[fusion_text]I managed to bag myself a pair of the eagerly awaited Nike Metcon 1 trainers the week after release in the UK after first missing out on the day of release after waking up 30 minutes later than the time they went online. I got myself the most in demand colour which was the grey and volt probably due to me having midget feet and fitting into a size 7 mens after Zalando restocked their website a week after they sold out everywhere.

I’ve got to say i’ve been well impressed with how they’ve stood up to some gruelling Crossfit WOD’s including the Crossfit Games recently and would recommend them to anyone. I previously had the Inov8 335’s after opting to go for something a bit different to the most popular crossfit shoe at my local box with the Reebok Nano especially after Reebok flooded the market with their purposely on accident pricing error on the website selling them for £18 instead of £85!

You can’t get the original colour Nike Metcon 1’s that I got the grey and volt for love nor money these days but they have just released 3 new coloured Nike Metcon 1’s to the growing selection on the Zalando website.

nike metcon 1 black volt trainers uk nike metcon 1 purple and grey uk nike metcon 1 red and grey trainers uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can get 3 new colours for the Crossfit aimed and functional fitness Nike Metcon 1 in the UK with grey and purple, red and grey and the Nike Metcon 1 AMP military camo with black and volt.

The price on the new Nike Metcon 1 colours are slightly higher than the release price going up from £100 to the new price of £110 but Zalando are offering new customers a £10 discount on their orders by signing up to their newsletter so you can save £10 on the Nike Metcon 1’s and pay the original release price.

Buy one of the new Nike Metcon 1 crossfit and functional fitness shoes in the new colours released in the UK from Zalando.[/fusion_text][tagline_box backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.7″ border=”1px” bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”top” content_alignment=”left” link=”http://tees-n-cheese.co.uk/cheapest-nike-metcon-2-in-the-uk/” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_shape=”” button_type=”” buttoncolor=”” button=”Check out the new Nike Metcon 2″ title=”New Nike Metcon 2 Released!” description=”Nike have just released the new Nike Metcon 2 trainers, want to see them?” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][/tagline_box]

reebok spartan race discount entry in wales with livingsocial

Like running? Fancy trying it with fire, lots of mud and barbed wire throw into the mix to spice it up a bit from your average and mediocre road run?

If so then the Reebok Spartan Race is coming to South Wales on 21st June and you can get £20 discount on the entry fee with Livingsocial. Think Mens Health Survival of the Fittest on steroids The Reebok Spartan Race had 130 events in 15 countries and 6 continents in 2014 and is taking the world by storm for those bored of a couple of laps around the local park and looking for an adrenaline fuelled sweat fest.

The Welsh Leg of the Reebok Spartan Race comes to Crickowell near Abergavenny on 21st June 2015 and you can get a discount race entry this week on Livingsocial so head over there now and save some pounds so you can put it towards caring up and a well deserved pint after the event at one of the many local country pubs dotted around Abergavenny on the way home. Just remember to bring a spare set of shoes and clothes because you will sweat, you will get wet, you will get dirty and you might shed a few tears and a bit of blood along the way too!

There are two races with the Spartan 5km sprint on 20th June June but you don’t want to do that do you? Why give it 50% of effort when you can do the 13km Spartan Super race on 21st June over secret obstacles thrown at you love the coarse of the race including mud, fire and barbed wire.

Get your Reebok Spartan Race discount entry for the Welsh leg of the tour here at LivingSocial.

It’s my 2nd year doing the Crossfit Open Games this year with the first year being just 6 months after i started i thought it would be good to benchmark against for this years competition.

I’ll be brutally honest and admit I am not or don’t think i would ever be Regionals material but it is a bit of fun, good atmosphere at the box on the Open Wod nights and is good for comparing how i’ve come along over the year whether that’s better or worse.

I’m not saying last year’s Open Wod’s were easy but I was able to complete all of the movements, which led me to signing up this year thinking I could only improve on last years efforts. This was what I thought anyway and after being able to complete all of the movements last year i thought after another year of training and doing the olympic lifts I would be much better but Crossfit HQ had other plans.

There has been a lot of controversy with the programming for the Crossfit Open Games WOD’s for the 2015 Games with them promoting the Open Games for everyone then throwing Muscle Ups as the opening exercise for the 15.3 WOD so if like me you’re ok with the lifting, pretty rubbish at cardio but can have a stab at it I couldn’t get a single rep for 15.3

I wasn’t alone as it appeared as there were a few more at my box and by looking at the uproar on the Crossfit Facebook page they seemed to alienate over 50% of the competitors for the Games. This weeks 15.4 WOD was better but only slightly with Handstand Push Up’s and cleans. These weren’t any normal HSPU’s though these were RX HSPU’s on steroids!! I normally use 10kg plates to do my HSPU’s so don’t normally RX anyway so thought i’d grow a pair and dig deep for the RX but these were something else! I’m used to extending fully on the pushup but my legs are usually really wide but as long as my arms are locked out i thought this was acceptable but for the 15.4 RX HSPU’s we had to stand facing the wall with feet against the wall, hands up in the air resting against the wall and we were made to mark 3 inches below our wrist and this was our target that we had to get our heels above for each complete rep. Oh and we had to start in a handstand with heels above the line before starting the movement instead of starting with your head on the mat or floor, which i’m used to.

