Strength Shoes

I will have to look and see if Siff said anything. I have a couple of his books including Supertraining. As for personal experience I think it is gimmick. We had a kid use them and claim it added inches to his vert. We also have kids squat and it adds inches to their verts too. According to DeFranco your calves have less to do with your vert than your hips. As far as I can tell the stregth shoes do nothing to develop anything but your calves. I would think doing plyos with them could be a little precarious. Don't they put your body in kind of an unnatural position? Granted when we do plyos we emphasize keeping the heels SLIGHTLY off the ground but never like you do with a strength shoe. Maybe I am way off base, maybe strength shoes are "the bomb" and I should buy several pair for my football team.

they want to be like mike

too bad it aint like mike vick

those things are a scam

Last year our hoops coach told the boys if they lifted during basketball season he would not play them. So my top RB took him up on the offer and refused to miss training in the mornings before school...so long as it was not a game day. The HC benched him. He kept lifting. Thing was he was a starter in basketball too. His play was not suffering b/c of training, but the coach wanted to have his way. Unfortunately most of the other kids stayed away. It was finally resolved when the coach had to give in. But I just think that is terrible. I'll let kids stay in the gym after football practice while I'm in my office so they can shoot some free throws. At least he is gone now, the new guy wants to help out. Our numbers during BBB season were way up from the year before.

Schools need to have some kind of unified approach on training. Be it BFS or something else you cannot have coaches contradicting eachother like that. Our volleyball coach tries to pick fights with me in front of kids. Saying my pushing the wt room is "undue influence" on the kids etc. She told her PE class strength training will bulk you up and make you slow. Thank goodness the boys in school think she's full of it.

I sent the question about Strength Shoes to Elite FTS. Here's the response I received from Jason Ferruggia:

Sports Specific Training

I have a few athletes (high school) who are training or are interested in training with Strength Shoes. Most of the research I have found on the use of the Strength Shoe suggests that, at best, these devices may lead to minor gains for truly elite athletes and, at worst, lead to injury for poorly conditioned athletes. Is there a definitive word on the use of Strength Shoes? The most recent study I could find was done at Tulane about 7 years ago. Do you guys know of anything more recent? Are you guys aware of any collegiate, Olympic, or professional athletes and/or coaches who use the Strength Shoe in training? I'm really concerned about this because I don't want my kids spending $120 on a pair of "magic" shoes and then thinking that they don't have to worry about developing lean body mass and lower body strength anymore.

What are your thoughts on the Strength Shoe?
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Chris,
The strenth shoes are a waste of money. They have been proven to be absolutely useless time and again and are, in fact, dangerous. I first tried these when I was 15. At the time I was touching the rim. 12 weeks later I was still just touching the rim. It wasn't until I started lifting that my vertical jump actually improved. I have known tons of people who had the same experience. It's flawed marketing anyway because the calves have very little to do with your jumping ability. You'd probably get more out of wearing those stupid ankle weights around your wrists all day while doing front raises because shoulder strength plays a greater role in jumping ability. If you look at several of the highest jumpers in the NBA you will notice that not too many of them have big calves although many of them have big asses. (Not that I would be looking at that). To improve your vertical jump you must improve the strength of your hamstrings and glutes. So squats, deads, glute hams, and hypers will do a hell of a lot more than a pair of strength shoes.

Everyone I have ever talked to who knows a thing or two about strenth and conditioning agrees that the strength shoes are worthless.

Chuck -

I recently got rid of our leg press machine for basically the same reason. I was sick of kids loading up the leg press with ten 45-pound plates and then doing calf raises with it.

Chuck,

Were did your volleyball coach go to college?? I cannot believe that a PHY-ED teacher has zero education on strength training!!! As a phy-ed teacher it just pisses me off that we have people in our profession with no background education providing information to kids that they have zero knowledge of. We have one PE teacher here that is close to retirment age and she at least flat out admits that she has not kept up to date with strength training and has the rest of us teach the weight lifting units.

Is the volleyball program any good with out proper training?

JD

Coach Dertz,

I agree with Jason 100%. They are a complete waste of money and time. I, too, had a pair as a teen and they didnt do anything for me (except give me funny looks from people). On a side note, having bigger calves not only doesn't help a whole lot, but it also adds weight to your leg that your hips will have to lift when sprinting. This leads to a slower athlete.

Just stick to your values and lead your weightroom the way you know how. It's a pretty serious problem though when other coaches cut your legs out from under you. Especially at your own school.

Just stick to your guns, do your research and keep training your self and your kids the way you are now. The ones that believe in your program will be blowing away the rest and soon they will all believe.

Its all about egos in this profession...high school, college and the pros. Nobody wants to admit when they are wrong...the problem is that most of the coaches who are this way really don't have a clue as to how an athlete needs to be trained. It's just something we have to deal with. Let your results do the talking for you.

Jimbo

I have no idea where she went to school. Sometimes I think she just sees how good a rapport I have with the kids in the school, and the results I get with the kids who train right, and wants to undermine me b/c I make her nervous. Why I don't know. She must just be insecure. The evidence for training right is out there. People just need to open thier eyes and see it. Lifting will not make you muscle bound or screw up your shot. Strength training will make your shot more accurate late in the game because you will have more power in your legs for the jump shot. It can make your 1st step more explosive too, now your don't have to shoot the "J" because you drove by him and DUNKED IT! Which is still my dream...one I fear will never happen.

when i dunked it

at 6'5" and 310lbs as a hs senior,

I lost all respect for someone just because they could dunk

big deal

can you run through me?

that is what i am impressed with

From page 453 of Supertraining by Mel Siff:

"...Moreover, inappropriate ht. of the heel can shift the center of gravity of t he body forward, thereby increasing stress on the knee joint and altering optimal patterns of movement for safe, maximal lifts from the ground."

Strength shoes shift the center of gravity forward and put extra stress on the joints.

This book is a MUST READ for anyone who teaches strength training or is active in training themselves.

I'll admit it is NOT an easy read but it was very eductaional.

Let's not leave out Yuri Verkoshansky, co-author or Supertraining. If I have been told correctly, Verkoshansky was one of the pioneers of plyometric training. (If someone can back that up please do, or if I am wrong please let me know)