At this point, I’ve tried about 4 different pairs of shoes from Xero Shoes and the Forza Trainers might be the best weightlifting shoes that I own.
Full disclaimer, I’ve only owned these shoes for about 2 months, so I can’t necessarily speak on the long-term durability of the shoes. But I have used them for a decent number of workouts and can give you a pretty thorough opinion. I do want to preface that I mainly lift weights and focus on powerlifting movements like the squat, bench press, deadlift, and some accessory lifts. So, you’ll be getting an opinion from the perspective of the average gym-goer, not a crossfitter or someone who does Olympic lifting.
Let’s start with the design of the Forza Trainer. This particular colorway is with the morel upper with gum soles. It’s an interesting color that looks kind of like a mixture of brown and grey. Very unique and definitely looks like the color of the mushrooms that it’s named after.
The entire Forza Trainer’s upper is comprised of a few different mesh materials that offer different degrees of ventilation. This means that this is going to be an extremely breathable shoe, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for cold or wet weather. The upper also features some reinforcement around the toe box, but I think the biggest appeal of this silhouette is the strap system that it offers. At the forefoot is a strap that cinches down as you tighten the shoe laces. There is also a larger strap that tightens the top of the foot and heel together. These two straps really help to lock your feet into the shoes and there’s realistically no escaping from it under normal use.
Moving down, we get a zero-drop sole that’s very minimal in both material and design. Xero markets their shoes as offering a barefoot experience and this is very much so with the Forza Trainier. The very thin sole lets you stand barely above the ground and allows you to feel the surfaces that you’re on in a sense. The general design of the sole itself is also very minimal. It’s basically just a strip of rubber with some small lines cut into it. There’s no real missing chunks or pronounced lugs. When standing on this sole, it feels very uniform and this is good for weightlifting because it means that the user maximizes the forces that they are exerting while pushing and directly transfers it into the ground. There’s also no excess cushioning that can mess with balance or contribute to an unstable lifting surface. This sole is what makes it the perfect all-around trainer for me. I own dedicated lifting shoes that have rock-hard soles that may technically be better for lifting, but I save those for maximum effort days because they just aren’t as comfortable to wear all the time. The Forza Trainer gives me a good balance between comfort and performance, and it’s exactly what I want in an everyday training shoe.
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Men’s Zero Forza Trainer https://amzn.to/4kxI0tI
Women’s Zero Forza Trainer https://amzn.to/3FiBDeG
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