"What Kind of Shoes Do You Wear?" He Asked

Doing split style snatches with my Chuck Taylors. This was a test to see how well they worked. For squat style lifting, and for squats or front squats, I always wear OL shoes. 

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I've been posting lots of photos
and videos on Instagram. You
can see them right here:

https://www.instagram.com/brooks_kubik/?hl=en

Anyhow, one of our many
Texas Dinos wrote in to ask
what kind of shoes I was
wearing in the training
videos.

He wrote:

Brooks,

I was looking at the videos on
your Instagram.

Your lifts are seamless and
have such fluidity. Inspiring
stuff.

My question is, it looks like
you wear regular sneakers
and not lifting shoes.

Is there a reason, and does
it matter what kind of shoes
you wear?

J. Garcia

Thanks for the question!

Here's the answer.

I do Olympic lifting now. And
that dictates what kind of shoes
I wear.

When I do the clean and jerk,
I use the squat style of cleaning.
You need to wear OL shoes to
do squat cleans. They help you
maintain an upright torso in the
squat position.

Doing front squats - and wearing OL shoes.

Paul Anderson doing a heavy clean and press. If you look closely, you can see the heel on his shoes. Anderson used squat style cleans in his lifting, so he needed a shoe with a heel.

In contrast, I use the split style
of snatching (which is easier on
my shoulders at age 60).

You can do split style cleans in
OL shoes or in sneakers. So I've
tried both to see which I like best.

John Davis doing a split style snatch in old-school, flat bottomed shoes with no heel. You don't need a heel for split-style snatches.

I prefer OL shoes even for split
style snatches. They give me much
more support. And the raised heel
helps me maintain a better position
at the start of the lift.

When I do squats or front squats,
I do them OL style - with an upright
torso - so I need to wear OL shoes
for them.

Anyhow, you'll see some photos and
video where I was testing how well
Chuck Taylors worked on split style
snatches.

But that was purely a test - and just
for the split style snatch.

You also mentioned the fluidity of
my lifts. We'll talk more about that
in another email. It doesn't happen
by accident.

Anyhow, be sure to check out the
Instagram page. It's a lot of fun.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

We have over 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore. 

For a complete list and links to all of them, go here: 

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

Lifting Shoes -- When and Why!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note, and then we'll talk training.

1. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3

Course no. 3 in my new series of training
courses is right here in your choice of Kindle
e-book or hard-copy edition:

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

The course is less than a week old, and it's been
getting great reviews!

2. Lifting Shoes -- When and Why

I'm a big fan of lifting shoes, but not everybody
needs them.

By lifting shoes, I mean Olympic weightlifting
shoes.

Here are the people who need them:

1. Anyone who does squat-style Olympic weightlifting.

You can't hit the bottom posiitons without lifting
shoes if you do squat style lifts.

You can TRY -- but it won't work.

You need the shoes.

HOWEVER -- if you do split style lifts, you may do
better in a shoe with a more flexible sole -- such
as a Chuck Taylor.

2. Anyone who does power cleans, power snatches,
or high pulls.

The shoes help you maintain a better back posiiton
on all pulling movements.

They also provide support for your feet.

And they make you look and feel like a lifter --
which is not to be taken lightly.

3. Anyone who does Olympic style, high-bar back
squats.

You can't maintain an upright posture in the full
squat if you don't wear weightlifting shoes.

If you don't maintain an upright posture, your
back rounds and you lean forward -- which takes
the pressure off your thighs and turns the exercise
into a back movement more than a leg movement.

Rounding your back can also lead to all kinds of
back problems -- or even to a back injury.

And yes, I know you can stand with your heels
on a 2 x 4 or some barbell plates -- but lifting
shoes are better.

I alos know you can buy dress shoes or boots
with a heel. But lifting shoes are better.

Remember, every sport has its own shoes. If you
want to compete, you need the shoes. Strength
training is no different.

4. Anyone who does front squats.

See 3, above. Same point, but more so.

Because the bar is positioned to your front, you
need to be extra careful to maintain an upright
stance and avoid leaning forward.

Personally, I would not even try front squats
without lifting shoes.

5. Anyone who does overhead squats.

See 3 above, but much more so.

There's no point in even trying overhead squats
without lifting shoes -- unless you're trying to do
as "FAIL" video for Youtube.

6. Anyone who does the heavy dumbbell exercises
in Dinosaur Bodyweight training.

Lifting shoes will help enormously on your heavy
dumbbell exercises.

