Let’s jump right into this, as the title states “Olympic Weightlifting Shoes and Running?!”, I’m just baffled by people running in Weightlifting shoes? I’m not sure where this whole misuse of the shoes came about but I noticed this with crossfitters in NYC a few years back. Now before you die hard internet bad asses come to torch my apartment, hear me out. Weightlifting (Olympic Style) is an event just like sprinting, shot put, vaulters etc… Each of these sporting events have their own type of shoes (pictured below). With that said, would you use a sprinting shoe for a shot putter? A football cleat for a 100 meter sprint? Probably not the mechanics and efficiency of the shoe are used differently, just like weightlifting shoes for running and jumping.
Sprint Spikes:
Shot Put Shoes:
Football Cleats:
Weightlifting shoes are built with a pitch to obtain a stronger joint angle in the squat and are built for stability. You’ll notice when you pick up a weightlifting shoe it’s relatively heavy, this is because it generally has a wood or graphite heel. As the sport has advanced, new shoes are becoming lighter but the premise of the shoe is for stability. If you were to wear regular tennis shoes when snatching, the shoes will have some give in them and could potentially push you off balance.
Take a look at Pyrros Dimas doing the Clean and Jerk:
You can see how explosive he is and how much is really relied on the shoe. If the shoe had any give, he most likely would have missed that Gold Medal lift. It’s amazing to watch Dimas lift, he’s so explosive! Also listen to the crash of his feet, that hard shoe smacking against the wood platform…even more reason why you want stability.
I don’t want to bore you guys with details but if you’re interested in researching why it’s beneficial for Weightlifters to have a “Weightlifting Shoe” read this: http://www.dynamic-eleiko.com/sportivny/library/farticles015.html
It’s a great read and Dynamic Eleiko has some great information, in regards to Weightlifting.
Getting back to the point…
While I love the fact that people are willing to use the shoe to squat, deadlift, snatch, clean etc… As a Weightlifter (Olympic) it makes me cringe to see people run in weightlifting shoes or to do ANY type of non-weight related ESD (Energy System Development aka conditioning/”cardio”) work with them. This does not mean that you CAN’T use specific shoes for other purposes. I’ve used cross-country wafers for change of direction and obstacle courses because of the tight fit and tred on the shoes, a big no-no according to the cross-country folks but I like them and it’s worked. But realize that the demands of the sport are similar, as I said earlier, I wouldn’t take a football cleat and run a 100 meter sprint on the track with them…Train smart!
As for shoes Fusion Weightlifting recommends:
Of course the Nike Romaleos from Nike Weightlifting! Nike is now a great sponsor for USA-Weightlifting
Adidas “Adi-Power”
Adidas Powerlift Weightlifting Shoe
