Anyone Squat without Shoes on?

[liftingbuddy1]

Anyone here do Squats without shoes on? Are there any advantages/disadvantages to doing so? Poll coming. Thanks!

Mike

[GoJu]

Anyone here do Squats without shoes on? Are there any advantages/disadvantages to doing so? Poll coming. Thanks!

Mike

I can squat barefoot but I prefer to lift with my heeled weightlifting shoes on, I think the advantages is the increased stability at the bottom.

[liftingbuddy1]

I can squat barefoot but I prefer to lift with my heeled weightlifting shoes on, I think the advantages is the increased stability at the bottom.

Ok, so there is increased stability at the bottom when you Squat barefoot? Did I understand you correctly?

Sometimes, I get a slight pain in the sides of my feet (in shoes) when I do Squats.

Mike

[liftingbuddy1]

Anyone else with input?

Mike

[Kung-Fool]

It depends on how you squat. If you squat really wide PL style then weightlifting shoes aren't going to work so good. If you squat somewhere around shoulder width or narrower than weightlifting shoes make a big difference.

Either way, you don't want to be squatting in running shoes or anything with a soft compressive sole.

[liftingbuddy1]

It depends on how you squat. If you squat really wide PL style then weightlifting shoes aren't going to work so good. If you squat somewhere around shoulder width or narrower than weightlifting shoes make a big difference.

Either way, you don't want to be squatting in running shoes or anything with a soft compressive sole.

Don't Squat in running shoes? Is this bad? Is this causing the pain in the sides of my feet? Also, when I say squatting without shoes on, I mean just doing them in socks or barefoot for that matter.

I Squat with a shoulder-width stance. I do OLY Squats.

Mike

[ehlpitel]

Don't Squat in running shoes? Is this bad? Is this causing the pain in the sides of my feet? Also, when I say squatting without shoes on, I mean just doing them in socks or barefoot for that matter.

I Squat with a shoulder-width stance. I do OLY Squats.

Mike

For your purposes, squatting with a raised heel would probably be better.

[EinMassengrab.]

I squat barefoot. It's more comfortable

[liftingbuddy1]

For your purposes, squatting with a raised heel would probably be better.

Why would I want to do that? I can see how that would make the Squat easier for me, but I don't want to make it easy. I just want to know if anyone Squats barefoot and why. Does it make the lift harder? Is it more natural that way? Thanks for the input though, I appreciate it.

Mike

[C1987]

I use Nike free trainers 7.0 which simulates bare feet training. (no Nike spam bot)

[theduffman]

I squat barefoot but mainly just because I wear flip flops a lot and don't like walking out with flip flops I'm really uncoordinated. An old powerlifting buddy of mine from texas said if you see a guy squatting in cowboy boots you know he's legit. I thought he was just being a hick but i LOVE squatting in boots feels great, a lot more stability. Oh and I squat just barely outside shoulder width, I'm mainly a quad squatter

[freeride88]

I have squatted without shoes in the past, but prefer Olympic shoes or wrestling shoes, depending on the top of squatting I'm doing.

[FROGGBUSTER]

Ok, so there is increased stability at the bottom when you Squat barefoot? Did I understand you correctly?

Sometimes, I get a slight pain in the sides of my feet (in shoes) when I do Squats.

Mike

i think he means squatting with a raised heel increases stability at the bottom.

[KentPower]

I always wear squat shoes or other shoes with a raised heel for squatting, I get calf pain otherwise.

[jimmybimmy]

i squat with out shoes
the only advantage i find is tougher feet thats it really

[liftingbuddy1]

i think he means squatting with a raised heel increases stability at the bottom.

Oh I see now. You're right Frogg; I completely misunderstood the context in which GoJu's post was written. Thanks for the clarification.

My purpose in making this thread was to find out if doing Squats barefoot (or in socks) offers any kind of natural advantage. I would feel handicapped if I had to use some sort of "special shoe" or whatnot. I have no intentions of powerlifting, so Squat shoes and the like are not necessary for me.

Also, sometimes when I do Squats, I get this weird pain in the outer sides of my feet. It's similar to how shin splits affect a person when running. I was trying to find out if Squatting barefoot would remedy this.

Mike

[MHP-Stan]

i used to squat w/o shoes all the time. if it worked for arnold, it must work lol. i switched from doing that to squatting in socks. keeps your feet from touching the floor and keeps the sweat in a little bit.

[liftingbuddy1]

i squat with out shoes
the only advantage i find is tougher feet thats it really

What do you mean by "tougher feet"? Your feet feel stronger or something? The way you phrased your post makes it unclear to me.

Mike

[liftingbuddy1]

i used to squat w/o shoes all the time. if it worked for arnold, it must work lol. i switched from doing that to squatting in socks. keeps your feet from touching the floor and keeps the sweat in a little bit.

Do you still Squat in socks now? Does it feel stable? Do you think it would help with the pain in the sides of my feet like I explained a post ago?

Mike

[ArchDukeOfTops]

I guess I'm old school, I squat in chucks when I'm squatting heavy.

I have squatted in running shoes when I was doing a more circuit type routine, and honestly I didn't notice as much of a difference as some people make it out to be. Any shoe without a soft bottom is not optimal, though, obviously.

I have never considered squatting barefoot because of all the times I have smashed parts of my body in the gym. Dropping a 45 plate on a shoe ain't good, but it would really suck on a bare foot.

[Hard Drive]

Hi Mike!

I used to do my OH squats barefoot, but now I always wear my Rogues for everything.

[canuck-kid]

every time?

[throwdeep]

ive seen kevin nee do lifts without shoes so maybe it does help

[The_cannibal]

Hi Mike!

I used to do my OH squats barefoot, but now I always wear my Rogues for everything.

Same here. I love my Rogues. Never going back to lifting without them.

[GAMEOVER-]

I love my timberlands..

[LessThanLuke]

I always wear squat shoes or other shoes with a raised heel for squatting, I get calf pain otherwise.

My calfs have been hurting a lot after squatting lately. Do you think that is because Im using chucks with a narrow stance? I want some oly shoes just cant afford them at the moment.

[liftingbuddy1]

Hi Mike!

I used to do my OH squats barefoot, but now I always wear my Rogues for everything.

Hey, I probably should've PM'd you to begin with LOL.

Now, like I said earlier, I don't want to get into looking for special shoes to Squat in. Do you think barefoot Squats will eliminate that pain in the sides of my feet?

Hell, does anyone know what pain I'm talking about? Has anyone ever had/have it?!!?

Mike

[db2000]

squat in what ever you are going to compete in.

I have had grade 1 tears in my plantar fascia when squatting 750 in crappy shoes.

Never again!!!

[PolishSasquatch]

i like to squat and deadlift in ym work boots (no ronnie coleman)

[PolishSasquatch]

My calfs have been hurting a lot after squatting lately. Do you think that is because Im using chucks with a narrow stance? I want some oly shoes just cant afford them at the moment.

re3ally? i hear some people swear by chucks for squats