Lifting & Weightlifting Shoes 101: Science-Backed Benefits, Drawbacks & Buyer’s Guide

You’ve got your program dialed in, your protein shake ready to go, and your favorite hype playlist blasting.

But are you still squatting in your marshmallow-soft running shoes?

Swapping them out for lifting shoes can help you squat 3.3° deeper and cut forward lean by 2.2 cm, almost a full inch, at the same load.

In this article, you’ll learn all you need to know about weightlifting shoes: what they are, how they can help you lift with more stability, what to look for when buying, and more.

You’ll also learn what they don’t do and who won’t get much benefit from using them.

Let’s get you properly shod for serious lifting.

What Are Lifting Shoes?

A lifting shoe is an athletic shoe designed to improve performance, form, and posture in exercises like squats and Olympic lifts.

Unlike your cushy running shoes, which absorb impact, they have a non-compressible sole, a raised heel, and straps that lock your foot into place.

Weightlifting shoes have several benefits. They help you maintain an upright posture, make it easier to get into a deep squat position, and give you a more stable connection to the floor.

I admit to lifting in good old running shoes myself for decades, so I can say from personal experience that there is a noticeable, positive difference when you put on a pair of proper squat shoes.

The Research Behind Weightlifting Shoes

Do squat shoes, Olympic lifting footwear, or just a higher heel, really improve your performance, and if that’s the case, how do they work?

Researchers have been chipping away at those question since 2012.

Here’s a rundown of the major studies published since. I’ll start with a summary of the science, and then you’ll find easy-to-understand breakdowns after.

Note: Several smaller papers looking at wedges, symmetry, and foot pressure echo these same patterns but add little new, so I’ll skip them here to keep things reasonably brief.

Prefer the quick take? Jump to the colored summary box below.

A Timeline of Key Studies

Year	What they tested	Key finding
2012	Barbell squat, 25 college lifters, 60% 1RM, Weightlifting (WL) shoes vs. running shoes.	Lifting shoes allow lifters to stay more upright, lean forward less (2.2 cm/0.87 inches), and activate the quads more.1
2015	Barbell squat, 14 trained men, 70% 1RM, barefoot vs. running vs. WL shoes.	Running shoes (yes) allowed the deepest squat and the best muscle activation overall. Most preferred squatting barefoot. 2
2017	Barbell squat, 32 men and women (experienced and unexperienced), wooden bar & 75% 1RM, WL shoes vs. athletic shoes.	WL shoes allowed for a deeper squat (3.3° more knee flexion) and more stability. The experienced group benefitted far more than the novices. 3
2021 review	14 studies pooled.	Consensus: you stay more upright, bend your ankles less, and shift more load to the knees when you squat in WL shoes than in running shoes or barefoot. A wedge under the heels works almost the same as shoes.4
2022	In-sole study, high-bar squat, 20 experienced men & women, 70% 1RM, 0–25 mm heel-lift inserts, EMG.	Every extra millimeter shifted the load more from the hips to the quads. Men saw a bigger knee-force jump than women. 5
2025 network meta-analysis	Barbell squat, 14 studies ranked heel heights.	~2.5 cm (~1 inch) proved the sweet spot for front-to-back stability. Very low or higher heels wobbled side-to-side more.6
2025	Barbell squat, high-level athletes, ≥2× body weight loads (50%, 70%, and 90% of 3RM).	WL shoes boosted stability, especially with heavy weights, and improved control, body alignment, and force transfer.7

What the Results Mean for You

That’s a lot of science. Here’s what it means in plain language.

1. Help You Stay More Upright

One of the most consistent findings in almost every study is that lifting shoes help you keep your chest more upright when you squat.

That’s because in heel-elevated squats, your ankle is already bent forward a few degrees, and your hips don’t have to drift backward as far to keep the bar over your mid-foot.

The result is that you don’t have to counterbalance by leaning forward.

2. Shift Work to Your Knees and Quads

With your feet tilted, your knees will naturally travel further forward over your toes.

To stand back up from this position, your quadriceps have to work harder to extend your knees. Lifting shoes make squats a bit more quad dominant.

At the same time, your hips and back muscles work slightly less.

And if you’ve heard the advice, “Never let your knees go past your toes,” don’t worry.

Knees over toes is how you’re supposed to squat. It doesn’t harm your knees and is a good thing for quad activation.

Keeping your knees behind your toes decreases the load on your knees by a measly (and largely irrelevant) 22% but increases the load on your lower back by 1,000%. And loads your quads less.⁸

3. Make You More Stable

Several studies find that lifters sway less side-to-side when they wear lifting shoes.

