Lifting Gear | What to Wear and What NOT to Wear!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

In our first video in the "Lifting Gear" series, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers quickly dives into what to wear as well as what not to wear when it comes to training clothes.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 01/16/23)

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What’s in Your Gym Bag? A Quick & Dirty Guide to Personal Lifting Gear

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

What gear should you have in your gym bag (or at home) when it’s time to train? Let’s dive in, and we’ll provide plenty of additional resources for each item along the way.

Heads up - the last item in this article is the most important, so keep reading.

Lifting Shoes
Lifting shoes have a rigid, non-compressible sole, a slightly elevated heel, and one or two metatarsal straps. They provide an extremely solid base of support and therefore permit efficient force transfer between you and the floor.

Big deal. Big. Huge.

For a more in-depth treatment of lifting shoes and the rationale for using them, click on the article below or watch the included video.

LIFTING SHOES: The Complete Guide to the Best and WORST Shoes! (Lifting Gear Series)

A number of manufacturers make quality lifting shoes - Nike, Do-Win, Inov-8, and Adidas are just a few of the more well-known brands. Below are some of the shoe recommendations and links we usually send to new members as a starting point for shopping:

Note: I would not recommend the Adidas Powerlift or any other lifting shoe with a compressed foam sole. The Powerlift is fairly popular due to its price point and is certainly still better than non-lifting shoe options, but the sole is not as rigid as we’d like, and quite simply, there are better options (such as its sibling, the Adidas Adipower 3).

A final note - Chuck Taylors are not lifting shoes. They are squishy and therefore provide lousy force transfer between you and the floor. Walk in Chucks. Don’t lift in Chucks.

Lifting Belt
A quality lifting belt helps you provide rigidity and stability when lifting. As a result, it allows you to have efficient force transfer from the things generating force in a given lift all the way to the barbell - e.g., transferring force from the hips and the legs in the squat through your rigid midsection (i.e., trunk) up to the barbell sitting on your back.

Some people can use a belt with a 4” width, and some people need a 3” belt (or even a 2.5” belt). For more information on belt widths as well as everything else belt-related, check out the article below or watch the included video.

LIFTING BELTS: The Complete Guide and What NOT to Get! (Lifting Gear Series)

A quality belt will last years - possibly your entire training career - so invest in a good one. With this in mind, here are a few belt options we typically recommend:

Knee Sleeves
Most people will come to appreciate and benefit from knee sleeves at some point in their lifting careers. They provide warmth and compression to the knees (specifically for squatting), and your knees will probably appreciate this greatly.

Sleeves are typically made of neoprene and most often come in 5 mm or 7 mm thicknesses. Skip the 5 mm option and go with the 7 mm sleeves.

For a more in-depth treatment on knee sleeves, check out the article below or watch the included video.

KNEE SLEEVES: The Complete Guide and the BEST Way to Put Them On (Lifting Gear Series)

Below are a few solid options for sleeves that we commonly recommend to our members:

Wrist Wraps
Wrist wraps (or simply “wraps”) provide support for your wrists, come in pairs, and each wrap typically includes a thumb loop at one end, the elastic body of the wrap, and then a velcro closure system at the other end of the wrap.

Since wraps provide stability to the wrist joint, they are very useful for pressing movements (e.g., press and bench press) and are also sometimes used when snatching, cleaning, or jerking.

For more information on wrist wraps, check out the article below or watch the included video.

WRIST WRAPS: The Complete Guide and How NOT to Put Them On! (Lifting Gear Series)

18” and 24” are the most common lengths, and here are some solid options:

Lifting Straps
Straps (not to be confused with wraps) are very useful for pulling movements such as deadlifts, rows, and possibly even snatches (don’t ever use them for cleans - it’s a good way to break a wrist).

When you start training, perform all of your deadlift work sets with either a hook grip or a mixed grip (and chalk, of course). Over time, however, you’ll find that straps can be a useful tool when training the pulls.

You can easily make your own straps in about 2 minutes, and we cover that in the video below (these are the straps that I use and that we make for our members).

If you prefer to buy your straps instead of making them yourself, IronMind provides some good options:

Here’s a quick video that covers how to use straps:

A final note on straps - don’t purchase or use cloth straps. They will eventually tear, and it will inevitably happen at a very unfortunate moment.

Fractional Plates
You’ll want to make smaller jumps on the press and the bench press over time, i.e., smaller than the typical 5 lb jump permitted by two 2.5 lb plates. Females and older lifters will also want to make smaller jumps on the squat and deadlift, and such increments are also useful for the Olympic lifts. 

