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Wearing special weightlifting shoes during squats reduces strain on the back and increases strain on the quadriceps. This makes your training more effective and reduces the risk of injuries.
Squatting with Weightlifting Shoes
The famous bodybuilder Kai Greene is known for his appearance. “Duhhh,” you might think, “He’s a bodybuilder after all.” By appearance, I mean his striking appearance, even for bodybuilders, with long braids, often wearing masks while posing, but above all, the famous red color he always wears. Just like the supplements he advertises, which are eagerly sought after by his fans, he is also a trendsetter in terms of footwear. Suddenly, many are interested in the “weightlifting shoes” he wears, the high red boots with flat soles. The funny thing, however, is that they are not weightlifting shoes at all, but boxing shoes. Although these are better than normal shoes, they only offer two of the four advantages that “real” weightlifting shoes offer.
Advantages of Weightlifting Shoes
- No wasted energy due to resilient sole
- Better stability
- Less strain on the lower back
- More activation of knee extensors (quadriceps)
The shoes depicted on the right, which are quickly becoming more popular, only offer the first two of the mentioned advantages. The same goes for another popular solution; squatting barefoot or in socks.
No Wasted Energy with Weightlifting Shoes Due to Resilient Sole
As a sprinter, you use very different shoes than a marathon runner. A marathon runner has shoes with resilient soles. This resilience absorbs part of the energy during landing to reduce the impact on joints and the spine. Only part of this energy is utilized during push-off, the rest of the energy “dissipates.” This costs energy and time that a sprinter doesn’t have. They want their strength to be transferred to the ground immediately and completely to start the next step faster and to go further with the step itself. You can also compare it to the soft suspension of an off-road vehicle that has to absorb the shocks of rough terrain. It’s comfortable when driving normally.
However, if you wanted to race, that soft suspension would cause your car to lean outward in every turn and take longer to negotiate the turn. When squatting or deadlifting, you push your feet into the ground while extending your legs. If you wear shoes with resilient soles, some of this energy is absorbed but not returned by the soles. This is wasted energy that affects your ability to lift the barbell (1,2). With flat soles, you should be able to handle more weight. However, no studies have been done on this. How significant this difference is remains unknown. Moreover, this aspect is only relevant to people who compete in weightlifting such as weightlifters, powerlifters, strongmen, etc. Making yourself perform better with the same effort says nothing about how your body will respond with increased muscle mass and strength. It’s important how much effort you have to exert. So, you wouldn’t actually become stronger because of this.
Better Stability with Weightlifting Shoes
Think again about that off-road vehicle with soft suspension. If you stand on the roof and try to rock the car back and forth on the suspension, it will be much easier than with a car with very stiff suspension. The latter is much more stable, and the same goes for shoes with a hard sole instead of a resilient sole. You’ll notice this especially when squatting or deadlifting heavier weights. Especially regarding lateral stability. Shoes that are normally comfortable for walking and running can suddenly feel very unstable because your feet are tilted outward (usually) or inward (seemingly). Depending on the thickness of your sole, your foot may sink several millimeters or significantly, but with 180 kilos on your neck, that can make the difference between standing firm and feeling like you could fall at any moment.
Less Strain on Lower Back with Weightlifting Shoes Due to Hard, Elevated Heel
The video above will likely elicit no other reactions than: “Deadlifting in high heels, that’s stupid!” Admittedly, the outcome of the video may lead to few other thoughts, and ultimately, it’s (though funny) just stupid. However, she doesn’t entirely miss the mark. Although the lateral stability is naturally worthless, at least the sole is hard, which meets one of the characteristics of a weightlifting shoe in terms of energy. Additionally, the high heels, in an exaggerated manner, demonstrate another characteristic of weightlifting shoes; the elevated heel. An elevated heel is very normal in most (running) shoes. However, this one absorbs the most energy upon landing by collapsing. When squatting and deadlifting, this ensures that the height difference between the heel and the ball of the foot decreases. It is precisely this height difference that provides one of the most important advantages of weightlifting shoes, especially during squatting. In the article “Squatting with Knees Beyond Toes,” I extensively discuss balance during squatting and the effect it has on knee and lower back strain. In short, the weight on the back forces you to lean forward to maintain balance, which leads to strain on the lower back (3-6). Small differences in technique can make a big difference in lower back strain. In that article, I mainly discussed the position of the knees relative to the toes and the height of the barbell on the back.
In their 2012 study, researchers from Arizona State University examined the effect of weightlifting shoes on this balance and thus the strain on the lower back. In the image on the left, you see the body’s posture during the squat. Squatting can be done in many different ways. You can drop your butt straight back while keeping your knees directly above your ankles. However, most of your weight is then behind your balance point, causing you to fall backward. You can do this, for example, with a Smith machine where the barbell is fixed and you can lean against it. If you are squatting with a free barbell (or nothing), your knees, the top of the torso, and the head will have to move forward to distribute your weight evenly around your center of gravity. This puts a lot of strain on the lower back while you are squatting mainly to train the muscles of the thigh. It also applies that the stiffer/shorter the Achilles tendon, the more the back has to bend forward to compensate for the limited forward range of the knees.
