Adidas shoes w/1.25" heel vs Rogue shoes w/0.75" heel

[Alex Beasley]

Which one would you choose if you were doing deadlifts and low bar back squats as your main compound movements? I own the Adidas shoes, but I can't help feeling the relatively high heel throws me off balance slightly, chucking me forwards, and am toying with the idea of getting some Rogue shoes due to the lower heel.

Is this a reasonable thing to consider or am I overthinking it? Does half an inch make a big difference?

[Daniel Frankel]

Originally Posted by Alex Beasley

Which one would you choose if you were doing deadlifts and low bar back squats as your main compound movements? I own the Adidas shoes, but I can't help feeling the relatively high heel throws me off balance slightly, chucking me forwards, and am toying with the idea of getting some Rogue shoes due to the lower heel.

Is this a reasonable thing to consider or am I overthinking it? Does half an inch make a big difference?

Personally, I don't feel that OLY shoes have much benefit for deadlifts. Before I explain, everyone's different, and some people on this board feel very strongly about using them for it. The deadlift is mainly a posterior msucle movement, and oly shoes allow more of an anterior muscular engagement in a movement, which is why they are used for cleans/front squat in a clean (allows for more weight lifted, essentially).

This being said, why turn a posterior movement (deadlift) into an anterior movement?

My explanation may be kind of sketchy, so anyone please correct me if anything I said was wrong.

[Nalin Prabhu]

I would use the flattest/ thinnest soled shoes you have for DLs- a 1" heel= an extra 1" you have to move the weight.

For the LBBS- something with a flat sole that gives some ankle stability would be idea (hi top chucks?)

Just my $0.02.

[Bryan Weingart]

I would never do deads in oly shoes, unless I was a competitive oly lifter who was doing clean style pulls

Just pull in your socks. If you are doing a powerlifting meet, then get some deadlift slippers for the meet. It isn't just the extra distance of the pull (which is part of it) but oly shoes would make it harder to stay back towards your heels


A lot of great raw squatters who squat low bar still use oly shoes, but I am willing to bet they are the 0.75" heeled models.

[Andrew Bell]

I'm kind of the opposite of Bryan, as I do everything in oly shoes. Of course in full disclosure I do tend to lean towards the oly lifts as a specialty.

[Michael Loucas]

Originally Posted by Daniel Frankel

Personally, I don't feel that OLY shoes have much benefit for deadlifts. Before I explain, everyone's different, and some people on this board feel very strongly about using them for it. The deadlift is mainly a posterior msucle movement, and oly shoes allow more of an anterior muscular engagement in a movement, which is why they are used for cleans/front squat in a clean (allows for more weight lifted, essentially).

This being said, why turn a posterior movement (deadlift) into an anterior movement?

My explanation may be kind of sketchy, so anyone please correct me if anything I said was wrong.

I deadlift with my Rogue Do-Wins, and I definitely feel more powerful. The added stability from the shoes definitely help, as well as the heel.

If anything, I'd think the added anterior engagement would actually assist and negate disadvantage of the extra height off the floor.

Any time more muscle mass is involved you should be able to move more weight, and also get stronger faster. The heel's highest point is 0.75, but the middle of the foot where all the force transfer goes isn't 0.75, its probably going to be half or about 0.366667" off the floor.

[Alex Beasley]

So would you guys recommend going for the Rogue shoes, considering how I'm not doing any Olympic lifts, and Do-Wins, which are made for O-lifts, have a .75" heel as well? (Seems that the Adidas shoes are for extreme O-lifters or something)

[Michael Loucas]

Originally Posted by Alex Beasley

So would you guys recommend going for the Rogue shoes, considering how I'm not doing any Olympic lifts, and Do-Wins, which are made for O-lifts, have a .75" heel as well? (Seems that the Adidas shoes are for extreme O-lifters or something)

Yes, I'd recommend a shoe with .75".

[Dan Kreeley]

Low bar squats and deads are both posterior chain dominate movements - go with a low heel or no elevation at all if possible. Find a shoe that is really supportive (not chucks - despite their fans, the canvas uppers are not supportive enough) but flat with a zero-drop sole.

Since these are power lifting exercises, why not get a power boot from Inzer or Safe USA?

[Zach S]

Which adidas shoes have a 1.25 heel? Thought they were .75.