What Kind of Shoes Do You Need?

A couple of months ago I made a post about running shoes and strength training and IT. BLEW. UP. 

People came from all corners of the internet to agree with my sentiment or vehemently disagree (and call me a plethora of names in the process).

And the general idea was this: running shoes aren’t ideal for lifting weights.

But the world deserves to know why.

First off, cushioning isn’t your friend in the weight room.

Running shoes are designed to absorb force, which is great for pounding the pavement, but counterproductive for strength training.

When you squat, deadlift, or even bench press, the goal is to create and transfer force efficiently.

Cushioning disrupts that transfer (unevenly, at that), making you less stable and less powerful.

It’s like lifting weights on a mattress (albeit a small mattress) – wobbly and ineffective.

Stability requires practice.

Supportive and corrective sneakers might sound appealing, but by structuring our foot position, we lose out on the opportunity to build strength in the muscle groups responsible for lower body stability.

Our goal in the gym is to build our capacity to access ranges of motion and control the access we have.

When it comes to lower body, that includes a lot more than just your foot musculature. Stability really starts at your brain with your ability to identify your center of mass. 

Then we use all our abdominals, obliques, hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves, and about a gazillion other small muscles to control that center of mass and develop force through your feet.

Over time, supportive shoes can actually lead to less overall stability, during everything from easy walking to heavy lifting.

Price doesn’t always equal performance.

Just to be clear, we don’t think everyone should go out and buy a new pair of weightlifting-specific sneakers (which can be outrageously expensive in their own right and are typically reserved for competitive weightlifters).

But running shoes can also cost $100–$200 a pair (and sexier gym sneakers can cost even more), which adds up quickly.

For strength training, a simple, flat-soled shoe will outperform those runners.

You’ll get better results for a fraction of the cost.

This doesn’t mean you need to buy new sneakers now. Whatever you’re currently wearing is totally fine.

But next time you need new sneakers for the gym, consider swapping out your running shoes for something a bit more minimalist.

Your feet—and your lifts—will thank you.