A solid, flat base helps you keep your balance, especially if you’re squatting a heavy weight, and straps keep your feet in position in your shoes.

You’ll feel more locked in and secure and maintain balance and control more easily.

4. Help More If You Are Experienced

Novices and trained lifters both benefit from lifting shoes but experienced lifters a little more so.

Studies show that they use the shoes to squat a little deeper and more efficiently.

Beginners still benefit, but the effect is smaller. Probably because they’re still learning how to squat with good technique, shoes or no shoes.

So, lifting shoes won’t automatically fix bad form, but they can give skilled lifters an edge.

5. Heel Height Matters (But More Isn’t Always Better)

Some studies compared different heel heights, from flat to over 4 cm (1.57 inches).

The sweet spot for most lifters seems to be about ~2–2.5 cm (around 0.75–1 inch).

Going too much higher can actually make your balance worse.

However, if your ankles are very tight or you’re taller than average, a higher heel might help. But for most people, standard weightlifting shoes do the trick.

6. No Big Changes to Muscle Activation

Most research shows only small to medium shifts in which muscles work harder when you switch from running shoes or barefoot squats to lifting-shoes squats. Nothing drastic.

Your body position changes, but electrical signals in the muscles that show how much they activate usually go up or down by just 5–20% of their maximum. And different studies sometimes find opposite directions for those changes.

In other words, all muscles involved still work hard. It’s the distribution of force that changes a bit.

Drawbacks of Weightlifting Shoes

Those are almost all pretty neat benefits.

But before you rush out and drop a couple hundred bucks, let’s consider the flip side. Lifting shoes do come with a few drawbacks as well.

Drawback	What to keep in mind
Can mask mobility deficits	The elevated heel that helps you squat nice and deep can also mask underlying mobility issues in your ankles or hips. It can still be a good idea to work on your mobility separately and not over-rely on your shoes.
Not ideal for every lift	While they’re called “lifting” shoes, they are not ideal for all lifts. When you deadlift, for example, you want to be as close to the floor as possible. Many people deadlift in flat-soled shoes or even just socks, with research showing that shoes make the lift harder.9 Some do like the stability of a lifting shoe, so it mostly comes down to personal preferences.
Alters muscle emphasis	When your knees travel forward, you lift more with your quads and less with your posterior chain (your butt, hamstrings, and lower back). That is not a bad thing in and of itself. It might be exactly what you want. But it is something to be aware of if your goal is to build strength in your hips and glutes.
Pricey	Good lifting shoes aren’t cheap. They’re a specialty item, and the price tag reflects that. They can run $60–$100 for basic models up to $250 or more for premium variants. That can be a significant drawback if you’re just starting or on a budget.
Single-purpose	Lifting shoes are great for… well, lifting, specifically squats and Olympic lifts. However, they’re clunky and impractical for pretty much anything else in the gym. Don’t even think about hopping on the treadmill or doing a round of burpees in these things. You’ll want to bring a second pair of shoes for the rest of your workout.
Heavy & clunky	Lifting shoes are heavy and built like tanks compared to most other athletic footwear. That’s great for stability but not so great for anything else. Heavier isn’t bad; the extra mass often comes from a denser heel and beefier upper that add stability. But you’ll notice if you superset or move around the gym a lot.
Adjustment period	Switching to a pair of rigid lifting shoes can feel weird if you are used to your comfy trainers. You might even feel a bit weaker at first because the mechanics are different, and your body is used to compensating. So expect some learning period.

What to Look for When Buying Lifting Shoes

So you’ve decided to graduate from your squishy running shoes or smelly socks and get a proper set of shoes for your lifting sessions.

The problem is that buying weightlifting shoes can be like walking into a hardware store for the first time. Everything looks important, but you have no idea what it does.

Here’s what matters when you’re buying a pair of lifters.

The Heel

According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, most weightlifting shoes have a heel height of 18 to 20 millimeters or around .75 inches.

From there and up to an inch is the sweet spot for a big range of lifters and a good starting point.

• If you have long legs, a higher heel (≥2.54 cm/1 inch) gives you more room to get your knees forward and keep your chest up. It’s especially good if you do high-bar squats and Olympic lifting (snatches, clean & jerks).
• With short legs, above-average mobility, or if you primarily low-bar squat, you might get away with less elevation (around/1.52 cm/0.6 inches).

As for the material, you want something completely solid and non-compressible. TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) heels are the modern standard, but wood heels are just as effective.

