Colleen Fotsch
Red Bull Content Pool

Olympic weightlifters wear a specific type of shoe with a raised heal, which allows them to get lower into the squat position of the clean and the snatch.

Such shoes may help you in the squat.

Researchers from St. Mary’s University College (London) had trained lifters squat while wearing either typical cross-training shoes or weightlifting shoes. The weightlifting shoes allowed for a deeper squat while reducing the forward bend of the shins at the ankles; the typical cross-trainer shoes caused more ankle forward bend and less depth.

If you don’t want to shell out money for weightlifting shoes just to wear on leg day, do what many bodybuilders do and opt for a pair of work boots that have a raised heel.