Recommended shoes for training?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi BBM,

Up until now I have been training with regular running shoes at the gym and I now want to get shoes that are more optimal for strength training.

From doing a bit of research on the internet, I found that a lot of people recommend a shoe with a flat surface for deadlifts and a shoe with a slightly raised heel for squats.

I would appreciate it if I could get some help with the following queations:

  1. Are there any shoes that you guys recommend getting in particular?
  2. Is it really necessary to have 2 different training shoes or is there a shoe that’s a good compromise and can be used for both squats and deadlifts? If it is preferable to have 2 different shoes for squats and deadlifts, what should I do in a workout where I have both squats and deadlifts?
  3. I’ve seen people use shoes such as vans / converse / air force 1 for deadlifts (or even barefoot), are they good options since they all have a flat surface?

Thanks in advance for any help!

2

Hey Ben,

Austin and I both tend to be shoe agnostic when it comes to recommending a specific shoe type for others in general. We both use “lifters”, e.g. hard-soled lifting-specific shoes with a raised heel, for squats and indoor soccer shoes (thin-soled, minimalist) for deadlifts. That said, we both often train in cross-trainers (reebok nano’s or other tennis shoes) or even sandals, at times. If the message you’re reading here is that this is mostly a matter of personal preference, you’re right.

Vans, converse, AF1, etc. are all flat surface, but not hard soled and don’t have any mid-foot strap like a lifting-specific shoe. Still, these can be fine for exercise. It really just depends what your preferences are budget- and fashion-wise.

-Jordan

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