Weightlifting Shoes, what's your opinion?

[rainierbella]

Hello everyone!

Well, Christmas is coming up so I'm looking for a good present aside from supplements. I've always lifted with running shoes and I've never really paid attention to weightlifting shoes until recently. My workout partner bought the Adidas Adipower, he left me try them on and I felt a significant difference with my footing, stability and overall comfort while doing squats and dead lifts. Even with bench press it has helped me stabilize without using my toes or toes slipping inside my shoes. Also, with the lifting shoes I was able to focus more on my form and place my hips were it needs to be when lifting.

My plan is to improve my Oly lifts (gain strength, power and etc) - Deads, Squats, clean and jerk, power cleans, hang cleans, maybe snatches.

I came up with 3 options;

1) Adidas Adipower - I had a great experience with them so far, so anymore input would be great.
Price - $200
Style - 6/10 mostly the color

2) Nike Romaleos 2 - What's your opinion? Nike doesn't sell them anymore but some reseller still carries them.
Price - $200
Style - 8/10 more color choices

3) Reebok Oly/cross fit - I'm not really sure about this one since it is also a crossfit shoe. My question is will it give me the same stability and support? They shoe itself has great reviews but I'm assuming most of them came from crossfitters.
Price - $150
Style - 5/10 plain, 3 color options

So yeah, Any input greatly appreciated and thank you for time reading my post!!

[Jason2459]

If you are going to do a lot of weightlifting and not just power lifting get either the adipowers or romaleos. If you are going to be doing a lot of multi "functional" crossfit type training get the Reebok's. If you are going to mainly use them for powerlifting get a cheaper alternative as any weightlifting shoe will do.

I was lucky enough to try out all three you listed. I wouldn't consider the Reebok's at all unless I did crossfit. I picked the AdiPowers purely on how it fit. If you have super wide feet get something else as neither are for really wide feet. If you have flat feet get the romaleos. If you have a good arch the adipowers. Otherwise its down to looks. Though if you have really big feet know that the heal on the romaleos get higher then. 75" which may or may not be good for you.

[Jason2459]

Also to add I got a super great deal. But you can get the AdiPowers a lot cheaper off east bay if you wait for a 20% or more off sale.

Edit. And another thing Yes Nike still makes the Romaleos they just shipped out a bunch.

[rainierbella]

Jason, Thanks for your input! It's pretty much the info I need. It comes down to style to preference now. I will go with Nike Romaleos since they have black and white colors.

By the way, I also checked out nike.com I didn't find the Romaleos there, where did you go?

[Jason2459]

You can find the romaleos at several sites. Did you even do a Google search? The first three results for Nike Romaleos 2 are three reliable ones: rouge fitness, again faster, and the main official distributor athlete performance solution.

[flahexer]

Why not an older Adidas model? They are all pretty damn solid and more of a lifetime investment.







They are all pretty classic and stylish too! I have the latter ones (Power Perfect II) and am very happy with them for several years now.

[Torrtrefireto]

Why not an older Adidas model? They are all pretty damn solid and more of a lifetime investment.

Where on earth do you plan on finding those? Unless you have size 2 or 22 feet

[Jason2459]

Where on earth do you plan on finding those? Unless you have size 2 or 22 feet

Exactly what I was thinking along with the AdiStar is becoming harder and harder to find. The Power Perfect II are still being made and are a good shoe as well.

[babylover]

Why not an older Adidas model? They are all pretty damn solid and more of a lifetime investment.







They are all pretty classic and stylish too! I have the latter ones (Power Perfect II) and am very happy with them for several years now.

First pair is absolute ****ing rubbish.

Second pair is the best of the lot. Will last forever for PL use. Be careful of the metal buckle for the strap. Has broken off with many lifters.

Third is ok. Will do for the most part.

[arn710]

I just got my Romaleos in from Rogue last night. Volt obviously

I haven't been able to lift in them yet, but they feel like a really high quality shoe. The competition insert makes all the difference. I'm excited to try them out sometime soon after I'm fully recovered from my latest strongman contest.

[rainierbella]

You can find the romaleos at several sites. Did you even do a Google search? The first three results for Nike Romaleos 2 are three reliable ones: rouge fitness, again faster, and the main official distributor athlete performance solution.

I went ahead and ordered from Rogue Fitness, Thanks again!!

[rainierbella]

I just got my Romaleos in from Rogue last night. Volt obviously

I haven't been able to lift in them yet, but they feel like a really high quality shoe. The competition insert makes all the difference. I'm excited to try them out sometime soon after I'm fully recovered from my latest strongman contest.

I wanted the Volt but they didn't have in size 10.5. I just went ahead and ordered black Romaleos! Let me know how you like them

[Jason2459]

I wanted the Volt but they didn't have in size 10.5. I just went ahead and ordered black Romaleos! Let me know how you like them

You complained that the AdiPowers were "loud" and you want the Volt?!? That is even worse IMO.

[SiZzLaX]

If you are going to do a lot of weightlifting and not just power lifting get either the adipowers or romaleos. If you are going to be doing a lot of multi "functional" crossfit type training get the Reebok's. If you are going to mainly use them for powerlifting get a cheaper alternative as any weightlifting shoe will do.

I was lucky enough to try out all three you listed. I wouldn't consider the Reebok's at all unless I did crossfit. I picked the AdiPowers purely on how it fit. If you have super wide feet get something else as neither are for really wide feet. If you have flat feet get the romaleos. If you have a good arch the adipowers. Otherwise its down to looks. Though if you have really big feet know that the heal on the romaleos get higher then. 75" which may or may not be good for you.

how wide is your foot while standing? Was considering the adipowers. im a 4-1/2" think ill fit them?

