A Guide to Finding the best CrossFit Shoes
So you just signed up for your first class of CrossFit and I bet you are now wondering what are the best shoes for the Job? Well to be honest there is no definitive shoe but there is one recurring theme you will hear from athletes who have been doing CrossFit for a while: If you're wearing typical running shoes… Stop wearing them!
Running Shoes are not ideal for CrossFit
Running Shoes are not ideal for CrossFit
Running shoes create instability, primarily laterally, in the ankles. Running in a straight line for miles is a linear physical motion and that's when a well designed "Running" shoe makes sense. CrossFit is certainly not a linear activity! We zig, we zag, jump, sprint, crawl, climb and lift heavy stuff.
Let's Talk about lifting Heavy Stuff
Olympic weightlifting is a vital aspect of CrossFit. Weightlifting is a very specialized sport and requires specific shoes. It's unlikely that you are going to be able to complete a WOD (Workout of the Day) purely wearing your Oly shoes, so you're going to need a shoe which can do double duty.
Olympic weightlifting is a vital aspect of CrossFit. Weightlifting is a very specialized sport and requires specific shoes. It's unlikely that you are going to be able to complete a WOD (Workout of the Day) purely wearing your Oly shoes, so you're going to need a shoe which can do double duty.
Fancy shoes with huge squishy gel like heels make athletes put their weight forward, not back into their heels. If you have ever been involved in Olympic style weightlifting you will know that the first thing you are taught is to put your weight over your heels NOT the front of your foot.
Most importantly you don't need be doing Olympic lifts on a soft unstable base - think overhead squats whilst standing on your bed… dumb move, right?
In the world of CrossFit it's got to be the flat, think floor contact, typically the thinner and flatter the sole the better. This allows you to get significantly greater sense of the ground, have you tried to complete 250 box jumps as fast as possible and then immediately afterwards knock out 50 heavy push presses? If you have never done this, trust me you'll need know what is going on under your feet!
Lets Wrap thing up
The perfect CrossFit shoe is a minimalist shoe, lightweight, strong construction and flat soled. It should certainly have a neutral or nearly-neutral drop between heel and toe, 0mm to 8mm is perfect. ('Drop' is the difference between heel hight and toe height). Most traditional trainer shoes average a 12mm or more drop.
The perfect CrossFit shoe is a minimalist shoe, lightweight, strong construction and flat soled. It should certainly have a neutral or nearly-neutral drop between heel and toe, 0mm to 8mm is perfect. ('Drop' is the difference between heel hight and toe height). Most traditional trainer shoes average a 12mm or more drop.
For the latest CrossFit Shoe News and Reviews visit: BestCrossFitShoes.com
This allows you to get significantly greater sense of the ground, crossfit shoes
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