The Best Weightlifting Shoes Can Improve Your Power and Form—Here Are 13 Expert-Approved Picks

Good footwear stays comfortable while you’re strength training, but the best weightlifting shoes can actually improve your form and keep you safe during your workouts. Just like running shoes, these pairs have specialized features (like a stiff, sturdy base and a snug fit) to encourage proper body alignment during your exercises. Ultimately, they can help you feel more grounded and confident while you train.

We spoke to personal trainers and foot health experts to get more info on how to pick the pair that’s right for you. Then we tested some of the most popular weightlifting shoes to see if they really live up to the hype. Our favorites are firm, stable, and supportive, so you can focus on your reps—not your steps.

Our top picks

• Best Overall, Flat: Puma Fuse 3.0, $120
• Best Overall, Lifted: Adidas Powerlift 5 Weightlifting Shoes, $130 $91
• Runner-Up: Nobull Outwork, $149
• Best Budget: Converse All Star High Top Sneakers, $65
• Best for Beginners: On Cloudpulse, $150

We’ve selected the best weightlifting shoes for everyone from strength-training beginners to experienced pros. Read on to find your new go-to pair.

Best Overall, Flat: Puma Fuse 3.0

Meet the latest SELF Sneaker Award winner for weightlifting: Puma’s Fuse 3.0 has a firm, stable base that helped our testers feel grounded and a flexible sole that moved with them during lunges. “I don’t have to think about them when I’m lifting or worry about readjusting between sets,” one tester said. “The flat bottom helps me stay stable and really push through the ground for my bigger lifts, especially deadlifts, where you definitely don’t want any wobble.”

They added that, despite the shoe's firmness, their feet didn’t ache or feel tired by the end of their session. Once they pulled the diagonal laces taught, our tester also noticed that their foot stayed put inside the shoe, with zero heel slippage. As far as we’re concerned, when it comes to a flat weightlifting shoe, the Fuse 3.0 is as good as it gets (and it’s pretty cute too).

Best Overall, Lifted: Adidas Powerlift 5 Weightlifting Shoes

This Adidas powerlifting shoe is surprisingly lightweight, thanks in part to the breathable mesh panels on its upper. It’s designed to fit securely, with a set of laces and a midsole strap working together to hold your foot in place. And the rubber outsole is extra grippy—because the last thing you need to be thinking about is slipping when you have a barbell on your back.

Runner-Up: Nobull Outwork

Nobull comes highly recommended by Future app trainers Tiffany Thompson, an NASM-certified personal trainer, and Lauren Powell, PhD, CSCS. This bestseller from the brand is built for stability, with a minimal heel lift and a rubber outsole for extra grip. Its durable upper is abrasion-resistant and protective, so your feet will stay safe (and your shoes will last a while).

Best Budget: Converse All Star High Top Sneakers

In addition to its retro appeal (and good price point), the Chuck Taylor High Top has endured as a go-to gym shoe for its minimal cushioning and flat sole, Jared Gremillion, DPM, a podiatric surgeon at Holston Medical Group in Bristol, Tennessee, tells SELF. The low heel will help you feel more connected to the floor and maintain your balance. One thing to note: These shoes are on the narrow side, according to reviewers, but Converse offers wide sizing in select colors.

Best for Beginners: On Cloudpulse

If you want to add lifting to an already varied workout routine (say, one with cardio, plyometrics, and HIIT classes sprinkled in), On’s Cloudpulse is a great all-around gym shoe. Christa Sgobba, CPT, an ACE-certified personal trainer and SELF’s director of fitness and food, tested a pair and found that they felt great during warm-ups and more dynamic exercises: “I’d consider the Cloudpulses comfy, but not really to the point where I’d call it out. Rather, they were more like, put them on, lace them up, and forget that they’re on—which isn’t really a bad feature in a shoe!”

They aren’t as flat or stiff as other sneakers on our list, so they’re not the best option if you’re lifting heavy weights and want a super stable base, says Sgobba. But we like them for beginners who want to take their weightlifting journey nice and slow.

Most Comfortable: Lululemon Strongfeel Training Shoe

Back in 2022, Sgobba tested and loved Lululemon's Strongfeel shoes. In her review, she noted that the sneakers’ secure base made it easy to focus on her exercises, rather than how her feet felt. “Although I was mainly interested in testing these for lower-body days—where stability is even more important—I found myself reaching for these for any strength-training workout, simply because they made me feel better,” she wrote.

Best for Stability: Reebok Nano X5

Reebok’s best-selling Nano line is a longstanding favorite among dedicated gym-goers—its previous iteration won a Sneaker Award last year, and the recently released X5 is one of Sgobba’s current favorites. “They’re pretty great, especially for keeping you stable and in touch with the ground when you’re doing heavier compound lower body moves like deadlifts or split squats,” she says, adding that Reebok continuously improves the Nano’s fit with every update.

