Performance Β· Strength training Β· 7 min read By Delaney β Minnemals
Walk into any gym and look down. You'll see rack after rack of people squatting and deadlifting in big, soft running shoes - HOKAs, On Clouds, whatever's cushioned and comfortable or that they run in. It makes sense on the surface. If soft feels good for walking, it should feel good for lifting, right?
It's actually backwards. The exact thing that makes a running shoe comfortable, a thick, squishy midsole, is the thing working against you the moment you load a barbell. If you're serious about getting stronger, your footwear on the platform matters more than almost anyone realizes. Here's what's really happening under your feet, and why barefoot shoes are one of the simplest upgrades you can make to your training.
The problem with lifting on a cushion
Think about what a soft midsole is designed to do: compress. That's its whole job: absorb force so your joints don't have to. Wonderful for a morning run. A disaster under a heavy squat.
When you drive up out of the bottom of a lift, you want every bit of force you produce to travel from your foot into the floor and back into the bar. A cushioned sole leaks that force. The foam compresses and inhibits your brain from feeling what's happening at the foot. You're essentially trying to lift heavy while standing on a mattress.
That instability doesn't just cost you power. It costs you balance, and balance under load is where a lot of technique breaks down.
What barefoot shoes change
A true barefoot shoe does three things a cushioned trainer can't:
It gives you a flat, stable base. No foam to compress, no wobble. The force you generate goes straight into the ground with nothing absorbing it along the way. For most lifters, this alone is a noticeable difference the first time they try it. The lift just feels more solid.
It reconnects you to the floor. Your feet are packed with sensory receptors that tell your brain where you are in space. A thin, flexible sole lets that information through. You can feel your weight distribute across your foot, grip the floor with your toes, and make tiny real-time adjustments to your position. Thick foam mutes all of that. More information from the ground means better movement, and better movement means better lifts.
Deadlifts: barefoot wins, plainly
If there's one lift where the case is airtight, it's the deadlift. You want maximum ground connection, maximum stability, and the shortest possible range of motion. A flat, thin, stable sole delivers all three. That's why you'll see so many strong pullers deadlift barefoot or in a minimal shoe: it improves force transfer, engages the glutes and hamstrings more effectively, and keeps you planted through the whole pull.
A barefoot shoe gets you all of that benefit plus a grippy, protective sole so you're not standing on a public gym floor in your slippery socks.
Squats: mostly yes, with one honest caveat
Here's where I'll give you the nuance most brands skip, because it matters.
For squats, a flat, stable barefoot base is excellent, if you have the ankle mobility to use it. Squatting flat-footed lets you sit into a strong, grounded position and drive evenly through the whole foot.
But if your ankles are stiff and you struggle to hit depth without your heels lifting or your torso pitching forward, a slightly raised heel (the kind you get in a dedicated weightlifting shoe) can help you reach a better position by giving you artificial ankle range. It's a legitimate tool.
Barefoot shoes are the better long-term answer, because that same flat base is building the ankle and foot mobility that stiffness is preventing. But if you're deep in a heavy squat cycle and your ankles aren't there yet, it's completely reasonable to squat in a raised-heel shoe and use barefoot shoes for your deadlifts, accessory work, and daily training while your mobility catches up.Β
How to make the switch (without wrecking a training block)
If you've spent years lifting in cushioned shoes, your feet and calves have adapted to that support. Don't go from zero to a max-effort barefoot deadlift day one. Ease in:
- Start by wearing barefoot shoes for your warm-ups and lighter accessory work, then let them into your main lifts as your feet adapt.
- Expect some calf and foot soreness early on - that's muscle waking up, not injury. Sharp pain means back off.
- Keep your old shoes around for the transition if you need them. This isn't all-or-nothing.
- If you're also new to barefoot shoes outside the gym, follow a gradual break-in rather than switching everything at once. We wrote a full transition guide here.
Give it a few weeks. Most lifters find that once they've felt what a stable, connected base does for their pulls, going back to lifting on foam feels like trying to squat on a pillow.
Barefoot shoes are a training tool, not medical advice. If you're returning from a foot or ankle injury, transition under the guidance of a professional who knows your history.