New Rules of Shoes for Lifting
I love my running shoes (I run in an awesome pink and dark grey pair of New Balance 760s, which have sadly been discontinued), but they're not right for a weight training based exercise regime. Firstly, because running shoes, in my eyes, should be used for running and running only - they don't need to get bent out of shape with heavy weights and things like that. Also, when weight lifting you want your heels to be firmly grounded to the floor - this gives you a better centre of gravity and for me, helps me to feel more connected and stable. Ideally, this means you're looking for a shoe with a pretty flat sole and not very much in the way of cushioning and support (which my running shoes have an abundance of, as I'm a heel-striking, over-prontating, weak ankled mess).
New Balance Minimus Trail Shoe
.JPG "New Balance Minimus")
I spent a lot of time drooling over Cross-fit blogs and finally decided on the New Balance Minimus 10 Trail - it has a 4mm drop (which means it's got a teeny tiny bit of a heel) and a fierce vibram sole to give excellent grip. The shoe itself is incredibly lightweight, which is another bonus - I don't want to be carting around a really heavy gym bag as my job involves me doing a lot of walking and I don't have an office to store my things in. It's made of a breathable, minimalist upper, which is treated with ACTEVA+ - an antimicrobial treatment that reduces odor, so hopefully they'll stay smelling fresh too!
They truly are things of beauty and come in a wide range of colour combinations. Another great thing about New Balance is that they make half sizes - I went for a 7.5 and it's a perfect fit.
I picked up mine from Amazon pretty cheap - it's worth searching around to work out which colour combination you fancy as that, and your size, can affect how much you pay. I recommend the trail version because the Vibram sole is an excellent addition for weight lifting, but there's also a running version and a 0mm version of both the running and trail shoe if you're so inclined.
Questions:
Do you have different shoes for different work out?
What do you think about barefoot shoes? Have you ever tried them?
Hi Emily! for some reason your blog disappeared from my bloglovin account, so I've only just rediscovered it! I tried commenting on your post yesterday, but it wouldn't let me! I started doing NRLFW around last September, and got to about level 2 before it kind of dwindled. My gym didn't have all of the equipment so it was a bit difficult, but I plan on going through the book again and just trying individual exercises so that I can do them if an when the equipment is available: I got to a pretty small gym!
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