Dragon Door article on shoes

[Warriorpoet]

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/513/

The bottom line is that cushioned, stiff shoes disrupt your body's proprioception and causes all kinds of problems. The best shoes have thin, uncushioned, and flexible soles. I was hoping other people could weigh in on this - I know lots of people recommend chuck taylors or all stars, but do they have flexible soles? Also, power cleans and other lifts require ankle mobility - which shoes offer that, in addition to the correct kind of sole?

On the other hand, I am hesitant to accept this wholesale. Shoes that mimic being barefoot might be best for training, but cushioned shoes might still be best for just walking around, since humans did not evolve walking on pavement and linoleum all day, every day.

[ricepower]

Chucks & all stars are the same thing.

The other similar shoes that have tradtionally been arond are old skool vans. But now there is a big fashion for these types of shoes you can go to out shopping and see hunders of variations from tens of brands. All are pretty cheap.

I have never owned any chucks but have worn the same pair of vans since 2005, for everyday walking, bike riding ocassional skateboarding and for the past year, weightlifting too.

Any similar shoes are excellent for weightlifting and are exaclty as you describe in being thin and very flexible. I have the hi versions aswell but rarely wear them as I cannot be bother with laces. They give a good amount of support yet plenty enough flexibility for powercleans and more. These types of shoes are made of canvas & thin rubber, just like plimsoles.

[thefinalsql]

I wear Chuck Taylor's. Actually bought them prior to the knowledge of SL, happy I bought multipurpose shoes.

I like them, I do not feel like I am wearing over stuffed chairs on my feet.

They have worked very well for me for SL.

[NotNowChief]

I but the cheapest shoes with the least material and sole I can find. I found a great pair for $20 aussie dollars, just some fabric laced over 4ml of flat rubber. If I spent money I'd buy proper lifting shoes but these are good, no cushion to rob me, basically just my foot to the floor.

[holvoetn]

I plan to use NO shoes in my basement ... maybe just socks since otherwise it would be too cold (tiles on the floor).

Can't get much closer to the floor then that

[midi]

Excellent article. I have progressed from Chuck Taylors, to Oly Shoes....and then i tried bare feet....absolute revelation!. Instantly added 20lbs to my 5RM. If you have trouble gettng your glutes involved, try barefoot or socks. It is definately a 'proprioception' thing as pointed out in the article, which you wont appreciate until you try it....i felt my whole prosterior chain really working for the first time. Stability is also vastly superior. Also, the nagging knee pain i had just went away. It would seem mother nature did a pretty good job of designing the optimum lifting biomechanics, and that shoes interfere with this.

I've found that the ability to engage the prosterior chain more thoroughly, also carries over if I go back to my Oly Shoes, but that this ability will 'detrain' within a week or so, and i have to go back to bare feet for a bit. I probably split it 80% barefoot (or thin socks ), and 20% Oly shoes...but thats really only because I want to get my moneys worth.

These shoes are pretty close to barefoot btw. Wide in the toes so you can 'grip' the floor, very thin flexible sole and stable.

http://www.amazon.com/Wushu-Shoes-White-Feiyue-Brand/dp/B000HHP6J6/ref=pd_sim_sg_2/192-8812018-0263634

[cripmeister]

I started wearing Chuck Taylor's in teh gym after reading Tsatsouline's Power to the people. Seems like this type of shoe is the norm. I think socks with rubber dots underneath, like the ones little kids wear in kindergarten, are the way to go.

/Chris