I have never worn a pair before and I would like to purchase them. I dont know which version to get (3, 5, 7), and any reviews would be greatly appreciated.
I’d start with the 7.0s. They are more like a normal shoe. The 5.0 are good too but a little “weirder” than the 7s. I have a pair of both and prefer the 7s although the 7s have a little tighter feel. 5s are good as a casual shoe.
For those that train in free’s, what do you recommend, the Free Trainer or Free?
I have a pair of Trail 5.0’s and they are, as mentioned above, great casual shoes, but they look kinda weird and they’re really too insubstantial to train in, imo. Wear the Free’s outside the gym or if you’re not training squat, dead or oly lifts.
I’ve even had trouble benching in them because they really don’t allow you to grip the floor like the old-school sole on the Chucks. I’ve snatched in mine too and they don’t work very well, although I do like to warm up in them and do pistols…
[quote]pretzelstix wrote:
I have never worn a pair before and I would like to purchase them. I dont know which version to get (3, 5, 7), and any reviews would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]
I have the 5.0 and I love them. I use them for lifting and like them much better than a traditional athletic shoe. I have a pair of chucks but have yet to try them in the gym…on my to do list.
I got the 7.0 trainers. Best shoe I have ever bought and will buy another pair!!!
I have a pair of 7.0 Trainers.
I like wearing them on bench days because they’re crazy comfortable.
I wear them once in a while during a squat/DL routine to change it up.
I have a pair of 5.0. Took some time getting used to - I made the mistake of wearing them right away for intervals/sprinting, with no transition period. Tendonitis city. Whatever you do, go gradual with them.
Now, they’re always on my feet whenever I’m in the gym.
Frees also got me into a natural (barefoot) running/sprinting kick. It took me a few months to build up to this. What a difference: plantar fascitis gone, lower legs/feet are freakin sinewy strong.
But it’s not easy sprinting barefoot all the time, and not easy finding an ideal surface here in Boston.
SO, I found out about these newfangled shoes that Vibram (the hiking sole company) makes, called Vibram Five Fingers. They are basically gloves for your feet. And they are AWESOME.
They’re a little weird looking though, so I haven’t gotten up the courage to wear them in the gym yet. But someday! I actually wish gyms would allow barefeet.
here they are: www.vibramfivefingers.com
Cheers!
I have a pair of the 5.0, loved them right out of the box. Didn’t have any problem with breaking them in or transition. Wore them last week wandering a museum for 7hrs and my feet, kness and hips felt great. Best shoes I ever had. Still wear Chucks in the gym for lifting but Free’s for everything else.
yeah, I think transition is only a problem with running/sprinting. They do align you better, very true.
My first pair of frees were the 5.0 Trainers as a present from my inlaws in Dec. 2005. I liked them a lot but felt they were just too ugly to wear on an everyday basis. This past Feb. I bought a pair of the Free Trainers 7.0 version 1 through nike ID and I wear these all the time.
I recently tried on a pair of the Free Trainers 7.0v2 and I wasn’t thrilled with them actually, I felt like they were a downgrade from the feel of the first version. The v2’s look better than the v1’s but that’s about it.
I went ahead and bought a pair of 7.0 Free’s specifically for running and not for in the
gym wear at all.
For heavy dl’ing and squatting I still prefer my wrestling shoes though.
Try them on. They are narrow and can be tight if you have wide feet, specially the trainers. I can’t tell you how 5 is I have 7 and love them although it can be hard running long distances in the beginning the heavier you are.
[quote]gainera2582 wrote:
I got the 7.0 trainers. Best shoe I have ever bought and will buy another pair!!![/quote]
There was a thread on this subject a while ago when I was going to try some Nike Free Trainers, 7.0. I was worried that my son and I were to big to lift and do plyometrics and sprints in them. (He weighs 250, I weigh 320.) They have held up well to some strenuous training and I reccommend them without reservation. I even got a pair just to kick around in.
7.0 trainers. Love 'em.
I wish I could afford to buy some of them Nike Frees… but with school about to start I have to save $$ (F***ing books!!!)
in the meantime I just wear flip-flops and socks when lifting at the gym. I take my flip-flops off and then lift. Its cheap!
Has anyone tried the Free 3.0 in the gym?
Seems like they would be closer to lifting barefoot than the 5.0 or the 7.0.
[quote]PharmD Pete wrote:
Has anyone tried the Free 3.0 in the gym?
Seems like they would be closer to lifting barefoot than the 5.0 or the 7.0.[/quote]
Yes, I’ve been wearing mine and I like them even better than the 5.0.
They’re the closest thing to going barefoot without risking getting kicked out of the club.
the 7.0 or 5.0…they are butter
I got the 7s but they haven’t come in the mail yet. The 3s look like girl shoes.
I think you should factor in how much you weigh. I tried on the 7.0s and 5.0s. I decided on the 7.0s because I weigh about 225 and felt I needed a bit more cushioning.
I didn’t like how the insole felt on my arches. So I discarded them and wore the shoes w/o them. I wore them for progressively longer periods over about a week until I was wearing them everyday, everywhere! These shoes feel so good on my feet.
More importantly, my feet, ankles and knees have gotten much stronger. I thought these were a gimmick until basketball performance enhancement specialist, Brian McCormick, recommended them (he’s usually spot-on).
I think these are a great investment. And I now subscribed to the idea that modern athletic shoes incorporate too much padding and restrictive binding to the detriment of the feet and ankles. I highly recommend these shoes.