Five Reasons Why You Should Wear Weightlifting Shoes
Written by Jared Enderton
It seems simple, yet in CrossFit it’s an ever increasing trend to NOT wear weightlifting shoes. While this might seem trendy, many CrossFitters are missing out on the true benefits that weightlifting shoes can provide. 99.9% of lifters wouldbenefit from weightlifting shoes, even if they don’t compete! Learn the reasons why you should wear weightlifting shoes.Â
Why should you wear weightlifting shoes?
- 99.9% of all the best weightlifters in the world for 75+ years have worn them for Snatches, Clean & Jerks, and Squats. If the strongest, pound for pound lifters to ever live wear them, we should too.
- It increases our mobility! Tough love: Most of those weightlifters have much better mobility than you, and they still wear them. The raised heel height makes it easier for us to squat to a lower depth with an upright torso.Â
- It increases our stability! The solid platform makes it so we can pull and land with a stable base. This is especially important with weight overhead for a jerk, or on your back for a squat.Â
- How many Sanctioned CrossFit events orlocal comps can you name where you would be punished for wearing lifters in a heavy weightlifting event? In 15+ years of Open-QF-Games workouts, there hasn’t been more than a handful. Most likely, you have time to change in and out of your lifters. Or better yet, you could just leave them on the entire time.
- Do not avoid using weightlifting shoes because you might not be able to wear them on a RARE occasion. It is extremely rare that we see a 2 mile run or box jumps followed by a max snatch in 2 minutes. If you are concerned that you will not be able to lift without weightlifting shoes once you get used to them, then a handful of times per year lift without lifters. Otherwise, in order to be the most efficient and strongest weightlifters we can be – as CrossFitters – wearing weightlifting shoes will always be in our best interest!