Choosing between the two is an aesthetic and “feel” choice. Don’t get too hung up on it. Both options will serve you well for years. Just avoid anything that feels remotely squishy.

The Sole

The sole is your connection to the floor.

You want that connection to be like bedrock so that you transfer the force you drive into the floor directly into moving the barbell.

Soft soles, like running shoes have, absorb that force. It’s like trying to lift something heavy while standing on a trampoline.

The sole should be stiff. If you can bend the shoe in half easily, it’s not a good lifting shoe.

As for the outsole, you want good rigidity and grip. Look for a full-rubber one with good traction patterns that prevent your feet from sliding during a lift on wood or rubber platforms.

You want to feel glued to the floor.

Fit

Your lifting shoes should fit like a pair of gloves, but for your feet. Any movement inside the shoe means less stability.

They should be snug throughout, from heel to toe, and feel tighter than a running shoe. Not painfully tight or make your feet tingle, but your foot shouldn’t slide inside.

A quick test is to stand straight and try to rock side-to-side. You want little to no roll. And if you walk or squat, your heel shouldn’t lift up in the shoe.

You do want a toe box that allows you to spread your toes out a little. Splaying your toes is a natural way to create more stability for your body.

Materials and Durability

What your lifting shoes are made of determines if they’ll survive a training year and how comfortable they are.

I suggest most lifters go for a rigid TPU-heeled model with a rip-stop or synthetic leather upper. You get both great stability and durability.

Budget models that use EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) foam are fine for learning technique but plan to upgrade once the heel begins to compress.

There are also new hybrids that combine a carbon-fiber plate with either TPU or wood to stiffen the entire footbed and make the shoe lighter. They look nice, but are pricey and add little measurable benefit for most lifters.

Also, keep an eye out for perforated leather or mesh panels. They are great for ventilation and keep your feet comfortable and cool. However, every hole is a structural weakness, so unless you train in the tropics, prioritize durability over airflow.

Do Lifting Shoes Prevent Injuries?

If you go to any webshop selling weightlifting shoes, you’ll likely see claims that their products reduce the risk of injury when lifting.

I just checked before writing this, and almost all the major brands do this.

But do they really lower the risk of injury?

Lifting shoes change how you move and the loads acting on your joints and muscles.

But different doesn’t automatically mean safer.

So far, there is not a single study that shows that wearing lifting shoes leads to a statistically significant lower incidence of injury compared to not wearing them.

Forward-Lean Example

Let’s take the forward lean as an example.

The logic goes:

• If lifting shoes reduce the amount of forward lean and stress on the spine (which they do according to the studies we looked at earlier)…
• and excessive stress on the lumbar spine is a known cause of injury (which clinical evidence tells us is true)…
• then it is logical to assume that lifting shoes reduce that risk factor.

However, the only study that looked directly at this possible connection found no meaningful reduction and concluded that the shoes were “unlikely to provide significant protection against back injuries.”¹⁰

Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting are already low-injury sports (~3 injuries per 1,000 hours of lifting), and a 2024 systematic review found no footwear-related or posture-based risk factors reported in the 17 studies it analysed.¹¹

Changes in the Spinal Flexion Debate

Fifteen years ago, experts were much more certain that particular movements increased the risk of injury, but I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.

Anything other than a perfectly flat, neutral spine was considered lifting heresy. The fear was that a rounded back was a one-way ticket to a disc hernia or other injury.

That idea was largely based on studies done on, get this, pig spines in a lab that were bent back and forth until they failed.

Here’s the thing: you are not a pig spine in a lab.

Current research suggests that lumbar spine rounding during lifting is not a risk factor for lower back pain.¹²

The current thinking, backed by a growing number of experts and a closer look at the research, is that some degree of spinal flexion (rounding) is not only inevitable but can also be safe or even a benefit.

What looks like “bad form” on one person might be their strongest and most natural pattern.

So, is it possible that lifting shoes reduce the risk of injury?

Yes, it is. But there is very little data to support definite claims.

They can clean up movement faults that themselves might raise injury risk, but they are not any kind of insurance against getting hurt.

Possible Trade-Off: Higher Knee Loads

By the way, the injury theory also works the other way around.

With lifting shoes, knee flexion and patellofemoral compressive force increase. The 2017 study I mentioned reported a ~12 % higher knee-extensor moment with shoes on.

But again, there is no evidence that the extra load on your knees is harmful unless it actually makes your knees feel worse.

To avoid injuries, you want to expose your body to a sensibly increasing load over time and use a technique that lets you do so in the most efficient way.

