The Best Weightlifting Shoes Reviewed
Nordic Lifting Megin Heavy Weightlifting Shoe
These snazzy blue lifting shoes by Nordic Lifting feature a 1.4 inch heel. Many people lift bare foot for the reasons I stated above (force generation from the ground) but these lifting shoes are actually superior to bare foot lifting and other bare foot style shoes. The raised heel allows you to squat deeper without causing undue pressure on your ankle. It also makes it easier for you to keep a good, strong posture. Good posture means that you have less chance of injury, both via lifting and general lifestyle wear and tear from walking, sitting too long, etc.
The reinforced stitching and sturdy Velcro strap allow your feet to be both comfortable and secure; giving you the support you need without choking your feet. It also features a padded cotton mesh on the forefoot to keep the shoes fresh and your feet breathable. No-one likes smelly shoes.
Adidas Performance Men’s Powerlift 2 Trainer
As can be expected from a high street shoe titan like Adidas, there are plenty of designs to choose from with the Powerlift 2. Whether you like your gym gear to be loud and a bit out there or if you prefer a more humble, muted style, Adidas have you covered.
These shoes are wide-fit which makes them comfortable for everyone, but obviously for those lifters who have wider feet.
Many lifting shoes are narrow which ends up cutting off circulation to the trainees feet. This is bad on any occasion but especially dangerous when you’ve got hundreds of pounds of iron loaded on to your back.
They feature a raised heel to allow for deeper squatting but it’s not extreme. After using it for a few minutes it will no longer be noticeable.
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If you’ve yet to purchase a wrestling shoe or a boxing shoe, then you’ll be able to snag a great all-in-one product here with the Otomix Power Trainer shoe.
It looks much more similar to a wrestling or boxing shoe then it does to a traditional olympic lifting shoe yet it still provides the right support in all of the right places.
Unlike many specialist shoes, this shoe runs true to size. Often times, you have to buy a size larger or a size smaller when buying a shoe for specific sporting purpose but not with the Otomix.
Many trainees also claim that this shoe is especially good when doing front squats, which is an exercise that can be uncomfortable and odd to people that are getting to grips with it.
Adidas Performance Men’s Powerlift 3 Trainer
The Adidas Powerlift 2 is the tried and testing powerlifting shoe chosen by many over the world. The Powerlift 3 is the new and improved model.
As with the previous shoe, you can enjoy choosing from a wide range of styles and colours to suit your personal needs and tastes.
You can expect a comfortable shoe that provides durability to the entire foot without adding bulk or making the shoe ugly. The tongue and forefoot have been constructed with a breathable mesh technology that allows your feet to breath, stay cool and stay fresh. These shoes will stay fresher and cleaner for longer than some other models.
The outsole also features a rubber anti-slip texture so that you needn’t be concerned about slipping or moving whilst deep in a lift.
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Most weightlifting shoes are designed solely with the male trainer in mind. Therefore most sizes start at a 7 or 8, leaving a lot of women unable to experience the wild benefits of weightlifting shoes.
Uzafit have remedied this with the superb Chicago unisex bodybuilding shoe. You can buy this shoe starting at a size 6 for women and a size 4.5 for men. Perfect for those guys out there who have smaller feet and sometimes struggle to find quality footwear. They even do half sizes, unlike a lot of providers, so you don’t have to settle for a shoe that might be slightly too big or too small.
To get an even better, more unique fit, you can even remove the rubber innersole if needs be.
The high quality leather construction means that you’ll be able to give these shoes a beating for a long time without having to replace them.
Overall
The benefits of weightlifting shoes can not be understated or underestimated. If you’re skeptical, grab a pair from our expert list and you’ll soon discover what you’ve been missing.
Most people give no thought whatsoever as to what they wear on their feet when they go to lift weights. They either chuck on a scruffy pair of sneakers or their feet are practically glowing, wearing their new neon yellow/pink running shoes.
Running shoes are great… for running. But you’re here to lift weights and thus you need a very different kind of support then you would need when doing road work. Your battered, old sneakers won’t be any good either.
It may seem minor on the surface, but wearing the wrong footwear can lead to structural imbalances in your body which can lead to injury and issues down the road.
Not being able to lift because you’re injured is bad, but not being able to train BJJ and MMA due to injury… Well, that just doesn’t bear thinking about.
You need a specific type of shoe to lift weights. You need a weightlifting shoe, sometimes called an olympic lifting shoe, as they’re the only type of shoe any serious olympic lifter would use.
This isn’t just a gimmick. Weightlifting shoes are flatter and give you more contact to the ground. This allows you to lift more weight by allowing you to generate as much force as you physically can. This is in contrast to the running shoe which absorbs the impact from hitting the ground. Once again, great for running but awful when you want to use that absorbed force to lift more.
Exercises like squats, cleans, jerks and snatches require you to dig hard into the ground to get the most out of the lifts. So can you see how using a running shoe that protects you from said ground is going to have the opposite effect?
If you take your weightlifting seriously, you’re going to need a serious pair of weightlifting shoes.