are the Nike Romaleos and Adidas Adipower. I’ve owned them both and think they are equally good for squatting. So make your choice based on which design you like more. 

 

The big advantage of squat shoes is that they actually do provide more stability and make you perform better. The big disadvantage is that they are quite pricey for a one purpose pair of shoes. 

 

Deadlift shoes

 

Deadlift shoes are necessary as most gyms do not allow you to lift barefoot. If you find a gym that allows for this there is no need for deadlift shoes. 

 

For the deadlift, your legs are ideally straight. There is no advantage for this lift to manipulate the shins like for the squat. Therefore you ideally minimize the distance the bar has to travel and maximize the transition of power to the ground. The best way of doing this is barefoot. If a gym does not allow for that the next option is deadlift slippers

 

While most conventional deadlifters go without shoes or slippers depending on the event sumo deadlifters often opt for wrestling shoes or Sabo deadlift shoes. When you lift sumo there is more torque on your feet. In exchange, you shorten the distance the bar has to travel. Some sumo deadlifters find that proper shoes keep the feet from slipping on heavy attempts. 

 

The advantage of deadlift shoes is that they allow you to deadlift in facilities which do not allow to go barefoot. The disadvantage is that it is one more one purpose item you carry around in your gym bag. The prices for slippers are not too bad. Good wrestling shoes or Sabo deadlift shoes come in at roughly 100 USD.

 

Do you need squat and deadlift shoes? 

 

If you want to compete in powerlifting it is probably a good idea to have both. If you squat and deadlift occasionally and want a shoe that can be used in many ways to go for one of the Crossfit shoes which have been recently developed. The middle solution is the Adidas powerlifter shoes. They do the trick without having to carry around and invest and two different pairs of shoes you seldom use.

 

Further reading 

 

 

Topics: Lift stronger, Deadlift, Squat, Strength