For a long time I have wanted to purchase good lifting shoes with a solid heel for squats. I hesitated to pull the trigger because they can be expensive. The two big shoes in this category are the Nike Romaleos line and the Addidas Powerlift line. After a lot of thinking and a lot of research, I pulled the trigger on the Nike’s before I started this year’s season and I have to tell you I couldn’t be happier.

Yours truly dropping a squat with his gray and orange Romaleos 3

First let me start out with the reality of this shoe. It has a very high heel and the sole is solid hard plastic. You cannot run with this shoe. Further, I would strongly recommend you not deadlift with this shoe. When I move from squats to deadlifts I just take them off and deadlift barefoot and when I need to do my cardio I will head to the locker room and put on my cross trainers.

The beautiful thing about that heel is that it offsets flaws like a natural tendency to go forward on squats (something I have historically been guilty of and have had cured by these shoes almost instantly), keeps your feet stable in a way you can’t even imagine and allows for better push through to the ground.

The Nike Romeleo 3 is an excellent lifting shoe.

I find that in my lifters I can squat heavier weights for more reps because the shoes correct bits of my form for me and make me a more steady and stable lifter.

So Pros and Cons time.

Cons: These shoes are expensive. If you are not picky about colors you can usually get a deal on some of them but expect to pay anywhere between $120-$200 dollars. These shoes cannot be warn to just walk around in, they can’t be used for any form of cardio and using them to deadlift will be a one way ticket to a herniated disc. So you are not just paying a premium for these shoes, they have a very limited use.

PROS: While these shoes have a limited use, the things they are good for they are really excellent for. When you do your squats or OH Presses you will notice such an extreme difference and you will notice it immediately. Another pro, while not particularly important, is that these shoes just look good. They also have such a nice fit. In some reviews I read that the tongue was prone to breaking, but after 8 months of use, and believe me I am not gentle on equipment, these guys still look and feel nearly brand new.

I have no experience using any other lifters so I can’t give you a comparison. I can say, however, that after 8 months of lifting with the Nike Romaleos I have no desire to use any other shoe when I am squatting or OH pressing.

I give these shoes the coveted 10/10 as they do exactly what they promised and do it even better than I had hoped for, they fit really well, have been incredibly durable over nearly a year of heavy and hard use and look sharp to boot.

I got mine on rougefitness Rogue Fitness but you can find them all over the internet if you just google.