What's in a Chuck?

[Jr_Geezer]

Looking to get shoes but not quite ready (for a few reasons) to spend the $100-plus on a pair of Adidas, Nike or other “real” weightlifting shoe. I know Chucks are popular here so I went to try on a pair. Honestly, I could not tell the difference stiffness and support-wise between the Chuck’s and my Asics sneakers. Bouncing and putting pressure on the heel of both shoes felt just as stiff. I haven’t tried on a pair of weightlifting shoes yet and I imagine there will be a noticeable difference there but I’m wondering if Chuck’s are even worth buying as a stop-gap measure before investing in proper shoes. What exactly do Chuck’s offer over other sneakers?
Thanks.

-Rob

[Simon Rest]

depends on the sneaker. running shoes with a lot of bounce and flex, or air pockets, or gel pockets etc are no good. They wriggle around and compress.

Flat soled sneakers like chucks, or tigers, or vans are all pretty much the same.

I started squatting in a pair of $5 plimsoles I got from a local shop

[Levon_Xidyn]

I would think its
1. Their flat
2. They may be slightly less cushioned than some other shoes.

[Joe Murphy]

Chucks are relatively flat and don't compress, much, anyway. Some here squat in them; I do. I doubt I'll ever want/need/buy real lifting shoes, I'm so familiar with Chucks. I think it was Dana, a strong mofo, who posted about ripping the insole out of Chuck's. That seemed extreme, but he's a strong mofo.

[Coconut Chris]

High-top chucks are nice because you can lace them up tightly and they can get pretty tight up to the ankle. The sole is squishy, but you won't know what squishy means until you get a non-squishy olympic shoe.

The side support and flatness is much inferior to my Adipowers. I find that the difference in sole height (and my ankles being more flexible than my hips) leads me to prefer the chucks for deadlifts (especially sumo). Everything else, I use Adipowers, which provides much superior fore-aft stability. But this is mostly irrelevant for deadlifting, since the bar only comes off the floor in one way.

I wouldn't "invest" in a pair of chucks as a pair of gym shoes, only buy them if you will wear them otherwise. I use my chucks as a general pair of shoes and just make sure not to wear them when it's rainy, and they've lived pretty well.

[PackMule]

80% lean 20% fat

[scwot]

Bouncing and putting pressure on the heel of both shoes felt just as stiff

Try it with a 400lb bar on your back and see if you think the same

[Dave Paauwe]

What exactly do Chuck’s offer over other sneakers?

In the gym chucks identify you as a serious lifter. Outside the gym they're just cool.

Also, they are inexpensive.

[Tom Campitelli]

Au contraire. Wearing these in the gym identifies you as a serious lifter:

[silachoo]

Those allow you to keep the weight directly over the midfoot due to increased proprioceptive feedback from the mound under the midfoot.