What Shoes Should You Wear When Lifting?

The question of "what shoes to workout in?" is a recurrent one.

The short answer is "wear flat shoes". Classical Chuck Taylors can work, as do many minimalist sneakers. There are a variety of shoes on the market now that cater to people looking for more natural footwear. There are also various fitness brands of shoes now marketed to lifting enthusiasts.

I have my personal preference, which I will get to shortly, but I want to explain why Flat shoes are so often recommended.

This will be a lesson in Foot Structure, why I warn against lifting in padded shoes, and will teach you some practical anatomy and lifting cues that you can apply in Training

Neutral, Pronation, And Supination

Lets start with an image. This persons feet are "overpronated". Their feet are not pointing straight ahead, rather they are pointing outward. Their achilles tendon is not aligned in a straight line, but is on an angle.

This persons foot is rotated inward and this flattens the natural arch of the foot.

This is NOT how you want to stand, walk, lift, or do any kind of physical activity.

Here is a front facing image so you can understand what is happening.

This collapsed foot position creates a pattern for injury; the majority of ACL tears, meniscus tears, and knee injuries happen when the knee "buckles" inward.

Watch this video to understand why this foot position creates injuries, even at the highest level of Pro Sports

If you are Overweight (most Americans are) you are more likely to be overpronating.

The more obese you are, the more likely this is to be an issue.

Unfortunately i do not have any pictures of an obese persons foot alignment in shoes, but I can attest that I see this problem constantly when I am at the gym and see out of shape people lifting.

What specifically is the problem though with this Misalignment?

The most common issue that will happen when someone's feet are misaligned this way is KNEE VALGUS

This is where someones knees "cave in" and shift towards midline when they do any kind of squat, lunge, or lower body lift

Watch this video by Jeff Cavalarie to learn more about Knee Valgus

If you have weak feet that Overpronate, the LAST thing you want to do is wear padded shoes and then try to lift weights.

The padding of the shoes exacerbates the existing misalignment, your feet and knees will collapse more. You will likely have knee pain, possibly hip pain, and your hip mobility can be limited as well.

This leads to the question of how to fix Flat Feet...

You need to get barefoot, and practice standing on one leg and shift your weight to the lateral edge of the the foot.

Bob and Brad have good recommendations to get started strengthening your feet.

The arch of the foot is a loading bearing structure, NOT a load bearing surface.

Here is another picture to understand the ideal weight distribution. Regardless of whether you have a low arch, normal arch, high arch, the arch is not where you want your weight centered.

The Philosophical Difference between Flat Shoes Vs Padded Shoes

Starting after the running craze of the 1970s, many athletic shoes became more and more heavily padded over the years, with 'arch support' inside of the shoes.

Over time, this led many people to mistakenly believe that your feet NEED this kind of support in order to function properly.

At the same time, Podiatry (the study and medicine of treating feet) became intellectually bankrupt like many other fields of medicine; people were told that they needed special orthotics in order to walk, and told that they needed supportive shoes for foot health.

You dont.

For people who have been "bare foot pilled" this sounds ridiculous, but consider that in Western World its uncommon for people to ever be barefoot. There are people who honestly believe that they must wear shoes in order for their feet to work.

In reality, the opposite is true: for your feet to be strong and functional, you need to USE THEM. Wearing orthotics and shoes is akin to wearing gloves your entire life, and then being surprised when your hands are soft and weak.

Starting with "Born to Run", which popularized barefoot running, the general public slowly became aware that minimalist footwear was an option, and the era of the overbuilt, cushiony athletic shoe has largely ended.

The result has been an explosion of flat, minimalist footwear that gives your toes more freedom to move and provided a firmer interface between foot and the surfaces you stand on.

This said, this does not mean that you should abandon all Shoes with padding and start doing everything barefoot.

For RUNNING, you Do NOT need Flat Shoes

People often ask me if I wear minimalist shoes to run, I do NOT. I do the majority of my running on the treadmill (because its convenient and objective for making progress), and I am under no illusion that I am going become a barefoot runner or run in sandals and having the running ability of a Tarahumara Indian who started running at age 3 in the Sierra Madres.

Historically, the majority of human populations wear footwear of some kind when they walk/run long distances. And the surfaces we run and walk on today are far less forgiving than walking on packed earth or sand. If you run on concrete or asphalt, you need to protect your feet.

Consider that even at the highest levels of running, 99% of athletes wear shoes. If you are concerned about over pronation when running, you need to retrain your GAIT and Foot Strike. Running is a locomotive activity, it is plyometric. Whether you wear "chunky" running shoes or zero drop, less padded running shoes is up to you. Try different brands and see what feels best.

However, lifting is a "flat foot" activity.

We dont lift on the balls of out feet, we lift with our feet flat on the ground. You want to wear shoes that reinforce natural alignment, and allows us to apply maximal pressure and grounding force into the surface we stand on. That means a flat shoe with no angled "pitch" in the arch that does causes your ankles to roll inward, or keeps your toes from fully pressing into the floor.

I have worn every brand of barefoot shoes you can think, from the Five-finger shoes to various models from major and minor shoe manufacturers.

After trying all of them, the best shoes I have used are XERO Brand shoes, specifically the HFS model.

While these shoes can be used for running, they are fantastic for lifting. And plyometrics, and practically anything else you would do in a gym, from squats to deadlifts to power cleans to box jumps to skipping rope etc. Ive even used them in the boxing ring.

Here I am using them on leg day, doing pistol squats in my garage (which Ive covered in Horse mats)

What makes them so good? In no particular order

• They are very sturdy and don’t break down and crimp and tear like some brands I have tried that wear out fast

• They don’t smell if you wear them without socks (Vibrams are notorious for this)

• They are not SO minimal they you get get stabbed in the foot by a pebble, but they also have just enough of a sole to provide protection

• They are actually stylish and not hideous. Ive received compliments on these, unlike other Minimalist brands

• The sizes exactly match what your regular shoes are. If you wear a size 10, get a size 10. Wear a size 12, get a size 12.

• The toe box is wide and you can full press your toes into the floor

• They FIT. They have the best fit of all the shoes Ive tried.

Thus, I am happy to affiliate for them.

If you are you looking for good shoes to lift in, get Xeros

Any questions? Feel Free to comment