By Chris Martinez
Oct. 10. 2010
When it comes to leg day, does it matter what kind of shoes you wear? Can you show up to the gym wearing Air Force 1’s, Jordan’s, soccer shoes, track shoes, or even wedges for the ladies? I hope you ladies never would. The answer is yes it matters!
Lets say its leg day and your about to do some heavy squats or dead lifts and you come into the gym with some fancy cushioned tennis shoes. So you’re probably saying okay, what’s the problem with this, right? Well, cushioned tennis shoes absorb energy and rob you of power. They also toss you forward. I know for a fact, that some of you have that tendency to lean forward when doing heavy squatting. I guarantee if you try wearing flat soled shoes from now on when you squat or dead lift, you will not have this problem and you will even experience a more explosive lift on the concentric movement (coming up). Why? Because you have closer contact with the ground and better energy transfer. I’m sure a lot of you know and I’m hoping a lot of you know that on these high risk movements, (squats & dead lifts) you want to make sure to keep your heals down. This is where the flat soled shoes come into play.
I’m not here to tell you that you have to go invest in some funky old flat soled shoes. I know everybody has a certain style or preference when it comes to shoes. Wrestling shoes are one of the best pairs of shoes to get when squatting or dead lifting, but could you imagine a woman wearing these? I highly doubt that. Just make sure it’s got a solid sole. If the contact between the feet and the floor is the squishy gel or air cell of a running shoe, part of the force of the drive will be absorbed by the compression of the cell, not particularly good for your body, especially your knees and achilles tendon.
The take home message from this blog is not intended for you to go out and buy some expensive shoes just for leg days. It’s intended more so for you to be informed about cushioned tennis shoes absorbing energy and robbing your power. We’re all in the gym busting our butts on leg days, so why not get the most out of our workouts and at the same time, take pre-cautions and wear the right shoes, so we don’t end up with injuries. If it’s not leg day, by all means necessary wear those Nike’s and Jordan’s. One last thing, if you are on a budget or don’t care to buy flat soled shoes and have the guts to do this, go barefoot! This will work just as good, if you don’t believe me; just You Tube some Arnold Schwarzenegger videos and see what I mean.