What are weightlifting shoes?
Weightliftting shoes differ from regular sneakers in the following ways:
1. They have a flat and hard sole. That is, the sole is as “wooden” as possible and does not spring.
2. All Weightliftting shoes have a heel. Usually 3-4 cm.
3. All Weightliftting shoes have straps on the sides. Which are needed to tighten the weights more tightly from the sides and so that they sit tighter. Sometimes there can be 1 or 3 straps. Most often there are 2 burrs.
What are weightlifting shoes for?
Weightlifting shoes were primarily designed to make lifting heavy weights more comfortable. This applies to various exercises with a large axial load. For example:
- Squats
- Deadlift with barbell
- Squats with a barbell on the chest
The fact is that all the 3 signs listed above allow you to stand more steadily on the floor with heavy weights, while ordinary sneakers will sag in the sole, destabilizing the foot. However, Weightliftting shoes are not suitable for running, as they do not spring at all. So it turns out that shoes are widely used in such power sports as: Weightlifting, Powerlifting, CrossFit, Kettlebell lifting and other lesser-known strength areas. In these sports, large weights and/or specific exercises are widely used where good foot fixation is needed.
Should you take weightlifting shoes?
If you perform specific exercises from weightlifting, kettlebell lifting, etc. For example: a snatch from the place of undermining to a squat, a classic kettlebell snatch, a push from the racks, or if you squat and pull heavy weights, then it won’t hurt you to get barbells.
And if you are going to compete in a power sport, then you need to take weightlifting shoes.
There are also crossfit weightlifting shoes on the market. They are fundamentally no different from ordinary ones. It's just a marketing ploy.
