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.
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
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.
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