[Jason2459]

how wide is your foot while standing? Was considering the adipowers. im a 4-1/2" think ill fit them?

They would fit. Just go try on some adidas cleats at a shoe store to get your size.

[beastlifting]

Unless you're a world-class Oly lifter then just get the Power Perfects ... or, you could look into the new Risto shoes as well. Lots of other reviews and opinions here: http://wlshoes.com/

[Jason2459]

Unless you're a world-class Oly lifter then just get the Power Perfects ... or, you could look into the new Risto shoes as well. Lots of other reviews and opinions here: http://wlshoes.com/

Same could be said about any equipment but why not get the best you can afford for your specific sport. If you're a weightlifter get the best shoes, if your a powerlifter shoes wont mater so much but get the best belt or shirt or wraps etc.

[Retardo-pex]

Not as pretty to look at but I grabbed a pair of Wei Ru's last year for like $70. If you have never lifted in them you might end up hating them, so it would be a bummer to drop/ have someone else drop $200 on a pair.

[HamburgerTrain]

Wouldn't buy any of those peices of $hit at full price. Get a pair of skateboarding shoes.


These shoe threads are worse than the ne Batman movie.

[Jason2459]

Wouldn't buy any of those peices of $hit at full price. Get a pair of skateboarding shoes.


These shoe threads are worse than the ne Batman movie.

Serious question for you. Are you against healed shoes 100% for everyone or just for you? If it's for everyone I'd really like to know why?

[HamburgerTrain]

Serious question for you. Are you against healed shoes 100% for everyone or just for you? If it's for everyone I'd really like to know why?

For everyone. Not just because spending 150+ on a pair of shoes for a different sport is stupid. An elevated heel makes sense for olympic lifting (where range of motion can be the difference between a missed lift and a world record) but for PL, all an elevated heel does is mask mobility issues.

Look at the functional movment screen. There is an overhead squat componenet to it. You hold a dowel overhead and squat down as low as you can. At the first sign of movement dysfunction, the test calls for the athletes heels to be elevated. Most of the time, the athlete can now perform a perfect overhead squat, which they could not do with feet flat on the ground. This has to do with the mobility-stability chain being all f*cked up, but for the sake of this arguement, that doesn't even matter. What does matter is the elevated heel masks dysfunction.

Everyone gets all butt hurt about advancements in gear. There really is no difference between using a multiply squat suit to squat more or using an olympic shoe to squat more. Both work to put you into better positioning for the lift that could not be achieved if you weren't wearing anything.

[Jason2459]

Ok that's cool. What about the use of a healed shoe for those that don't have mobility issues? Is there any disadvantage or danger in that?

[UberAlles]

got these BAF (or wei rui warriors) from quest nutrition. 85 shipped free for US brahs



i have them, and they are amazing. fixed my squat form in a notch

[ziyedb]

For everyone. Not just because spending 150+ on a pair of shoes for a different sport is stupid. An elevated heel makes sense for olympic lifting (where range of motion can be the difference between a missed lift and a world record) but for PL, all an elevated heel does is mask mobility issues.

Look at the functional movment screen. There is an overhead squat componenet to it. You hold a dowel overhead and squat down as low as you can. At the first sign of movement dysfunction, the test calls for the athletes heels to be elevated. Most of the time, the athlete can now perform a perfect overhead squat, which they could not do with feet flat on the ground. This has to do with the mobility-stability chain being all f*cked up, but for the sake of this arguement, that doesn't even matter. What does matter is the elevated heel masks dysfunction.

Everyone gets all butt hurt about advancements in gear. There really is no difference between using a multiply squat suit to squat more or using an olympic shoe to squat more. Both work to put you into better positioning for the lift that could not be achieved if you weren't wearing anything.

yet most of the best singleply or raw squatters lift in heeled shoes

[HamburgerTrain]

yet most of the best singleply or raw squatters lift in heeled shoes

And I have yet to meet a powerlifter that didn't have hips and/or hamstrings and/or hip flexors tighter than a dolphins butthole.

[ziyedb]

And I have yet to meet a powerlifter that didn't have hips and/or hamstrings and/or hip flexors tighter than a dolphins butthole.

And that is relevant to how much anyone lifts how?

[HamburgerTrain]

And that is relevant to how much anyone lifts how?

Because when you have mobility problems, you can lift more weight with a shoe that helps mask those movement dysfunctions.

[Jason2459]

And that is relevant to how much anyone lifts how?

I don't care about cheater gear whoring. I'm all for it. I'm curious if there are any disadvantages or particularly any dangers to using a healed shoe for those that don't have any mobility issues and can get the shoes at a super steep discount making cost not a factor.

[ziyedb]

Because when you have mobility problems, you can lift more weight with a shoe that helps mask those movement dysfunctions.

So you think powerlifting should be more about mobility than about strength?

[HamburgerTrain]

So you think powerlifting should be more about mobility than about strength?

Technique is whatever scores. I am saying olympic shoes mask a problem and don't fix anything. The working mechanisms for strength development and mobility aren't all that different anyway. Maybe there should be a 4th lift where you get judged on how well you touch your toes. But, you can't wear anything except your olympic shoes. Just to make sure you don't have any mobility assisting equipment crammed into your ass.

The actual strength you display in a meet depends on a whole lote more variables than just "strength, brah."