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No kicks to lift

Bad idea to squat

Why not to squat or dead-lift with running shoes

Why not to squat or dead-lift with running shoes.

This could in a worst case scenario lead to injury due to the instability, and in a first time it messes with your technique and lessen the strength you can apply to those exercises as
running shoes absorb the impact of your foot hitting the ground by compressing the sole and springing back.
This is not what you want, especially when you are lifting heavy weight.

One simple solution is to be barefeet. It keeps you the most connected to the ground and gives you the best base to control your position, to me it feels i have an increased sense of my center of balance when barefoot.

So what if you don’t want to be barefoot? Here a few alternatives.

You’ll want to find shoes that have a built-in cushion to absorb impact/force with each step you take, to get a pair of shoes that will help you use all the force your body can produces. Obviously this would lead to lift/move more weight.
Adistar weight liftingSo you could buy a pair of converse for example, or shoes dedicated to weight lifting like the Adidas adistar™(those are expensive but you can find other brands of course).
Most weight lifting shoes have a raised heel which will give you more stability than barefoot.
Now it is all up to you to decide if it is worth buying having a weight lifting dedicated pair of shoes when you are most likely not just doing squat, dead lift or lunges when you hit the gym.


Taking of my running shoes of for those type of exercises seems to be the cheapest and less time consuming way to do things for me.

This article is a generalization, of course some running shoes here and there might provide proper stability, and as every”feet” is also different. Yet I personally don’t think they would be a match as you probably won’t lift as much than barefoot or with proper shoes, even if you were to compromise and buy non compressible running shoes or minimalist running shoes.

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