Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

what do you guys squat in? im afraid doing squats in my $150 NIKE SHOX is going to f**k them up. Same goes for my Air Max. (flattening air bubbles making them feel squishy) So i have been doing squats etc. in my older running shoes. Im just curious as to what everyone does. I cant see people buying oly. lifting shoes when all they use them for is 2-3 lifts.

I occasionally lift in my shox but I hate doing Olympic lifting and squating in them as they just feel too mushy (with the exception of the jerk where I can actually lift more with the shox!). I think court shoes, shoes with a firmer insole, or olympic weightlifting shoes would be the best bet. To be honest with you, since I started lifting in OL shoes, I find it tough to lift in anything else. But then again, squatting and OL is all I do. And btw, I’ve found that the shox do get progressively softer and softer with lifting (just as they would with a lot of heel-strike running and walking).

i was told that lifting in any running shoe would push you to far forward. The best shoes would be the OL shoes or just a cheap pair that have flat soles. Ive seen a lot of throwers even lift in their throwing shoes because they have such flat bottoms.

If you squat (low-bar - butt out) and dead lift like a power lifter then flat soles (ala wrestling shoes, chuck taylors, throwing shoes or even barefoot) would be beneficial. If you do Olympic lifts, front squats or high-bar below parallel squatting, then the hard soled, raised heel of Olympic lifting shoes is beneficial. This is especially true if you are performing the competition deep squat version of Olympic lifts.

I like the cross trainers from PUMA…designed to lift in.

That's funny because I have a pair of Puma court shoes that I love lifting in.

My personal favorites are Chuck taylors. I wear them for the powerlifts as well as the olympic lifts