“The shoe fits closer to your foot and is a little more streamlined,” Sgobba says. “In early versions, I often had to stop during a workout to retighten so my foot didn’t slide around, but these remain locked in from the get-go.”

Best Cross-Trainers: Nike Metcon 9

The Metcon 9, Nike’s flat cross training shoe, features a strong, solid plate in the heel and a combination of firm and soft foam in the insole, so it’s sturdy with just the right amount of give. The tongue has a strap that holds the shoe’s laces in place and out of the way, a nice safety measure that could also save you from tripping in the weight room. All of these features make it a great choice for anyone who likes to pair their lifting sessions with aerobics, Crossfit, and any other faster, higher-agility cross training.

Best for Flat Feet: Nike Free Metcon 6

Here’s another cross training-friendly Nike, which has a more flexible sole compared to the standard Metcon. Our tester appreciated how supported she felt through her midfoot—a sensation that can be hard to find in flat-bottomed lifting shoes. As SELF has previously reported, that additional structure can be helpful for people with low arches or totally flat feet. Shoes that hold and cradle your arches can help take some stress off your feet and lower leg muscles, so you don’t have to work as hard to maintain your balance.

“Wearing these shoes was like having the best of both worlds—I could feel my toes and heels on the ground, but my arches were lifted and supported,” our tester says. “They helped me feel more stable while doing deadlifts and goblet squats. It’s so helpful to be able to feel the ground well, similar to how it feels when I’m in socks, but without any sliding because of the grippy soles.”

Best Squat Shoes: Core Weightlifting Shoes

This sneaker from Core has a higher-than-average heel, which can be especially helpful for maintaining proper posture during back squats and other heavy lifts. Reviewers write that its stiff, solid sole is excellent for squatting, but it’s so sturdy that they wouldn’t want to wear it for much else. The Core Weightlifting shoe is definitely a more specialized pick, ideal if you’re working toward specific squatting goals.

More great options

Whether you’re looking for shoes with major lift, some cool cross-trainers, or a backup pair to have in your rotation, there are lots of other great weightlifting shoes to try. The options below just narrowly missed our top picks due to their prices and more specialized designs—if you already know what you like or are willing to splurge a bit, you could find your new favorite pair here.

TYR L-1 Lifter

This bestseller has over 600 five-star reviews, with shoppers noting how stable and powerful they feel when they do squats while wearing them. Others appreciated how well it fit through the midfoot, thanks to a pair of adjustable Velcro straps and a wide toe box.

The L-1 Lifter is clearly built for performance, but it also nails smaller, nice-to-have features such as a breathable upper and a non-slip sole. It comes at a noticeably higher price than other options on our list, so it’s not a great pair for beginners or occasional lifters. But we recommend it if you’re a regular lifter looking to treat yourself to some high-quality shoes.

Nike Romaleos 4

The durable Nike Romaleo 4 is another splurge-worthy shoe if performance is top-of-mind for you. It has attained fan-favorite status among dedicated lifters for its wide range of motion and exceedingly stable base. “These are by far the best lifters I have ever worn. I feel extremely stable, like I’m stepping on a platform,” one Nike reviewer wrote. However, like other stiff, lifted options in our roundup, it isn’t the best shoe for CrossFit or cardio workouts.

Editor’s note: Most sizes are sold out on Nike’s site—a sign that this model may be on its way out. When we get word of a restock or new model (Romaleos 5, anyone?), we’ll update this page.

Reebok Legacy Lifter III

In the market for high-end squat shoes? With the same high heel-to-toe drop as the Core pair we dubbed “best for squats,” the Legacy Lifter III is a top-notch choice. “I immediately PRed my back squat the first time I wore them,” one Reebok reviewer wrote. “They make a huge difference in stability.”

The Legacy Lifter uses both a midfoot strap and a set of laces to keep your foot from shifting. It also features Reebok’s famous internal pump—when you squeeze the button on the shoe’s tongue, the pump inflates to fill the empty spaces inside the shoe and helps you get an even closer fit.

• Jared Gremillion, DPM, a podiatric surgeon at Holston Medical Group in Bristol, Tennessee
• Janine Hatch, PT, DPT, a physical therapist with the Hartford Healthcare Rehabilitation Network in Connecticut
• Lauren Powell, PhD, CSCS, a Future app trainer
• Christa Sgobba, CPT, an ACE-certified personal trainer and SELF’s director of fitness and food
• Tiffany Thompson, an NASM-certified personal trainer and Future app trainer

Frequently Asked Questions:

We tap experts and everyday gym-goers to test new weightlifting and gym shoes each year as part of SELF’s Sneaker Awards—that’s why previous years’ winners pepper our list. And, as an ACE-certified personal trainer and SELF’s director of fitness and food, Sgobba tries out new models and writes shoe reviews year-round as part of her job. She’s worn many of our top picks extensively, evaluating them for fit, feel, and functionality.

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