What shoes to wear to the gym

There is never a unified standard answer to choosing shoes for going to the gym. The core principle is to follow your training content of the day, and the one that can match the movement requirements is the most suitable.

When I was squatting in the strength area last week, there was a young man wearing 5cm thick-soled cushioning running shoes standing next to me. When he squatted at 100kg in the third set, his whole body was shaking like a reed in the wind, and his knees suddenly buckled inward. Fortunately, the protective coach next to him helped me quickly to prevent my ankle from spraining. The coach asked him to change to the spare flat canvas shoes in the gym on the spot. The latter two groups squatted much more steadily. He himself said that before, it always felt like he was stepping on marshmallows under his feet, and he couldn't exert any force.

If your plan for going to the gym that day is to do 40 minutes of exercise, run for half an hour, or ride an elliptical machine, then daily jogging shoes are enough. The cushioning performance is enough to cushion the impact of landing, and can also protect ankles and knees. Just don't choose a shoe with a shoe sole that is too slippery.

But if you mainly practice compound movements in the strength zone that day, such as squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, and other movements that require stable force exertion from all over the body, you must choose shoes with flat soles, sufficient hardness, and almost no heel height difference. Many veterans who have practiced for five or six years do not like to wear expensive professional shoes. Flat-soled canvas shoes worth dozens of yuan are very stable on the ground, and the feet can fully bear the force when exerting force.

There are still two very noisy opinions on this matter in the fitness circle. One is whether to buy special weightlifting shoes/strength shoes. Almost all my friends who practice powerlifting have a pair of shoes. The heels have a fixed height of 1-2cm. They are particularly friendly to people with insufficient dorsiflexion of the feet. They can squat deeper without sagging the waist easily. The effect of improving performance is indeed visible to the naked eye.； However, there are also many people who usually have about half aerobic and half strength. They think it is not necessary. A pair of comprehensive training shoes can handle all scenarios such as box jumping, jogging, and ordinary strength training. They are cost-effective and do not have to worry about changing shoes every time. This makes sense.

Some people say that you have to go barefoot when practicing deadlifts. The center of gravity is the most stable when the feet are completely on the ground, and you can better feel the force exerted by the soles of the feet. In many professional competitions, athletes will also compete barefoot, but it is not practical in ordinary gyms. Once used, there may be litter everywhere on the ground. Dumbbell plates and protruding equipment bolts can cause scratches and injuries if you are not careful. Last month, I stepped barefoot on a hot dumbbell plate that someone had just thrown away. It burned me so much that I jumped for three minutes. Secondly, going barefoot in public areas is really unhygienic, and most gyms will explicitly prohibit it.

Don’t go to the gym wearing platform shoes, dad shoes, or inner height increasers just to look good in photos. There was a girl who wore a 7cm inner height increaser to do Zumba. She sprained her foot after dancing for ten minutes and was on crutches for two weeks. There is no need to do things that are not worth the gain.