With weightlifting shoes, the heel is higher than the partially collapsed sole of the normal sports shoe. This increases the angle by 3.5 degrees and makes you lean more forward (1). This means, in simple terms, that you have to make less effort to prevent falling backward, which also means that you have to bend less forward from the waist and therefore also strain the lower back less. This also reduces the risk of injuries.
“…a greater degree of the trunk lean creates increased shear force in the low back area. This study demonstrated that the WL shoe condition reduced the amount of forward trunk lean, which ultimately would lead to reducing the risk of low back injury. ”
K. Saito, Arizona State University
More Activation of Knee Extensors (Quadriceps) with Weightlifting Shoes
The same greater angle due to a higher heel has been shown in previous research to result in more activation of the muscles that you do want to strain, the quadriceps (7). The research from Arizona State University also refers to this as an additional reason to use weightlifting shoes.
“wearing the WL shoes may result in engaging greater muscle activity in the knee extensor muscles when compared with wearing running shoes. Having said that, a greater degree of foot segment angle (to some extent) that is created by wearing WL shoes may be beneficial for those who are aiming to increase muscular strength in the knee extensors.”
K. Saito, Arizona State University
Did the researchers also see the video of the woman deadlifting in heels and therefore feel the need to emphasize that a small angle is sufficient (“to some extent”)?
Which Weightlifting Shoes are the Best?
If you know what requirements shoes must meet to be good for deadlifting and especially to improve squatting, they don’t necessarily have to be weightlifting shoes. There will undoubtedly be several shoes with hard soles and elevated heels available. In the past, this was great because there were very few weightlifting shoes available and they were quite expensive.
Exercises like squats, deadlifts, clean and jerk, and clean and snatch were relatively rare in the gym until about ten years ago. Squats and deadlifts were still done by bodybuilders and powerlifters, but clean and jerk and clean and snatch were almost exclusively done by competitive weightlifters. This made it commercially uninteresting for most manufacturers to produce these specialized shoes. In addition to the many criticisms I have expressed about the CrossFit system, I have mentioned as one of the few positives that suddenly many more men, but especially women, have started doing these “old-school” leg exercises again. In fact, there have never been so many different people doing these exercises. This has made it worthwhile to produce weightlifting shoes again.
There is now a fairly large assortment, with the main differences being:
- Up to below or above the ankle
- Reinforcing band around the shoe
Although they are quite popular again, partly thanks to Kai Greene, I am not a big fan of the high shoes that come up to above the ankle unless you have (acute) problems with the lateral stability of the ankles. In the latter case, you should also question whether you should deadlift or squat so heavily). In principle, the lateral pressure is also missing in these exercises unless you take a very wide stance. The high shoe can also limit the forward bending of the ankle, which again puts more strain on the back and nullifies one of the advantages of the weightlifting shoe. Possibly, this is the reason why you often see Kai not fastening them to the top to maintain freedom of movement. However, this also removes the additional lateral stability, making it essentially pointless to wear high shoes. I think this is more of a statement of personal style than functional. Perhaps I will get the chance to ask him about this later this month at the Bodypower Expo in Birmingham. I won’t keep his answer from you then!
Regarding lateral stability, the reinforcing bands are more useful. Not for ankle stability, but to prevent your feet from slipping off your soles. I have experienced this when I forget to tie my shoes tightly before squatting heavy. Even when tied, however, this can happen if the material of your shoes is not very sturdy, as is the case with many running shoes, or if your shoes are too wide in width. The bands also solve this latter problem. My personal preference would therefore be low shoes, with reinforcing bands.
Summary and Conclusion
Wearing weightlifting shoes during heavy exercises with the barbell such as deadlifts, but especially squats, offers several advantages. No energy is wasted on the resilience of the sole because it is hard. Stability is improved because the sole does not collapse. The hard heel reduces strain on the lower back. Finally, the muscles of the thigh are activated more.
Weightlifting shoes thus lead to more results but fewer injuries.
When choosing from different types of weightlifting shoes, it is wise to opt for low shoes with reinforcing bands.
References
- Sato K1, Fortenbaugh D, Hydock DS.Kinematic changes using weightlifting shoes on barbell back squat.J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Jan;26(1):28-33. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318218dd64.
- Comfort, P and Kasim, P. Optimizing squat technique. Strength Cond J 29: 10–13, 2007.
- Garhammer, J. Weight lifting and training. In: Biomechanics of Sports. C.L. Vaughan, ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1989. pp. 169–211.
- Granhed, H, Jonson, R, and Tansson, T. Loads on the lumbar spine during extreme weightlifting. Spine 12: 146–149, 1987.
- Hart, DL, Stobe, TJ, and Jaraiedi, M. Effect of lumbar posture on lifting. Spine 12: 138–145, 1987.
- Kongsgaard, M, Aagaard, P, Roikjaer, S, Olsen, D, Jensen, M, Langberg, H, and Magnusson, SP. Decline eccentric squat increases patellar tendon loading compared to standard eccentric squat. Clin Biomech 21: 748–754, 2006.
