Heeled weightlifting shoes interfering with deadlift form?

[Chiaki Nitya]

I used to pull in the Powerlifts, they're fine for deadlifting. The height at midfoot is about half an inch, which is not too high at all. I now pull in flat shoes, but only because the ones I use have a wider toe box, which I prefer to the rather narrow Adidas. I would go back to pulling in heeled shoes if they made some with a wider toe box.

[skypig]

Thanks Ryan for explaining - out of curiosity, why do you prefer a wider toebox? Wouldn't a narrower toebox be better for keeping the foot "together" and tight? Or maybe the wider toebox provides some additional stability that helps keep your foot locked in place, I dunno.

FYI, I ordered a half size up from my normal shoe size when I got my Adidas, to make sure that the shoe was roomy enough for my foot. That being said, the next time I lift, I'll pay attention to how the toebox area feels. It hasn't bothered me yet.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Thanks Ryan for explaining - out of curiosity, why do you prefer a wider toebox? Wouldn't a narrower toebox be better for keeping the foot "together" and tight? Or maybe the wider toebox provides some additional stability that helps keep your foot locked in place, I dunno.

Are you asking why a person with a wide foot -- D or EE width -- needs a wider shoe?

[tiny&mighty]

Good morning gentlemen,

To follow up on my previous post in this thread, here is an update on my recent cue & shoe experiment.

A week ago I incorporated the new lat cues to my deadlift session (2 triples at 227.5 lbs) while wearing my usual, flatter Sabo Deadlift shoes. I achieved a straight bar path and my back angle improved by about 50%, but on one rep, I clearly felt the weight shifting towards my heels at the top of the lift.

Yesterday, I did another deadlift session (2 triples at 230 lbs) and wore my heeled Sabo Powerlift shoes. Weight remained well-balanced over the mid foot, bar path was straight and my back angle improved a bit further (by another 10%).

I therefore conclude that, in my case, what I initially perceived as a footwear issue was always a bar path problem. Going full circle now as I keep working on my back angle. I can get a textbook back angle on a heavy sub-maximal deadlift, but whenever I reach PR territory (which has been happening on every deadlift session recently), my back rounds more than what seems acceptable and this annoys the crap out of me. I do not respond well to de-loads (perhaps because my lifts are light in absolute terms), so I think it is best to keep adding weight to my deadlift for as long as I can before I consider a mild reset to work on whatever back angle issues remain unaddressed at that point.

[Chiaki Nitya]

Thanks Ryan for explaining - out of curiosity, why do you prefer a wider toebox? Wouldn't a narrower toebox be better for keeping the foot "together" and tight? Or maybe the wider toebox provides some additional stability that helps keep your foot locked in place, I dunno.

FYI, I ordered a half size up from my normal shoe size when I got my Adidas, to make sure that the shoe was roomy enough for my foot. That being said, the next time I lift, I'll pay attention to how the toebox area feels. It hasn't bothered me yet.

Yeah, as Rip alluded to, I just have wide feet

[skypig]

Yeah, as Rip alluded to, I just have wide feet

Thanks - makes sense

Good morning gentlemen,

To follow up on my previous post in this thread, here is an update on my recent cue & shoe experiment.

A week ago I incorporated the new lat cues to my deadlift session (2 triples at 227.5 lbs) while wearing my usual, flatter Sabo Deadlift shoes. I achieved a straight bar path and my back angle improved by about 50%, but on one rep, I clearly felt the weight shifting towards my heels at the top of the lift.

Yesterday, I did another deadlift session (2 triples at 230 lbs) and wore my heeled Sabo Powerlift shoes. Weight remained well-balanced over the mid foot, bar path was straight and my back angle improved a bit further (by another 10%).

I therefore conclude that, in my case, what I initially perceived as a footwear issue was always a bar path problem. Going full circle now as I keep working on my back angle. I can get a textbook back angle on a heavy sub-maximal deadlift, but whenever I reach PR territory (which has been happening on every deadlift session recently), my back rounds more than what seems acceptable and this annoys the crap out of me. I do not respond well to de-loads (perhaps because my lifts are light in absolute terms), so I think it is best to keep adding weight to my deadlift for as long as I can before I consider a mild reset to work on whatever back angle issues remain unaddressed at that point.

Thanks for the update - sounds like you're back to wearing the heeled shoes. I'm also sticking with the heeled shoes for now, since I haven't felt any obvious "weight drift" towards either my heels or my toes, except if I forget to keep my arms/lats locked tight, or some other form error.

I'm also really glad that others on this forum (like yourself) have already run this circle, and basically come to the same conclusion: heeled lifting shoes shouldn't be a problem for deadlifting, under normal circumstances.

[tiny&mighty]

Yeah, as Rip alluded to, I just have wide feet

The Powerlifts were not wide enough for you? I find them just right for my wide, bunioned feet.

I'm also really glad that others on this forum (like yourself) have already run this circle

I really like this forum. I am getting a lot of good pointers from more experienced lifters. And I find the trolls very entertaining.