Are Weightlifting Shoes Necessary?
Ever thought about the shoes that you wear to the gym? Of course you have. Most likely you have shoes set aside for the express purpose of exercise use at your favorite health club or lifting facility. And what prompted you to select this specific footwear to be used to exercise? Suitability for the task? Improved exercise sessions? Safety? Not usually. The prevailing reason for the selection of specific gym shoes is appearance. But if you are using barbells in your training, this is a mistake. Most of us would never consider wearing a pair of Bruno Magli’s to play racquetball. They are built to look good, not to perform well on the court. While this may be obvious to some, many of us will make an equally poor footwear decision and wear running shoes to the gym to lift weights.
Proper footwear in the gym is important, especially if you are lifting free weights. In a weightlifting session we are seeking to accomplish two things:1.) The Harnessing of all body power for a concerted power explosion; 2.) Moving the intended weight to its destination without excessive risk of serious injury. Performing the basic lifts in a running shoe robs the trainee of a solid foundation from which to explode. The soles of the running shoes, the marshmallow, will absorb and dissipate a large amount of the force generated against the floor that should be directed towards moving the weight. A gel or air cell shoe is a great thing for reducing the impact shock that causes the repetitive use injuries associated with running. But in the weight room, shoes should provide for the efficient transmission of power between the bar and the ground. You can’t lift as much weight in the wrong shoes.
The second issue is control of the weight – and your body – while standing on an unstable surface. A compressible medium placed between the feet and the ground will behave inconsistently enough during each rep to alter the pattern of force transmission every time. In other words, it is not possible to execute a standing barbell movement the same way each time. Because of the inconsistent surface, the probability of a weight lifting mishap and serious injury increases exponentially due to the difficulty in obtaining a good balance position.
Weightlifters and powerlifters have known this for more than 50 years, although the shoe choices available for their purposes were formerly quite limited. Until thirty years ago, all types of shoes were worn in weightlifting sessions, including Chuck Taylor’s, combat boots, and even patent leather shoes, worn by lifting icon Paul Anderson. For maximum performance and stability, a weightlifting shoe must fit tightly and have a strong backing, with a solid wedge type bottom to create the required traction for heavy weight lifting. Generally the best models will feature a full lace down the entire shoe to accomodate varying sizes with an additional attachment across the top of the foot for better balance. When Adidas from Germany and Kahru of Finland became available on a limited basis in the US, weightlifters finally had the opportunity to use equipment specifically designed for their activity. High topped and not especially stylish, these shoes had minimal appeal to the fashion conscious, but lifters loved them because they worked.
But there was a scheduling problem: the gym and fitness club industry had just been revolutionized by the simultaneously-evolving exercise machine industry. Having removed the factors of balance, coordination, and technique from the equation, exercise machines temporarily sidelined the development of weight training shoes. However, in the last twenty years the appreciation of the barbell and dumbbell has started to resurface in exercise facilities everywhere. The only available manufacturer to fill the demand was Adidas, which put out several models suitable for exercising. Competitors such as Nike started entering the fitness market with a variety of lifting shoes. A number of foreign brands such as Do Win (China), and Power Firm (Canada), as well as the American company Safe-USA have also competed for a share of the growing US market. All these companies offer shoes that are designed for competitive weightlifting or powerlifting, but that are good for all basic lifts, especially the squat, given their exemplary support and incompressible heel design. A variety of powerlifting shoes with essentially flat soles and no heel lift, much like track flats or wrestling shoes, are also available from powerlifting equipment houses like Inzer (USA), and also work for basic exercise purposes. These shoes are not ideal for performing the barbell squat because of their flat sole, but will work exceedingly well when doing other important lifting movements, such as deadlifts and presses.
Another pair of shoes to buy? Is it really worth it? Yes. Effective training yields superior results. You can check out the lastest brand of weightlifting shoes here. Safe training yields fewer training injuries. This is just common sense. You can purchase a proven inexpensive lifting shoe or an expensive, modern, high technolology shoe by Adidas, but either way you will be absolutely sure that you have the optimal training tool for weightlifting. The right shoe is important for performance and safety, and for as little as half the cost of a premium running shoe, you can look and lift like a pro. For more interesting articles on weightlifting shoes you can check out Can weightlifting Shoes Really Help Increase Strength? - Can weightlifting Shoes Really Help Increase Strength? -
About the Author
Competitive bodybuilder Dan Janky is a fitness and weightlifting author for several internet sites. His evaluations of the various weigtlifting shoes on the market today can be accessed at his web site.
Marathon Training & Running Tips : How to Select a Running Shoe
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