From the ground up...Shoes

The Story:
I guess I will start with shoes...

When I first started CrossFit maybe a couple of years ago. I only had some Vans and some hiking shoes. So I used my hiking shoes. Not the best thing to lift, run or workout with.

Lets go back real quick...I should have noted that I have never really played sports except when I was in elementary school, but that doesn't really count since it was so long ago. So a lot of the things I learned with my gear was the hard way. It took time to find what worked for me.

Ok...back on track.

Eventually I bought some running shoes. I bought some Nike Frees. I read they were a good shoe for running and some general CrossFit WODs. While this may work for some people it did not work for me. I am not a runner, don't like it, not good at it. Running in the shoes were fine...I guess. It had lots of cushion for my foot, but this was the problem. In a lot of the CrossFit WODs there is Olympic lifting coupled with running or DUs (double-unders). I found that the cushion was pretty horrible when I was doing my lifting. On a strength day of 3-3-3-3-3 Deadlifts I decided to take my shoes off and lift barefoot. Wow! Barefoot lifting was amazing! I loved it! I felt so much more connected to the floor and 100 times more stable. I was able to push though my feet into the ground without the shoe giving and hindering my lifts since I was not lifting on solid ground. This also hurt my form on the heavy lifts.

The next WOD I did was combination of Deadlift, run and DUs. Since I had been lifting without shoes now I had realized this was going to be a problem. I tried to do some DUs barefoot and run...that didnt really So I ended up taking my shoes off and on during this WOD. This was not going to fly.

The next day I went to Total Fitness USA to look for something. I forget what. I ended up asking about shoe recommendations. Jack (guy that works there,) had showed me some Inov-8s. I think the first one was the Inov-8, 195s. This shoe was nice and slim. It has a 3mm differential sole. Jack had let me know that its a good shoe to start into the bare shoes. A lot of companies are creating shoes to mimic bare feet running but a lot of peoples feet can't really take it since they are used to the cushion. The only issue I had with the shoe was that it was a bit tight on the front end since I have wide feet. Jack then told me that since I have been lifting barefoot I might be ok with the Inov-8, 150s. It actually fit my foot a lot better. My first question was, "does it come in a different color?" It was a bit of a flashy shoe since it is white and red.


The Review:
Running for the first time was a bit strange since there was no cushion my foot pretty much felt like it was hitting the ground directly. The plus side...you also feel like you can run a million MPH since the shoes is so light. 150grams light. It took a couple days to get used to it but then I was ok running with it.

Lifting with these shoes were very nice. I have to say that not only did I really enjoy it but I was a little surprised as how secure my footing was.Not 100% like barefoot, but this is pretty close. The only problem I have is that when dust accumulates in the garage and on the mats it sticks to the shoes sole creating this dust barrier between the two and it can be slippery. So I have to pour some water on the floor and wash the shoe sole off before I workout. This is also starting to wear down the soles quicker.

Another big plus is the shoe laces. I don't have to tie them just tighten the pull chord. Small thing but I really like it.


What I also found to be a great benefit is on the front and back there is a loop to help you put the shoe on and take it off. I also found this to be extremely helpful when stretching my hamstrings.

Pros:

0 mm Differential

Very lightweight

Pull Chord Shoe Lace

Sole flexes well  

Pull strings on top and back of shoe is great for putting shoe on as well as stretching legs.

Great for WODs where you have Oly Lift and running or DUs 

Cons:

Slippery

Link to the inov-8 site with more info:
http://www.inov-8.com/New/Global/Product-View-BareXLite-150.html?L=27
*Site needs is a better search method. But that has nothing to do with the shoe.

Gear purchase locally in Hawaii (Oahu)

One of the hardest things I found in buying gear is the shipping. Since I live in Hawaii we are punished by ridiculous shipping costs. So I am always looking for the best deals I can find. While most sites have the dreaded "48 contiguous states," or "except Alaska and Hawaii," There are a few places that will ship to Hawaii and have free or decent shipping rates. 

Hawaii has a local store that sells CrossFit equipment with a staff that is experienced and knowledgeable in the gear that they sell. Total Fitness USA near Marukai.

They have pretty much everything you need. While some of the gear is on the pricey side, when you factor shipping to Hawaii, it is about the same or cheaper. Sometimes it might be a few bucks more expensive but the value that you get from going into the store and touching the item is invaluable. The other great benefit to Total Fitness USA is the staff. Extremely knowledgeable in the equipment... because they actually use it! As fellow CrossFitters they know what you need and can help with not only gear but other aspects of CrossFit. A few of them are even CrossFit Level 1 Certified. So to me the information that I can get from them is work paying a little bit extra for the gear. Plus it helps the the local economy and they are good guys to talk with.

Since I'm not made of money, money is a factor so I do check out craigslist and other online vendors. 

What's this all about?

So I have decided that there are a lot of blogs out there about gear reviews from "experts" and a lot of the time I am looking for information from both experts and the layperson. 

Since I am not an exceptional beast of a human I don't always need the best gear out there. While it is nice to have, there are certain things that I would not benefit from. So I wanted to talk about my experiences with the gear that I have decided to buy and use.

About a year ago I started to build my own CrossFit garage gym. Piece by piece it was been slowly coming together. Now that I have put some of these items to good use I can actually talk about the different pros and cons that I see in each item. Some of my gear I made, like my plyo jump box, although most I bought.

Again, this is going to be my options and not backed by science or the manufacturers. I am Just a normal dude looking for some great gear and great service.