Deadlifting in Oly Shoes?

[Notorious]

I finally bought some lifting shoes, and I LOVE what they have done for my squat. These are the ones I got: http://www.vsathletics.com/product.p...6e341e8d661c4b

Today, however, I wore them for the first time for deadlifts. I did my normal warm-up and then attempted my workset of 315x5. Last week I got 315x3. Today, it wouldn't budge. Couldn't even get one rep of the floor. I lowered the weight to 295 and proceeded to do 1 very hard rep.

From what I understand, the heel makes you use more legs during the deadlift, and legs are definitely my weak point (squats are 195x5 right now). Should I drastically lower the weight and continue to deadlift in these, or should I wear the old Chucks I used to wear?

Thanks

[Mark Rippetoe]

Something is wrong with your form, because WL shoes help everybody else deadlift better. I'll bet you pushed the bar forward due to the higher heel. Keep the bar in position, get your ass higher, and try it again.

[XTrainer]

Maybe I made the same form mistake, but I experienced the same problem. I definitely feel better pulling in Chucks.

[Locutus]

Something is wrong with your form, because WL shoes help everybody else deadlift better. I'll bet you pushed the bar forward due to the higher heel.

How high are the heels on the WL shoes your lifters typically use?

I tried for months to deadlift in oly shoes to no avail. My deadlift barely stayed ahead of my squat during this period. The bar would swing noticeably away from my shin after it left the ground. After I was having trouble deadlifting a deloaded weight (308ish), I decided to try barefoot. It was much easier and a few weeks later my deads and squats were separated by a decent margin.

The reason I ask about the heels is that the heels on my VS Athletics are 3.09cm (I had them cut down from the old 4.2cm ones), and current VS Athletics have 3.2cm heels. However, I remember from a previous post that the shoes you used in your PLer days had something like a 5/8" (1.59cm) heel.

[ronin0352]

On a very similar note:
Coach, I've only tried DL once in mine because I felt like it was throwing my balance off and I was going to fall forward. Is this due to the same problem you think, pushing the bar forward? I went back to DL in my wrestling shoes after that one effort?

[Notorious]

Nope, definitely bar is definitely in contact with my body throughout the entire motion. But you're probably right that something is/was wrong with my form. I just can't figure out what the hell it is. Or could it be something to do with the larger ROM due to the heel?

I did 275x5 yesterday, with the shoes. It was as hard as my deadlift sets normally are. I guess I'll just go up in weight from here. I don't really mind; as long as its hard and I'm going up in weight, it's gotta be doing something, right?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Let me clarify: those of you with WL shoes with extremely high heels like the several versions of DoWins floating around under several different names will have trouble deadlifting in them. The heels are so high that the bar literally cannot be pulled from a position over the middle of the foot. These shoes are not usable for DLing, and they'll need to be cut down to about 5/8" heels. When they are, they work much better than CTs or barefoot, because a little heel helps with the use of the quads off the floor. Locutus of Borg remembers correctly.

[JakePatrick]

This thread offers me an opportunity to post about something I've wanted to say for a few weeks.

A while back there was a thread about the heel height of the Rogue Do-Wins, and I claimed that the heels on mine seemed too tall, as did a few other members of this forum. I've changed my opinion. After taking some time to practice technique on squats and deadlifts, I'm doing both much more efficiently in these shoes. I just wasn't accustomed to the shoe.

That's all. I rescind my previous comment, and I can attest that the Rogue Do-Win heel height is fantastic for pushing, pulling, and squatting.

[XTrainer]

I have Adidas Adistars, and while I have never owned another pair of Oly shoes, I think their heels are lower than most. Yet, I still hate deadlifting in them (I do, however, like cleaning in them).

Does this betray a particular form problem that I should address? Or are there simply far too many factors to hazard a guess?

[Duke309]

So the new VS athletic shoes with the smaller heel still have too high of a heel for deadlifting? The vs athletic ones are made by the same people that make the do wins right?

I seem to be able to deadlift pretty well in them, although I had to lower the weight a little.