Whenever I achieve a PR I’m wearing them. Coincidence? I think not. Seriously, it’s got to be the shoes, and I’m not talking about Air Jordan’s…I’m talking about my trusty Converse.
The truth is, so many of my clients walk into my studio wearing the clunkiest and squishiest of footwear, and they’re probably tired of hearing me tell them to take their shoes off, but I say that with good reason. Plain and simple, if you want to get stronger, get more stable. And that goes for joints as well as footwear.
About 6 years ago, I saw a younger gentleman in the gym pressing heavy dumbbells over his head while standing on a BOSU ball. I went up to him and asked him what he was trying to do. He said, “work his shoulders and core.” I told him to ditch the BOSU ball as well as one of the dumbells and stand on one foot and press. “Wow!” he said. “Now you’re still training your core, but in a more stable way which allows you to increase your load more safely” I said. More technically, by converting his exercise into a contralateral one, (balancing on one foot and pressing with the opposite arm) I increased the demand of the lateral core stabilizing muscles as he fought to maintain good posture.
This mentality can be related to footwear as well. It makes sense to narrow down your focus when training just as it makes sense to wear the shoes that are going to help you get the job done. However, so many don’t give it any consideration. Remember the cross training sneaker? Good in theory I guess, but I don’t want to go for a personal record nor run a marathon in those, and that’s no different from “Bosu Bobby” fighting his battle of strength verse core training. Train to get strong, or train to challenge your core, but don’t give it a half-hearted approach. When it comes to lifting, the less between your foot and the floor, (preferably a harder surface) the better. My converse give me a strong anchored feeling against the wooden platform during my big lifts such as a deadlift or a squat, something I wouldn’t even think about doing in my Asics GT’s that have supported me through 5 marathons.
Today, footwear, or lack thereof continues to be a topic of discussion as we see lots of minimalist type footwear popping up with brands like Vibram and New Balance, for example. The problem is that humans have become reliant on shoes far too long to ditch them now. However, there’s something to say for proprioception, our bodies internal way of recognizing our positioning, posture, and equilibrium. Our feet need to feel the earth to report back to our brain what’s happening. Orthotics and clunky footwear have minimized essential parts of our natural biomechanics. For example, our toes are supposed to “grab the earth” as we walk, not angle upward as many sneakers appear to do. For this reason barefoot seems like the better way to go, and it may be if it weren’t for traction. Obviously we need more traction for more stability. This is especially true when you’re lifting heavy loads, and for that reason it will be me and my Chuck-T’s until death do us part.
“It’s all about the Shoes!” (featured on MH)
Whenever I achieve a PR I’m wearing them. Coincidence? I think not. Seriously, it’s got to be the shoes, and I’m not talking about Air Jordan’s…I’m talking about my trusty Converse.
The truth is, so many of my clients walk into my studio wearing the clunkiest and squishiest of footwear, and they’re probably tired of hearing me tell them to take their shoes off, but I say that with good reason. Plain and simple, if you want to get stronger, get more stable. And that goes for joints as well as footwear.
About 6 years ago, I saw a younger gentleman in the gym pressing heavy dumbbells over his head while standing on a BOSU ball. I went up to him and asked him what he was trying to do. He said, “work his shoulders and core.” I told him to ditch the BOSU ball as well as one of the dumbells and stand on one foot and press. “Wow!” he said. “Now you’re still training your core, but in a more stable way which allows you to increase your load more safely” I said. More technically, by converting his exercise into a contralateral one, (balancing on one foot and pressing with the opposite arm) I increased the demand of the lateral core stabilizing muscles as he fought to maintain good posture.
This mentality can be related to footwear as well. It makes sense to narrow down your focus when training just as it makes sense to wear the shoes that are going to help you get the job done. However, so many don’t give it any consideration. Remember the cross training sneaker? Good in theory I guess, but I don’t want to go for a personal record nor run a marathon in those, and that’s no different from “Bosu Bobby” fighting his battle of strength verse core training. Train to get strong, or train to challenge your core, but don’t give it a half-hearted approach. When it comes to lifting, the less between your foot and the floor, (preferably a harder surface) the better. My converse give me a strong anchored feeling against the wooden platform during my big lifts such as a deadlift or a squat, something I wouldn’t even think about doing in my Asics GT’s that have supported me through 5 marathons.
Today, footwear, or lack thereof continues to be a topic of discussion as we see lots of minimalist type footwear popping up with brands like Vibram and New Balance, for example. The problem is that humans have become reliant on shoes far too long to ditch them now. However, there’s something to say for proprioception, our bodies internal way of recognizing our positioning, posture, and equilibrium. Our feet need to feel the earth to report back to our brain what’s happening. Orthotics and clunky footwear have minimized essential parts of our natural biomechanics. For example, our toes are supposed to “grab the earth” as we walk, not angle upward as many sneakers appear to do. For this reason barefoot seems like the better way to go, and it may be if it weren’t for traction. Obviously we need more traction for more stability. This is especially true when you’re lifting heavy loads, and for that reason it will be me and my Chuck-T’s until death do us part.