Especially for squat style lifts -- or for the dumbbell
squat variations.

7. Most older Dinos.

Lifting shoes will help protect your feet, and keep
them healthy and strong.

The shoes also help you maintain the best positions
for lower back health when you do squats, pulls,
preses, and deadlifts.

I've been wearing them sincve age 40 -- and they're
GREAT. I wouldn't train without them.

I like the Addidas Power Perfect II.

Here's where I get them:

http://www.dynamicfitnessequipment.com/adidas-Power-Perfect-II-weightlifting-shoes-p/g17563.htm

They're a bit expensive, but they last a long time
if you treat them well -- which means you ONLY
wear them in the gym. Wear something else to
get to the gym.

If you do cardio, bring Chuck Taylors for the cardio.
Save the lifting shoes for the lifting.

That's my take on lifting shoes. Holler if you
have questions.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I mentioned Dinosaur Dumbbell Training. Go
here to grab the little monster:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right here
at Dino Headquarters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "You may or may
not be a professional, but always act like you
are." - Brooks Kubik

*******************************************

Questions and Answers about Lifting Shoes for Dinos!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

As you might have expected, we got a ton of
great feedback from Dinos in response to
yesterday's email about my seven favorite
exercises. If you missed it, here's a link to
the Dinosaur Training Blog so you can read
it now:

http://dinosaurtraining.blogspot.com/2015/06/what-are-your-super-seven-exercises.html

I always post my daily emails on the Blog,
so you if you don't get an email for some
reason, check the Blog.

I also send the blog links to everyone who
follows me on Twitter -- and I share them
on Facebook -- so follow me on Twitter and
friend me on Facebook.

Anyhow, the feedback included a ton of
questions about lifting shoes -- so let's
cover that in today's email.

A number of readers asked if lifting shoes
were necessary -- or whether they could
train barefoot or with some sort of minimalist
footgear -- or whether Chuck Taylors were
okay for lifting.

So here's the answer.

It depends on what exercises you are doing.

If you do bodyweight training, you can wear
pretty much anything you want. Or you can
train barefoot. There's certainly no need for
OL shoes.

If you train outside, you don't want to be
wearing OL shoes. You'll ruin them in short
order, and there's no point to it. So wear
the Chuck Taylors instead.

Do NOT train barefoot when you are outside.
It's too easy to drop something on your foot
or get a nasty cut.

I remember running in the woods back of
the high school. My buddy and I ran barefoot
so we could run through a big creek. It was
primal, primordial, wild and fun.

Who needed shoes?

One hot day, the water level was lower than
usual, and we were able to take a good look
at the creek bottom. There was enough broken
glass and jagged metal in there to do some
serious damage. As in, slicing your toes right
off your foot.

I don't know how we ever made it without killing
ourselves -- but after that, we started to wear
shoes when we went running.

If you do barbell and dumbbell training, and
you train indoors, wear shoes rather than
train barefoot. Shoes help support your feet,
and when you're lifting a heavy weight you
have a lot of weight on your feet. So wear
shoes.

Also, shoes help avoid nasty accidents
involving your toe nails.

I remember how we used to like to go barefoot
in wrestling practice. I'm not sure why, but we
did.

One day, the coach sat us down and told us a
story about a kid he knew many years earlier.

The kid liked to go barefoot in wrestling
practice.

One day, he caught his big toe on the mat -- and
ripped the toe nail right off.

Apparently, there was a lot of pain, a lot of
yelling, and a lot of blood.

When the coach finished the story, he said we
could take five minutes and go back up to the
locker room and put on our shoes -- if we
wanted to.

Five minutes later, everyone was wearing shoes.

If you think about it, most sports have their own
kind of shoe.

Soccer shoes.

Tennis shoes.

Basketball shoes.

Wrestling shoes.

Track shoes.

Football shoes.

There's a reason for that.

There's also a reason to wear shoes when
you do strength training.

Sp wear shoes when you train. It works a
heck of a lot better that way.

Now -- what about the OL shoes. Do you need
them?

Well, that depends on a couple of things --
and we're out of room -- so we'll cover them
tomorrow. Be looking for it.

As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a good
one.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. My new Dinosaur Trainign course is selling
like hot-cakes -- and we're getting rave reviews
from readers. Go here to grab the little monster:

Hard-copy edition:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle e-book edition:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the day: "Pay attention to your
feet and your shoes.  Your feet support your weight 
and a lot of iron when you're training." -- Brooks
Kubik

******************************************