And yes, lifting shoes can be a useful part of that process. But there is no guarantee that they prevent injuries.

Are Lifting Shoes Worth the Money?

So, are lifting shoes worth it?

Short answer: it depends. Not everyone needs to rush out and buy a pair.

But they are a good investment for the right person and the right lifts.

Who Benefits the Most?

A pair of quality weightlifting shows can make a big difference for certain lifters. For some, they are even essential.

• Competitive Olympic weightlifters & CrossFit athletes: Competition rules permit and expect them.
• Powerlifters: Lifting shoes can be a massive asset in the squat. If you low-bar, ultra-wide-stance squat, you might get away without them.
• Lifters with reduced ankle mobility: They let you train the squat pattern hard while you rehab or work on fixable mobility issues (or accept your anatomical limits).
• Tall lifters: Raising your heels counteracts the leverage that pushes your hips back.
• Bodybuilders who squat and want bigger legs: Lifting shoes shift some of the work from the glutes and hips to your quads.
• Anyone serious about squatting: If you squat regularly and want to improve your form and depth, lifting shoes can help.

Who Won’t See Much Value

Dedicated lifting shoes can be very useful for many, but for others, there are better things to buy first, or they can even be downright a poor choice.

• For noncompetitive powerlifters who focus on deadlifts and only squat once a week, lifting shoes might be unnecessary. They add range to the deadlift and may pitch you forward. Lifting shoes will still benefit your squat, but you have to decide if they are worth the price, and you’d have to lug around two pairs.
• For the casual gymgoer, it’s also a “maybe.” If your squat depth is limited by ankle mobility or you feel unstable in your current shoes, they could be worth your money. But they might be overkill for anything but heavy barbell work, especially if you don’t have excessive amounts of cash lying around.
• If you’re new to lifting, you can probably hold off for a bit. Focus on learning the movements first. It’s still not a good idea to train in running shoes, but a pair of flat-soled shoes like Converse or Vans works fine and is cheaper.
• For cardio and agility work, weightlifting shoes are a big no-no. They are terrible for running, jumping, or most other dynamic movements that aren’t a heavy lift. You’ll feel like you have bricks on your feet.

Quick Kitchen-Test

Stand on a 2–3 cm (0.8 to 1.2 inches) plate and squat.

If you immediately drop deeper or feel steadier, odds are a lifting shoe will benefit you.

If nothing changes, spend the money elsewhere.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lifting Shoes

Final Rep

Can you lift in squishy running shoes?

Sure you can. Millions of people have and do, and they are still with us. They probably got good results from their training, too.

But the right footwear can give you the stability you might not even realize you were missing.

At the end of the day, whether you go for classic lifting shoes, flat-soled sneakers, or even a pair of socks is less important (unless you’re a competitive lifter).

But moving beyond those beat-up trainers you’ve had since college and into a tool that will actively help you lift with more stability can be a good idea.

Last reviewed: 2025-07-04

References

1. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Jan;26(1):28-33. Kinematic changes using weightlifting shoes on barbell back squat.
2. Eur J Sport Sci. 2015;15(7):583-90. The influence of different footwear on 3-D kinematics and muscle activation during the barbell back squat in males.
3. J Sports Sci. 2017 Mar;35(5):508-515. The effect of weightlifting shoes on the kinetics and kinematics of the back squat.
4. J Biomech Eng. 2021 Sep 1;143(9):090801. Footwear and Elevated Heel Influence on Barbell Back Squat: A Review.
5. Bioengineering (Basel). 2022 Jul 8;9(7):301. Effect of Heel Lift Insoles on Lower Extremity Muscle Activation and Joint Work during Barbell Squats.
6. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 2471. The Influence of Different Heel Heights on Squatting Stability: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.
7. Footwear Science, Volume 17, 2025. Effect of weightlifting shoes on stability during barbell squat in high intensity cross training athletes.
8. J Strength Cond Res. 2003 Nov;17(4):629-33. Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat.
9. Sports (Basel). 2021 Feb 11;9(2):27. Footwear Affects Conventional and Sumo Deadlift Performance.
10. J Strength Cond Res. 2019 Mar;33(3):606-614. Heel-Raised Foot Posture Does Not Affect Trunk and Lower Extremity Biomechanics During a Barbell Back Squat in Recreational Weight lifters.
11. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2024 Dec 4;10(4):e001884. Injuries in weightlifting and powerlifting: an updated systematic review.
12. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2020 Mar;50(3):121-130. To Flex or Not to Flex? Is There a Relationship Between Lumbar Spine Flexion During Lifting and Low Back Pain? A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis.