I wear a flat bottom gym boot (like these) for both squatting a deadlifting. For strongman movement events like sandbags or farmers I just wear a regular pair of runners (sneakers if you are from over the pond). 50 this year but lucky enough to have no issues with mobility and can hit a deep squat without the need for an elevated heel. A lot of gyms down here (Oz) don’t like you training in bare feet, not sure if it is a safety or hygiene reason.
Liability issues. Allowing no shoes implicitly says that the management believes foot injuries are of no concern.
you could be right, but given we have plates in the gym that are 50kg (110 lbs) I am not sure a light gym shoe is going to help much if you drop it on your foot. LOL
What I have experienced is hurriedly pulling off a 45lb plate without noticing that there was a 10lb plate outside the 45lb plate. That 10lb plate just missed my foot.
Yes I have done this too, its amazing how quickly you can pull you foot back with a little motivation
I’ve had a couple of close calls dropping plates when fatigued, but still choose to live dangerously.
When I was a trainer I had clients hold the 2.5 lb weight plates in their armpits while doing curls to prevent cheating so they didn’t do ego lifting. So of course someone had to try to show off, one plate slipped out, and the client fractured a toe.
He showed you!
I wear Hobibear shoes. They are a “barefoot” style shoe. They have a wide toe box. I first started with toe shoes. Not a fan. I wear shoes when I leg press. But that is all usually.
The Xeros are great, especially when you want a barefoot shoe that looks normal. I’m all in on the barefoot movement and have been for more than 10 years. I’ve even got the barefoot dress shoes. I firmly belief it has helped with my knee issues.
This is interesting. I always went barefoot or wore flipflops, but then had to wear orthodics for a while, due to an infection, and started to feel knee pain after a couple weeks.
Not to get too far off topic, but most knee issues are caused by hip or ankle/foot problems. In my case I had both problems, including trash ankle mobility. Modern shoes with a heel (and dress shoes in particular) can contribute to poor ankle mobility. Ditching all my shoes that had a heel and going with minimalist shoes has helped improve my ankle mobility.
This is also very interesting to me. Was there a “breaking in” period where your knees got any worse while your feet/ ankles improved?
No breaking in period for my knees, but definitely one for my feet and calves. I was not doing any running or anything like that, but just daily walking initially took a toll on my feet.
For the committed barefoot fetishers here:
I’ve been squatting barefoot at home for a while. Feels way more stable and gets my calves working harder. Definitely wouldn’t go heavy without good grip on the floor though. You rocking Vibrams or just sockless? 
Interesting how barefoot training can impact proprioception - a key focus in Physical Education & Exercise Science.
You might not believe a guy who has lifted in Vibrams for a decade, but feet don’t really do anything for me at all. Just like ears.
I’m not entirely committed to them, but I do occasionally wear Vibrams in public. Other than the constant judgmental gazes of strangers, I just don’t see any downside to them. It seems like walking barefoot or in minimalist footwear is as natural as anything.
I actually didn’t notice any soreness when I began lifting in them. When I started power walking hills and hiking with them I noticed new muscles firing for sure. I think the little bit of forced toe splay in the vibrams was responsible for that.
I’m going to assume that the conclusion of the 150 minute podcast was that I’m a primal genius for wearing Vibrams, unlike the fully-shod and easily-fooled general public.
Lol. Bro Science for the win.
Speaking of Primal, the title of Primal Genius is already taken. Before I became #PeterAttiaCultMember and listened to most of that podcast, I bought and tried a pair of Peluva shoes (Vibram idea but expressed as a sneaker) -hated the feel and now they’re collecting dust. I mostly tried it because I thought it would magically make me look like the originator of Primal himself, Mark Sisson, when I become a septuagenarian.
Seriously, he wrote the book The Primal Footprint, started Primal Kitchen. and is master of all things primal lol.