That was just the first part of the workout moving onto cleans. Not just cleans but 84kg cleans!! Baring in mine my 1 rep max for cleans is 90kg this was going to be a struggle and after working up to 1 rep max cleans in the previous nights skills class in Crossfit my hands were already sore. I thought i’d give a couple of cleans a go before my time was up to do the Open Wod but i failed to even lift the bar with the 84kg on twice! Oh GOD this was going to be hell i thought with a big gulp!

Time to get the empty bar out and work myself up to the weight in the short time i had as I was next up against the clock! The time had come and I was up, I banged out the first 3 HSPU’s and the took my time on the cleans managing all three but making sure not to burn out too fast. Then onto the 2nd round of HSPU’s and instead of just being able to bash out 6 HSPU’s in quick succession with the momentum I found it damn bloody hard to get above the line in the headstand position before being able to push out the presses and they got harder and harder as the workout went on, which left my shoulders blowing out by the time it got back onto the cleans. I was aiming to get into the 4th round and 30 reps seeing that the weight was pretty hefty as far as I was concerned and managed to get 29 so I wasn’t far off.

Talking to others at the box who are on a 85kg 1 rep max this was not what they were hoping for either and I can imagine this across the other boxes too. I know that the Crossfit Open Games had a scaled version this year but being able to complete all the workouts last year I thought i’d be more than capable with this year at RX too. I’ve also seen the scaled version and even though it’s good they have one and would suit someone just starting off but for someone whose nearing their 2nd year of doing crossfit, even though I only attend 3 times a week i’d get bored after the 1st minute as they are nowhere near what I would find challenging compared to the RX version as they seemed to have scaled it down too much for me especially the 15.3 they took out the muscle ups but instead of swapping it for some other kind of pulling movement they dropped it completely leaving just double under and wall balls :/

I can see that as crossfitters are getting bigger, stronger and faster they need to up the ante to separate the beasts from us mere mortals for the Regionals and finals but promoting the games as for everyone and giving us who competed in the RX version last year false sense of hope then throwing in muscle up’s and cleans 6kg away from my 1RM and as much as some people who go more often than me this will probably put a lot of people off signing up next year. Or the other school of thought is it will push us coasters into getting our asses into open gym more to practice our weaknesses such as muscle up’s ready to smash next year’s Open.

What do you think about this year’s open WOD and will you be signing up again next year?

So 15.2 saw us revisiting one of the WOD’s from the 2014 Crossfit Games, which also happened to be my worst one of the competition last year.

The WOD

Every 3 minutes for as long as possible complete:

From 0:00-3:00

   2 rounds of:

   10 overhead squats (95 / 65 lb.)

   10 chest-to-bar pull-ups

From 3:00-6:00

   2 rounds of:

   12 overhead squats (95 / 65 lb.)

   12 chest-to-bar pull-ups

From 6:00-9:00

   2 rounds of:

   14 overhead squats (95 / 65 lb.)

   14 chest-to-bar pull-ups

Etc., following same pattern until you fail to complete both rounds

Last year I had only been going to Crossfit for around 8 or 9 months and only for 2-3 times a week so I wasn’t expecting to do too well but thought it would be a good chance to see how I compared against others from around the world.

I’d never even attempted chest to bar burpees before this WOD so to say I wasn’t looking forward to it was an understatement. I’d say I was quite comfortable doing overhead squats and are probably my favourite squat but that’s probably because it’s usually the lightest weight we do whilst squatting so I thought as long as I managed to get through the chest to bars then I shouldn’t have too much of a problem getting through the rounds of OHS.

I didn’t even get through the first stage of 3 minutes with 3 complete rounds and just 1 CTB left to make it through to the 2nd stage but I just didn’t have anything left in me.

You would of thought after that abysmal performance I would of thrown a few sessions of CTB in the following year but you’ve guessed it I haven’t done a single one so you an imagine my face when this resurface from the depths of hell to test me again!

So it after plenty of stretching and letting people go before me I was finally up to be judged for 15.2 and with the countdown from 10-0 on the clock I took a deep breath, grabbed the bar snatched it overhead and proceeded to bang out 10 OHS in quick succession. