Gym shoes are an important, but often overlooked, piece of gym equipment. Folks make sure their shirts are right and their shorts are on point, then they show up to deadlift in cushy-soled running shoes that have them standing about four inches taller than they really are. That, my friend, is not how to set yourself up for success when lifting.
Instead of wearing old tennis shoes, or just lifting in your running shoes, it’s time to up your game and wear the right kind of shoes to the gym for power training, weight lifting, and conditioning.
Let’s start with why you need to leave your running shoes at the gym door.
Why Running Shoes Aren’t Good Gym Shoes
Running shoes are made to handle miles and miles of foot contacts. So, they make the soles with lots of cushioning. That’s wonderful if you’re out for a long jaunt, but the cushioning creates instability while lifting. Your foot doesn’t make solid contact with the floor, and thus you have a shitty foundation for lifting because you can’t transfer force efficiently through your feet and into the floor. This means you won’t be as stable up the chain throughout the rest of your body. No bueno.
The padding is also concentrated in the center of the shoe, meaning that you can’t efficiently transfer force laterally. When you try to, your foot typically rolls in the shoe instead of putting force into the ground.
Also, most running shoes have either an elevated heel or extra cushion at the mid-foot. Both of these features change the alignment of your pelvis. Sometimes elevating your heels to change the alignment of your pelvis is a good thing while squatting. But it’s best to use an external heel lift or a set of small plates to do that instead of a cushioned shoe.
Now that we’re clear on why we shouldn’t be wearing cushioned running shoes to the gym, let’s chat about what kind of shoes we should wear.
What Shoes You Should Wear to the Gym
Your gym shoes should be stiff and mostly flat-soled. A small heel lift is okay, but not a huge one. The shoe should have a relatively wide base for transferring force laterally while squatting, doing movement skills, or doing agility and plyometric drills. They should be made to handle lifting, jumping, and changing direction.
Nike MetCons are a great choice, as are Reebok Nanos. NoBull Outworks and Impact are good options – but we’ve had bad luck with their customer service. Born Primitive also makes a great trainer called the Savage.
If you’re just lifting, and not doing any power training, agility training, or plyometrics, Chuck Taylors are also a great option.
Pick among any of those that you like. Just kick off the running shoes when you get to the gym.
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