This has already been discussed ad nauseum for the past 15 years on this board, and in the book. Do what you want to do.
So shoes. I got the Do-win classic lifters in 12. Problem is, they still aren’t wide enough, my flippers are eee. Over the last 3 years I’ve kinda developed a condition called metatarsalgia, likely from snowboarding in boots that are too narrow. That problem is fixed, found hikers and snowboarding boots in extra wide sizes. But the lifts are painful, I can probably manage because I’m only in them for a couple hours. But to get to the point, picked up Strong Enough, and in there Rip goes into shoes, and in reading it, maybe I missed something, but it seems like mostly the concern is damaging your feet on splinters or dropping something on them. Absent anything like that, is there a reason not to lift barefoot that directly affects the lifts?
This has already been discussed ad nauseum for the past 15 years on this board, and in the book. Do what you want to do.
Any body else here with EEE feet? Not really looking for permission to lift barefoot, that’s a last resort. I’m looking for lifters that actually fit EEE.
Or, lifters that have a full leather upper, so I can punch the toe box. No Bull might have what I need, but they are hard to get info from to be sure.
Sorry, don’t know at the moment, but I did measure them the night I realized what the problem was and they were EEE for size 12.
I’ll measure again to be sure
You might want to consider taking a pair of shoes that do fit you and have a cobbler put new soles on them. They could manufacture the desired lift for the heal and balance it all out. Here in the NYC area we pay about $100 to $150 for new soles and heals, your area may vary. There will likely be some additional cost for the extra materials. But maybe the cobbler would take it on as a fun project.
God damn, that is a nice paddle you keep in your shoes. Mine is 5 inches wide but my size is 14-15. I use those shoes:
Shoes
Handmade, leather and wood with a special design developed over 50 years of experience in making weightlifitng shoes. I have been in this guy workshop twice - he knows his craft. Very comfortable for wide feet. I can wear a very thick sock in them and stil have no problem. A pair of those cost 90 USD + shipping.
I'm right there with you, 4 1/2" wide, but on a size 9 1/2. Hobbit feet. Frog flippers. Wide. When I had some work boots custom made, they took volume into account and built them to FF (same width, but deeper forefoot). ETA - Yes, I do know that it's their form code, but talking to them, they don't get many orders that use that form. BTW, these are all-leather boots that took me ~200 hours of wear, starting at 20 minutes/day and progressively lengthening the time until they were broke in appropriately for me to wear without worrying about backups. -edit
Having said that, I'm in the Do-Wins - 9.5s. Before I ordered them, I had read that for wide feet it was best to size up, but I didn't. Yeah, they really sucked at first and I was getting out of them as fast as I could after my squats. Gradually I started keeping them on for other lifts as they relaxed. Now, after two years of use, they stay on for everything throughout the workout, and I eventually get around to taking them off post-workout as I'm more focused on getting some food in me, which is upstairs in the kitchen. ETA - That wasn't a solid two years to break them in to this level. I got them in September, 2019 and wore them for the next few months. Then 2020 happened and I didn't get back in them until October
I know that's not helpful right now, but stick with them. All of the research I did back in 2019, the DoWins were our best bet. That is, until Rip gets his SS shoes in production (assuming that they can make wides).
Last edited by Bill Anders; 08-26-2021 at 07:59 PM. Reason: clarification on break-in periods for both shoes