To begin, I do not own the rights to this image. In fact, I credit www.bcweightlifting.ca with the image.
Today was leg day (i.e. the day that most people dread and the day that separates boys from men). On top of that I received the Adidas Power Perfect II's today in the mail--just in time for a test run. Now before I get into any kind of review of this shoe, I will give a brief treatise about...me, I guess. Prior to receiving these shoes, I have been squatting with my trusty Chuck's (high top) because of the nice flat sole and excellent stability. The Chuck's have been my all-around lifting shoe since about...2 years ago or so (with running shoes by Puma being my previous choice <--wrong and bad choice). Despite Chuck's being so great for recreational weightlifting (deadlifting and squats in particular) I felt I could never really reach great depth simply because of my body's leg to torso ratio. I could get pretty good depth in general with Chuck's but nothing compared to what I got today.... Now, some may say that my 'ankle flexibility' is my limiting factor, or perhaps, that I was just 'doing it all wrong', or even that high tops were my downfall, however, I assure everyone that my depth with Chuck's were always at LEAST to parallel (and that my form is actually correct). Basically I could get the type of depth you could find guys on YouTube posting (the good form squats kind, not the bad, overloaded weight squats).
That said, I am not by any means tall, however, my torso to femur ratio is just not in favor of squats. My back just rounds out in a natural, full squat position to maintain balance. This 'rounded back position' is obviously not ideal when your under some weight of a bar. In that case, I would only really be able to squat to slightly below parallel without having to put too much strain on my back. As you may have notice, I favor the olympic style squat rather than the "bodybuilding" or "powerlifting/low bar" squat because of leg development and less strain on the back. Posterior chain is one thing, but let's get this straight, it IS getting worked out from olympic squats. Maybe not to the extent of the former types of squat, but the fact of the matter is: IT IS. I personally don't believe that the difference in amount worked is that significant. But that's just me.
Well for starters, I am definitely not a olympic weight lifter by any means.... I never attempted the snatch, the clean and jerk, or what have you. I ordered these shoes to further improve my squat form and reap the benefits of olympic squats. While I am at it, these are my first pair of olympic weightlifting shoes so I have nothing to compare against (such as wooden raised heels).
So onto the review of the shoe:
(brief disclaimer: I will most likely not describe the shoe in a olympic weightlifting fashion, so take it for what it is; from a recreational weightlifter's perspective)
Comfort - I have never worn actual weightlifting shoes until today, but I have experience squatting in [God forbidden] running shoes and Chuck's. So, I casually switched from my Chuck's to Power Perfect II (PPII) when the next squat rack was available. When I warmed up in the PPII, I immediately felt the stiffness of the heel as well as the grip on the floor that they provide. The PPII were so stiff and had such great grip on the floor that I felt almost glued to the floor as soon as I set my feet for squatting. In fact, I have to get used to setting my feet into position a little more, but I'll most likely get used to it real soon. Just by wearing these shoes, I felt like the Chuck's compressed a lot!! To my knowledge the heels of the PPII are not wood, rather they are of a high density polymer. To me, it was as stiff as one would possibly like so I don't think there would be a difference besides a physically heavier shoe. Then again, I'm not an olympic lifter.... So, final comments regarding comfort...: Adidas tend to make their shoes slightly more narrow. I wear a 9.5 Chuck's, but a 10 in the PPII seemed to do the trick, although my toes are slightly scrunched at the top of the PPII. It felt nice and tight especially after securing the velcro strap. SCORE --- 10/10
Quality - The only other shoe that I have owned that were Adidas branded were my baseball cleats. So in that vein, Adidas is usually one of my top picks when it comes to sports shoes (and sports apparel for that matter). I found that these shoes were well constructed upon closer inspection. The shoe is put together really well (i.e. the stitching is well done, symmetrical in all places, etc. etc.) and wedge is in place as it should be, not out of align. The wedge on the left and right shoe are also the same height too. The materials of the shoe is mostly synthetic, but is as durable as you would possibly need. Not sure, what else I could say about the quality except that it has met my expectation for an Adidas made shoe. I guess I will add that because I will probably only be squatting in these shoes, they will probably last me for a really, really long time. SCORE --- 10/10
Style - This is highly preferential. I think these shoes look great. I like the red accent at the wedge area, although it would be nice if they offered other colors just for other people's preference's sake. The shoe looks like your standard Adidas shoe but with the raised heel and strap (although some of their shoes seem to offer straps...). It obviously won't look like a regular shoe when compared closely, but it certainly looks solid as hell for a weightlifting shoe. The small holes that aerate the shoe are...well placed and do help a lot of keeping the feet nicely warm, and not overly sweaty hot. I'm really not sure what else I could add about the style of these shoes except that they look really good for weightlifting shoes (not that looks should matter to begin with). SCORE --- 10/10
Price - Well, what could I say? I wish they were cheaper?? Of course I do, however I think that I got what I paid for: quality. Do I think they could lower the price? Certainly, they would also attract more customers in the process. BUT, as a scientist who does think about component costs and overall unit price, production costs, etc. etc. I won't be too much of a stickler and say that I got ripped off because I don't really know the cost for the materials involved... I think it was a good investment in the end. I will say though in retrospect (which is always 20/20 of course...) that with all the other shoes on the available on the market, these are one of the more expensive shoes to buy, so if you really are on a budget than I'm sure the other brands will serve you just as well. ESPECIALLY in my case...recall that I am NOT an olympic weightlifter and therefore these shoes may never see and clean and jerks or snatches that they were built for... As a final note, Adidas also have another model that is even more expensive (≈$200) for the Adistar. SCORE --- 7/10
Overall - A solid, high quality weightlifting shoe that will give anyone the depth and stability they desire. I certainly recommend it to those that are recreational weightlifters looking to improve their squats by performing olympic squats. Also, for those who seek greater leg development that comes with the depth. SCORE --- 9/10
From this workout, I have recruited so many fibers that I felt my leg getting sore as soon as...4 hours after, which is both a good and bad sign. Bad because that means my past training days for leg was not efficient enough in working my legs, but good because now I know what will really boost leg development for me.
It's getting late and this post has taken me long enough, so here are my numbers for today.
Squats ---------------- 275 for 6, 6, 5 then 135 for 15 (for practice in the shoes)
Leg press calf ------- 235 for 10, 10, 8
DB bicep curls ----- 30 for 12, 10
Decline ab ----------- 5 for 15, 15
Abbreviated workout and didn't get to include the adductors nor the seated calf because people were using every them. But I was beat from the squats so I didn't really mind at all... Good to note that as soon as I finished squats I switched back to my trusty Chuck's to finish off the workout. Don't wanna add any unnecessary strain to the shoe.
I'll never revert back to squatting with anything besides weightlifting shoes now...
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