Five Shoes You Should Never Wear to the Gym

I was inspired to write this blog post the other day when I saw a man deadlifting in Crocs.

Crocs that weren’t even in sports mode.

As I physically forced myself to look away, I was left to wonder what in the world that man was thinking. Since I’ll never come up with an answer to that, I’ve instead created a list of footwear that is simply inappropriate for exercise. Here we go!

1: Crocs

Sports mode or not, Crocs were not made for exercise. Though technically you could probably get away with wearing these for an upper-body workout, cardio and lower-body routines call for more supportive footwear. In addition, Crocs will probably do very little to stop the force of a stray weight.

2: Flip-flops

Flip-flops offer no support, no protection, and a pretty high risk of tripping. Unless you find yourself in one of those Instagram beach gyms where the floor is sand and the weights are carved out of wood, leave these for the locker room shower!

3: Slides

See “flip-flops” above. They offer the same amount of support and protection (none,) and are just as likely to trip you. Something about slides makes them seem even more uncomfortable to wear while attempting cardio, but that might just be my preference.

Bonus: check out these funky slides/slippers spotted out and about at a theme park (yes, a THEME PARK!)

4: High heels

Unless you’re filming or taking photos of the many impressive things people can do in heels, don’t try to wear these for a workout.

Though the lifted heel can improve your squat depth, it can also greatly increase your chance of rolling your ankle.

If you’re looking to improve your ability to walk in heels, work on 1-leg balance and calf and ankle strengthening in the gym. Save the actual walking practice for home.

5: Birkenstocks

This goes for any style of Birks. Again, these might work okay for an upper-body workout, but I don’t love the idea of sweat and leather together. Add back in the trip hazard, lack of toe protection with most styles, and the doubletakes from strangers, and it’s a no from me.

In Conclusion…

I’d like to think that we all knew better than to try wearing these shoes before I posted this, but I’m glad we went over it just in case. 

This isn’t to shame, simply to highlight why certain forms of footwear might not be the safest or most efficient for exercise. Of course, there are exceptions to the rules, and most of this is based on my personal preferences and common sense, but…c’mon, man, Crocs?!

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash