Heeled squat shoes
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Fittreelol
Posts: 2,535 Member
Thus far I squat barefoot or in Chucks. I've found the chucks are really starting to compress a bit, and I'm having issues with ankle roll/knee cave that I don't have barefoot. I've been planning on purchasing squat shoes for a while and was either going to wait for the white Adidas to be released or get the black Romaleo 2's. I read a review that there's an issue with lacing black and white Adipowers, so that defaulted my choice to Romaleo 2s. Since then I've been waiting for Romaleo 2s to be in stock in my size in the color I want on Eastbay. I was reading some posts the other day where a few powerlifters stated they prefered squatting in flat shoes vs heeled. They were using something like the metal squat shoe or the sabo deadlift shoe to maintain stability and grippiness without the heel. Now that the intro paragraph is in some questions:
I don't mind investing in quality shoes, but should I try a cheaper pair (they have clearance wu- reis in my size for $45 free shipping) to see how I like them? I don't have a super popular size that would be easy to resell if I got the Romaleos and I didn't like them.
Has anyone here tried oly shoes and found they didn't work for them for whatever reason? It could be the posts I'm reading are like .00001% of the squatting population.
Does anyone have random thoughts to add?
Thanks!
ETA; If you couldn't tell from my avatar I squat low bar, with a slightly wide stance.
I don't mind investing in quality shoes, but should I try a cheaper pair (they have clearance wu- reis in my size for $45 free shipping) to see how I like them? I don't have a super popular size that would be easy to resell if I got the Romaleos and I didn't like them.
Has anyone here tried oly shoes and found they didn't work for them for whatever reason? It could be the posts I'm reading are like .00001% of the squatting population.
Does anyone have random thoughts to add?
Thanks!
ETA; If you couldn't tell from my avatar I squat low bar, with a slightly wide stance.
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Replies
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I usually recommend flat-bottomed shoes for wide stance squatters, but it really depends on the individual. I pull in wrestling shoes but I've seen countless numbers of powerlifting competitors use them for squats. I, personally, wear Adidas Powerlift 2's to squat and perform Olympic lifts. Once I started wearing them I swore I wouldn't train without 'em. I used to squat with a wide stance but have recently moved my feet in a bit and have been consistently squatting more than ever. Work boots seem to work well for some, too, but they obviously aren't supportive in all the right places for squats...0
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i use Adidas Powerlift 2.0 for squats. love them. the heel isnt quite as high as adipowers or romaleos. i got mine new shipped to the door for 85.00 from ebay. i deadlift in Converse Cons Anarchys......
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Been in the Reebok Crossfit Lite TR for 3 months and so far they work well for me (wide stance, low bar squatter). I did try Oly shoes but the heel doesn't work with my mechanics; it exacerbates my tendency to collapse forward and shift weight to my toes.
I prefer lifting barefoot but my ankles did a little cave when I'd squat at 85-90%+; the high top Reeboks gave me the extra ankle stability (psychological maybe?) I needed.
At my last meet I only had a week and a half to break them in. Set a PRs in squat and pull so I call them my magic shoes now LOL.
In my profile pic I'm wearing them; I tried to insert the image here but it's not hosted anywhere
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I found a pair of size 14W Adidas Power Perfect II's at Ross for $30.00 (Apparently I did something to make God happy that day) and I'll never squat without them again! They are a really high quality shoe with excellent stability at an affordable price.0
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I found a pair of size 14W Adidas Power Perfect II's at Ross for $30.00 (Apparently I did something to make God happy that day) and I'll never squat without them again! They are a really high quality shoe with excellent stability at an affordable price.
same here. if i dont have my powerlifts with me for some odd reason, i dont squat.0 -
I did try Oly shoes but the heel doesn't work with my mechanics; it exacerbates my tendency to collapse forward and shift weight to my toes.
This happened to me as well. Low bar sumo stance + Oly shoes = fall forward (for me anyway). I'm back to barefoot in the gym and Chucks with the guts ripped out at meets. Works well.
Tom0 -
Thanks for the input everyone. I feel like I have even more options now where I was looking for fewer. :laugh:0
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I'm still relatively new to lifting (January of 2013 consistently) and I brought my Adipowers in January of this year. I can honestly say that, along with my Trigger Point roller, they are the best items I've brought. Let me put it this way, if my house was on fire and I could only take a few things, I'd grab my Adipowers, TP roller and number of other personal items.
In terms of fitting, I had previously only had Nike trainers (running and tennis, the latter being my normal lifting shoes until my Oly shoes arrived) in size 8 UK. They were a little loose, particularly after being "broken in" so I ordered a 7.5 UK. This is something you should also consider if you haven't done so already, some stores will stock the traditional sizes as well as an x.5.
I don't know what you mean when you say "I read a review that there's an issue with lacing black and white Adipowers, so that defaulted my choice to Romaleo 2s." The laces on mine are absolutely perfect (I have the original red). Another point you mentioned regarding metal heels. The Adipowers have a plastic that Adidas say is "polymer", I'm not a scientist so I have no idea what this really means, but I do know that other Oly shoes, in the past, have either been metal or wooden. From what I can remember, some athletes did not like the additional weight that these wooden or metal heels put on their foot, so Adidas and Nike both designed, at almost exactly the same time, these lighter, plastic heeled shoes.
Finally, I should add that I squat high bar with a narrow stance. Only in the past two weeks have I actually used a low bar, slightly wider (only a couple of inches) wider stance as an assistance/accessory after my 531 sets of squats or deadlifts. Also, I have very, very, very flat feet, so I always take out the sole of every shoe (squat as well as work and casual shoes) and put in my orthaheel sole. This has been the incredibly simple and cheap way to alleviate ankle and knee pain, as well as caving when squatting.0 -
I have an Australian brand pair and love them. I have limited ankle dorsiflexion so these are actually required for me for high bar and front squats to make depth.
I squat heavy in low bar stance though and I find them very beneficial still for that. Mainly, the additional stability. On the rear occasion that the bar path isn't directly vertical and I need to make an adjustment I feel as though I can do it better with these shoes.
Underground Elite is the brand. No they don't look fancy like Nikes or adidas :laugh:0 -
Intermediate update:don't know what you mean when you say "I read a review that there's an issue with lacing black and white Adipowers, so that defaulted my choice to Romaleo 2s."
The red adipowers have an additional set of eyelets towards the toe compared to both the black and white models.
While I was waiting and waiting for the romaleos to be in stock I found the wei-rui powermax was on clearance for $45 and free shipping. Of course then the romaleo's came in stock, but I figured that was a much better price to decide what I think about a heeled squat shoe than $200. I ordered the powermaxes , and the sabo deadlift shoes. I plan on using the sabo for low bar and deadlifts, while using the powermax for front squats and toying with squat width. I'll post again once I've had a chance to try them both out for a while.
Again I really appreciate everyone's input. Thank you!0
