 Let's talk about what kind of footwear you should use in deadlifts Well, first one I want to talk about is being barefoot. That's kind of my favorite, right? So you don't usually need a whole lot of ankle mobility to get down to a good deadlifting position You don't usually need your knees to bend so much, right? So there's not always a reason that I need a whole lot of heel support Generally, you get a lot out of removing the interference between your heel and the ground and it allows you to feel more stable in the ground and you can push through those muscles that are associated with your heels those hamstrings and those glutes, which we know are really big movers for your deadlift Okay, so barefoot does that. It increases this connectivity with the ground and that's one thing that that sensation is really important, but you also have just this sturdiness, right? So physically, if I'm wearing a soft cushy sole, I can compress it a little bit more and if I'm compressing it, some of my energy is dampening and that, depending on the structure of the shoe, could be directed in one direction or another especially if they're old, right? If they're old and they sit into my normal wear pattern, they're just going to reinforce that normal wear pattern so I might not want to do it that way. Honestly, barefoot is kind of optimal, maybe with socks because places are disgusting, gyms are disgusting and you probably want to not get too much athlete's foot while you're doing all this or give everyone else your own athlete's foot, I guess. Second option, let's talk about something else, maybe something with a little bit more cushion maybe looks more like a walking shoe, it supports your heel really well like the heel of the shoe is really stable, it doesn't collapse in, like these shoes do it doesn't collapse in, maybe A6, those generally fit this mold, right? They bend in the toe, they're the types of shoes that you've heard me recommend for day-to-day activities Those can be good for deadlifting, especially if you have trouble feeling stuff especially hypermobile people. I'm kind of back and forth between deadlifting in shoes like that and deadlifting barefoot. If you're weird about putting barefoot on the ground then definitely do the A6 thing. There is a little bit of cushion there and it can interfere with some things but the idea is that with these shoes they're sturdy and so they don't collapse and they don't bias in one direction or the other like old shoes do and like something like a Nike Free or a Vans shoe might do. We'll get to the Vans, let's just say Nike Free. Those are the ones that are really cushiony, they're really light, they flip really well, they bend in all sorts of directions and they twist and everything. They don't provide any support, they're just floating on marshmallows while you're deadlifting. Those I would highly recommend you avoid. Those shoes again can be good for giving you the sensations that you need. If you have high arches they help you feel your arch. They're not supporting your ankle but they are giving it a sensation of where it is in space. The flat, firm ground, the concrete asphalt, whatever that we walk on is not very natural, normally ground is grassy, it is dirty, it's got rocks in it and it's not level. It's a little bit more forgiving. Our feet are made to work with that more but we've paved everything now. Shoes actually do make sense. You don't need to be barefoot all the time especially if you've grown up wearing shoes. Your foot's probably not ready to just go into being barefoot and running a couple miles. That's a good way to get shin splints. If you are going to do that, progress slowly. But this video isn't about running. Deadlifting. We talked about barefoot. We talked about the ASIC type shoes with the sturdy heel. I think I said everything that I want to say about that. I did mention the Nike freeze. I would say that's kind of a no-no. I would avoid those. Those are probably not your best idea here. And then I mentioned the vans. So vans and chuck tailors. What's going on there? Those are a good way to get a nice flat sole. There's not a whole lot of cushion. Not a whole lot of interference. And it's kind of like deadlifting barefoot in the ground. But allowing you to feel that heel and not dissipating that force. Not pushing you, biasing you in one direction or the other. So those things are pretty good. What I kind of don't like is I tend to notice people deadlifting in vans. And every time they do, their ankles collapse in. Like this. To me, that's just because that foot has no idea where it is in space. Even though it's got little interference between the heel and the ground, you know. It's not supporting. It still has this tension on the top of the foot, on the outsides of the foot. And it doesn't support the arch of the foot. And therefore the heel bone doesn't know where it's at. And it can't find that foot position that it needs to be sturdy. And to access the big prime mover hamstring, glute muscles that we need for deadlifting. So I, you know, I've done it for years in chuck tailors. And I love them because they're cheap and they're sweet, right? Basketball shoes or something like that. Basketball shoes or something. But I'm kind of getting away from them. I don't really see the purpose. If you are going to put them on, you can make them a little bit looser so that they're not restricting your foot motion so much. And so that they're, it's a little bit more like being barefoot, where you're allowing your foot to have this mobility and provide its own stability, its own tension within the foot. But you're also protecting yourself from all the fungus that's on the ground. That's it. So chuck tailors to me fall in line with the minimalist kind of shoe. So I would group those together. Nike Freez are a no-no. Pretty much anything Nike makes is, I'm going to say garbage, but that could be proven wrong here in the future. But every time I've seen it, people are just, they're just so bad. Oh man. There was one guy I had who had Nike Freez and I bought him shoes because I couldn't fix it anymore. And he's so much better. It's great. I actually bought him Asics that I wear in all my other videos. So consider Asics the other category there. Or you know, some Brooks, some new balance shoes, say they have the same principle, right? The heel counter, the padding that's around the heel is really sturdy. The shoe, when you bend it, it bends in the toe, but not in the middle of the shoe. Those things generally help not only support your foot for deadlifting, but also for walking and everything. And they can give you that sensation that you need. You may want to look into talking to a podiatrist if you have really high arches or really flat feet. Somehow, if you have flat feet, you're going to need some structural support to hold those feet up. And if you have high arches, you're going to need some sort of cushioning there so that you can feel your arch, push through it, and access your glute muscles. And then the last little variation was deadlifting barefoot. I think that's kind of optimal if you can. Maybe you lay down a towel in the public gym and you stand on that towel. That could maybe work. As long as you don't slip, don't hurt yourself. Please be careful. Warm up slowly. Warm up with lightweight. Make sure you're safe. And only then do you unleash the monster. So if you have any other questions about shoes, I probably won't be able to get to any specific questions on specific types of shoes, but I've outlined some principles for you. So feel free to go to the store. Test them out. See if the heel counter is sturdy. See if the toe bends. See if the middle of the boot bends. See if they bias you in any one direction. And just see if they feel okay. If they don't feel okay, then you might not want to do that. Good luck.