With this in mind, get yourself a set of fractional plates. We cover this more in the video below:

We have several sets of the 44Sport fractional plates (click here) at Testify, and they are used daily. They are a solid option, but there are many other choices out there as well.

Chalk
If you train, use chalk. Chalk absorbs the natural moisture and oils of your hands (and that of whatever doofus used the bar before you at the commercial gym) so that you have better friction - much better friction - between you and the barbell.

If you deadlift without chalk, stop kidding yourself. You’re not training - you’re just wasting time in the gym.

If your gym doesn’t provide chalk, bring your own. If your gym doesn’t allow chalk, sneak it in anyway or find another gym. It’s that important. The difference between chalk and no-chalk on your deadlift may well be over 100 lb.

We use Spider Chalk (click here) at Testify as the blocks are very dense and remain intact longer than other brands. If you need to be sneaky about your chalk use, I’d recommend liquid chalk (click here).

Training Log
Your training log is your most important piece of equipment.

Everything else - shoes, belt, wraps, barbell, etc. - can be replaced, but your training log contains your personal training history. It’s the one thing that can’t be replaced.

Because your log contains your history and thus where you’ve been (in the training sense), it’s also the guide to where you want to go.

A simple composition notebook will serve you very well (click here), and below are two articles and a video to get you started on properly keeping a training log.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

  • Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

  • Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

  • Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

  • Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

  • Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

LIFTING SHOES: The Complete Guide to the Best and WORST Shoes! (Lifting Gear Series)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Lifting shoes - what they are, why you want to use them, what to look for, where to find them, and stick around to the end - why lifting in Chucks just might be the worst possible decision you could ever make.

Be sure to check out the included videos as they also cover some additional material not included in this article.

This is the fifth article in our “Lifting Gear” series. Click below to read the previous articles in the series:

What is a Lifting Shoe?
A lifting shoe is a shoe that has been - not surprisingly - specifically designed for lifting. To be clear, it’s not just a shoe that you happen to use for lifting. A lifting shoe has three distinguishing features, and it will look similar to the shoes in Figure 1.

The 3 Features of Lifting Shoes (and Why You Want to Wear Them)
The first distinguishing feature is the metatarsal strap(s). Every lifting shoe will have one or two velcro straps - these function to gather the foot together, provide support, and they act as a sort of belt for the foot.

Second, a lifting shoe will have a slightly elevated heel. Usually, the heel height is somewhere between a half inch and three quarters of an inch, and this small amount of heel elevation gets a bit more quad involved in the squat (and deadlift) and also helps with achieving depth in the squat. People often mistakenly focus on the heel as the most important feature, but that award goes to the next and final aspect of a lifting shoe.

Third - and this is the most important feature of a lifting shoe - a lifting shoe will have a rigid, non-compressible sole. When lifting heavy weights - whether squatting, pressing, deadlifting, snatching, cleaning, etc. - you want efficient force transfer between you and the floor. Specifically, you don’t want any loss of force transfer brought about by the variable amount of compressibility (i.e., “squishiness”) found in running shoes, basketball shoes, casual shoes, Chuck Taylors, etc.

figure 2: with 525 lb on his back, nathan appreciates the rigidity and support provided by his lifting shoes.

You can certainly train in non-lifting shoes, and doing so is far better than not lifting at all, but once you’ve trained in lifting shoes, lifting in anything else will feel like standing on pillows by comparison. Again, the non-compressible sole is the most important feature.

What to Look For When Shopping
Several major shoe makers as well as a few specialty companies manufacture and sell lifting shoes. To name a few, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Inov-8, Do-Win, and VS Athletics all make quality lifting shoes.

You’ll usually need to purchase lifting shoes online as most local shoe and sporting goods stores do not have them. Do not trust a salesman’s recommendation . . . ever. He is simply recommending a shoe that he thinks would be good for lifting - he’s not recommending a lifting shoe, which is what you actually want.

You’re simply looking for a quality shoe that has been specifically designed for lifting, so it should possess the three features listed previously. With this in mind, below are a few links to get you started on your shopping:

Note: I would not recommend the Adidas Powerlift or any other lifting shoe with a compressed foam sole. The Powerlift is fairly popular due to its price point and is certainly still better than non-lifting shoe options, but the sole is not as rigid as we’d like, and quite simply, there are better options (such as its sibling, the Adidas Adipower 3).

For Crying Out Loud, Don’t Do This . . .
Chucks are the shoes for people who started to think about lifting shoes but never completed the thought.

Don’t lift in Chuck Taylors. Ever.

figure 3: Chucks are great for little kids and casual wear. They are pretty lousy for lifting.

Typically, those who lift in Chucks do so simply because they’ve seen others do so, which is understandable given the popularity of wearing Chucks for lifting in the 1980s and 1990s. There is rarely ever an actual rationale given for training in Chucks, but when there is, it usually goes something along the lines of “Since it doesn’t have an elevated heel, it’s lower to the ground than a lifting shoe, so I don’t have to pull my deadlifts as far when I wear Chucks.”

Under minimal scrutiny, however, this logic doesn’t hold up. The heel of a lifting shoe isn’t that big, but if you want to deadlift in a “flat” (i.e., a flat shoe with minimal elevation), then you want your feet as close to the ground as possible, and a Chuck is therefore a terrible option since it has a significant amount of padding and cushion between the foot and the ground.

Several companies make a deadlift-specific lifting shoe for those who prefer to pull in flats, and if you’re interested, you can check out the Sabo Deadlift Pro as an example of this sort of shoe (you’ll note that, like a typical lifting shoe, it too has a metatarsal strap). Even wrestling shoes or barefoot-style shoes such as the Inov-8 Bare XF 210 provide better low-profile options (though not as good as the Sabo) than a Chuck.

On one hand, if you’re looking for a flat, low-profile shoe for deadlifting, the Chuck puts a lot of squishy material between your foot and the floor, so it’s terrible in that sense. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a rigid, non-compressible sole, that same cushioning again makes the Chuck a lousy choice for lifting. If purchasing lifting shoes isn’t in someone’s budget at the moment, there are plenty of men’s dress shoes, work boots, and hiking shoes that all make better options than Chucks.

How Important Are Lifting Shoes?
After your training log, your lifting shoes are your second most important piece of personal training equipment, and if you purchase a quality pair, they should last for years. I’ve trained in my Nike Romaleos for 7 years and counting at this point (to be clear, I have the Romaleo 2, which Nike doesn’t make anymore, but here is the current version - the Romaleo 4), so they were easily worth the money.

While you can train in other shoes, (and again, doing so is far better than not lifting at all), there are some very compelling reasons to train in lifting shoes. Runners wear running shoes, basketball players wear basketball shoes, so lifters wearing lifting shoes shouldn’t surprise us.

Get yourself a quality pair of lifting shoes, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?

Lifting Gear: What to Wear and What NOT to Wear!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

The topic of what to wear when training seems rather straightforward at first - you just put on a shirt, put on some shoes, probably put on some shorts as well, and you're good to go, right?

Not so fast. There’s a host of potential bad decisions to be made here, so let’s briefly (get it?) address a few considerations to help you train more effectively.

This is the first article in our “Lifting Gear” series, so be sure to check back in the coming weeks for future articles in the series.

Shirts
Whether you choose a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, or a sweatshirt, they’re all fine, but the big takeaway here is cotton. Cotton is your best friend when it comes to training, and specifically, you don’t want a technical shirt, which is the type of shirt made from moisture-wicking material.

Tech shirts are great for running, playing basketball, etc., but they are terrible for lifting because the material itself tends to be rather slick. You want excellent friction between you and the barbell when squatting and cleaning, and you again want significant friction between you and the bench when bench pressing, and a tech shirt is simply awful in this regard. Wear cotton.

Additionally, if you’re squatting, benching, cleaning, or jerking (perhaps pressing as well), don’t wear a tank top. Humans are sweaty and oily when they train, and you don’t want your sweaty, oily, and therefore slick shoulders in contact with the bar or the bench when you train. Friction is important, so don’t wear a tank top. Unless you’re performing curls - tank tops are then, of course, mandatory.

Pants
Sweatpants, shorts, leggings - all of these are acceptable. You do, of course, want to make sure they allow you to move freely and don’t bind up on you, so if you’re wearing shorts, don’t wear shorts so long that they come to or below your knees. Shorts of this length tend to bind up at the knees when squatting (and should be reserved for 14-year-old male basketball players anyway), so they’re a bad choice.

the power diaper - Eat your heart out, people.

With that said, if your shorts are long, you can either roll them up a bit at the waistband or hike them up like I do and embrace the “power diaper” look (Figure 1). Granted, my shorts aren’t actually that long - I simply prefer the power diaper.

Socks
For the most part, any pair of athletic socks will do when training. The length of the sock doesn’t matter . . . unless you’re deadlifting, snatching, or cleaning. When pulling from the floor, you want to keep the bar as close as possible, but you also don’t want to nick your shins with the bar. Shins bleed easily, so I recommend wearing long socks if you’re not already wearing sweatpants or leggings.

By “long socks,” I mean over-the-calf-just-below-the-knee long socks. Don’t skimp here - once you’ve caught your shin with the bar, bled, and developed a scab, it’s extremely easy to break that scab open again during subsequent training sessions, and as a result, you won’t be as efficient at keeping the bar close to you (it might be a subconscious effect, but it’s a real effect, nonetheless).

Shoes
Wear lifting shoes. The most important feature of a lifting shoe is the rigid, nondeformable sole, which is extremely useful and efficient for force transfer. Regular shoes are great for walking and running but terrible for lifting - they are squishy and akin to lifting while standing on pillows. We have several videos that cover lifting shoes in depth, and I’d recommend watching one of those for more information.

Also, don’t lift in Chuck Taylors. A Chuck Taylor is not a lifting shoe. A Chuck Taylor is the shoe for someone who started thinking about lifting shoes but never completed the thought. Don’t lift in your squishy Chucks - you’re better than that.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?

The WORST Lifting Shoe? Why You Should NEVER Lift in Chuck Taylors!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Your lifting shoes should support your training, not hinder it. With this in mind, we take a look at the classic Converse Chuck Taylor and see how it holds up as a lifting shoe candidate.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/09/22)

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.

Lifting Shoes: What and Why

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 12/31/21)

What are lifting shoes, and why should you use them? We’re going to cover the 3 features of a lifting shoe, why lifting shoes are beneficial, and we’ll also touch on what not to buy.

Feature #1: Sole
The first and most important feature of a lifting shoe is its rigid, non-compressible sole. This helps with force transfer, which is rather important when lifting heavy weights.

If you're going to squat, press, or clean-and-jerk in running shoes, you’ll find that doing so is similar to trying to do those while standing on a pillow - comfy on the feet, of course, but also rather silly. We would like to have a very rigid surface on which to lift so that we have efficient force transfer between us and the floor. A lifting shoe provides this. A regular shoe does not. 

Feature #2: Metatarsal Strap(s)
The second feature of a lifting shoe is either one or two metatarsal straps. These straps provide lateral support as well as arch support, and the presence of both types of support provide yet another reason why a regular shoe is not as good of an option as an actual lifting shoe.

To a certain extent, the metatarsal strap(s) will also prevent the foot from sliding forward, which is a nice feature to have when performing something like a split jerk.

Feature #3: Heel
The third feature you’ll notice on a lifting shoe is the slightly raised heel. Typically, a heel height somewhere between ½ inch and ¾ inch will work nicely. Some Olympic lifters may prefer a slightly taller heel, but this range serves most people quite well. The heel gets a little more quad involvement in the lift and also makes depth in the squat easier to achieve.

These 3 features will give you an idea of what to look for when you’re shopping for lifting shoes. A number of manufacturers make quality lifting shoes - Nike, Do-Win, Inov-8, and Adidas are just a few of the more well-known brands. Below are some of the shoe recommendations and links we usually send to new members as a starting point for shopping:

If you’re going to lift, wear lifting shoes. Runners wear running shoes, basketball players wear basketball shoes, and lifters wear lifting shoes. Once you’ve trained in lifting shoes, trying to lift in regular shoes (tennis shoes, running shoes, etc.) will feel like lifting while standing on a pillow.

Finally, a note on lifting in Chuck Taylors. Just . . . don’t. Chucks are the lifting shoe for people who started to think about lifting shoes but never completed the thought. They don’t have a rigid sole, they don’t provide any arch or lateral support, and they don’t have an elevated heel, so they fail all of the criteria listed above. For those who prefer to lift in a non-heeled shoe, there are options out there that provide a far more rigid sole, and for those who want to deadlift in an extremely low-profile (i.e., close to the ground) shoe, there are options out there that are far more low-profile.

Can you lift in Chucks? Of course you can. If LeBron James wore running shoes, he could still play basketball, and he would certainly still beat me in a game of 1-on-1 . . . but he chooses to play in basketball shoes. I recommend that you choose to lift in lifting shoes.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?