Women's weightlifting shoes??

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deekaydee
deekaydee Posts: 158 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm having a hard time finding good weight lifting shoes, any recommendations?

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  • withervein
    withervein Posts: 224 Member
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    Any old shoe works fine for lifting, in fact, some people prefer no shoes at all! I know that doesn't work too well in a gym where bare toes all over would be pretty icky.

    I wear my regular old trainers, I know a lady who like Chuck Taylors and some who like a sturdy pair of army boots.

    Just don't wear anything with a heel. Be sure you're feet are firmly planted.
  • brandyk77
    brandyk77 Posts: 605 Member
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    they make special shoes? I just wear my nike frees
  • biglifts
    biglifts Posts: 5
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    This is some really bad advice. There ARE specific shoes for weightlifting for a very specific reason. Have you ever watched someone doing a barbell squat while wearing trainers or sneakers? Their feet wobble all over the place and their knees usually start turning inward - totally unstable. Anyone in the gym really interested in lifting weights should be wearing flat, non-compressible shoes like Chucks, Inov-8s or Vibrams. If you are a serious lifter and moving heavier weight, or you are getting into Olympic style lifts, you definitely need a shoe with a raised heel. These are usually called olympic weightlifting shoes as they are worn by Olympic weightlifters. Check out http://wlshoes.com for more info.
  • LisaCFSF
    LisaCFSF Posts: 258 Member
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    True, shoes make a difference. I wear my Converse Chuck Taylor shoes when I know I'm going to be lifting at CrossFit. They're aren't great for running though, so have a back up pair for that, especially if you won't know til you get there. (CF warm ups vary based on your box, we do WOD per main site though.)
  • deekaydee
    deekaydee Posts: 158 Member
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    There ARE specific shoes for weightlifting for a very specific reason.

    That's kind of what I'd found in my own research, perhaps I should have been more specific in my original post. Up until now I've been using my old running shoes but I'm gathering that's just not the right choice and can feel some instability now that I'm doing some heavier squats.

    I checked out the wlshoes.com website, great site but nothing specific for women and most of the shoes I've found while shopping (like Adidas Adistar for example) will say women's but then just tell you they are men's shoes and to order a size down.

    I did find some Pendlay weight lifting shoes specifically for women, now just trying to find reviews, etc.
  • AABru
    AABru Posts: 610 Member
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    When I was powerlifting seriously, I wore a pair of field athlete shoes made specifically for shot-put, discus and javelin throwers...They were low, but the bottoms were completely flat and great for balance. Make sure you work your smaller muscles groups for some stablility on big lifts. I was squatting over 400 pounds with these shoes and a belt as my only assists (and an occasional knee wrap for tendonitis).
  • biglifts
    biglifts Posts: 5
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    Well, weightlifting shoes is a really small market and WOMEN'S is an even smaller niche. Pendlay, Risto and Reebok all make women's Oly lifting shoes but I'd stay away from Pendlay as they've been known to have a lot of problems such as "wobbly" heels. My G/f wears the Reeboks and she loves them, she also owns a pair of Ristos but she doesn't do much olympic lifting anymore and they are really designed more for that style of lifting. The adidas power lift trainer is also a really good option for someone who isn't going to be lifting a lot of really heavy weight.

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