Heel height research - wanted to share

[tfranc]

Here’s a short, previous thread that will provide some background.
https://startingstrength.com/resourc...el-height.html

I used to wear adidas powerlifts with a .6 inch foam heel. I have high arches and wide feet. They were fine shoes, except that they allowed my arch to collapse in such a way that would make keeping my knees out on squats much harder, and the heel wasn’t quite high enough to keep me from wanting to fall back in the squat (not placing total blame, but contributed because of my long femurs).

I actually found a pair of used .75 inch wooden-heeled rogue dowins, the older ones made out of leather and suede. The difference is like night and day. Much easier to keep knees out, much better arch support, higher heel so form is a bit better (again - longer femurs), much better lifting shoes in general. Hopefully this isn’t a waste of forum space, just wanted to help anyone who might need it in their shoe ventures.

[Michael Wolf]

I'm glad you found a shoe that works better - I generally don't recommend the powerlifts because of the squish in the heel and narrow build, but they're still a helluva lot better than sneakers.

But that said, I'm still a little skeptical that .15 inches of heel height made THAT big of a difference. Maybe it was the combo of higher heel, more rigid sole, wider build so your feet weren't squished and you could really push down through your whole foot, and maybe you also just fixed your form somewhat.

[Jennifer Williams]

I'm glad you found a shoe that works better - I generally don't recommend the powerlifts because of the squish in the heel and narrow build, but they're still a helluva lot better than sneakers.

But that said, I'm still a little skeptical that .15 inches of heel height made THAT big of a difference. Maybe it was the combo of higher heel, more rigid sole, wider build so your feet weren't squished and you could really push down through your whole foot, and maybe you also just fixed your form somewhat.

I recently bought some Nike Romaleos 3, and I was surprised by what a difference it
made in my ability to squat lower. I still think I have work to do, since I’m watching videos of strong female squatters they seem to go down much faster and probably get more of a rebound as a result. Anyhow, I bought a half a size too big, typical when you have a size 5 foot you get used to buying 6 (I like adult shoes after all). I’m realizing in sports you really need to buy shoes that fit your feet. 😬. I learned this snowboarding recently as well! 😱. So today, I hope to get my Reebok Legacy Lifters in a size five. We’ll see how that works out tomorrow! 🤗🤗 I’ll return the loser. The tongue on the Romaleos is pretty weak. That’s unacceptable for a $200.00 shoe. So I’m starting out with a bias.

[tfranc]

I'm glad you found a shoe that works better - I generally don't recommend the powerlifts because of the squish in the heel and narrow build, but they're still a helluva lot better than sneakers.

But that said, I'm still a little skeptical that .15 inches of heel height made THAT big of a difference. Maybe it was the combo of higher heel, more rigid sole, wider build so your feet weren't squished and you could really push down through your whole foot, and maybe you also just fixed your form somewhat.

Yeah. In hindsight I feel like I purchased far from the real thing. I didn’t notice it until I got up around the mid 300’s but the squish is definitely there, you’re right. And they are indeed stupidly narrow like all the other adidas. But they look cool lol.

Yeah for sure, I don’t mean to say they were a cure-all. Just, like you said, that it’s easier to follow the correct cues wearing them. That they’re “real” lifting shoes. Those are the ones you wear, right?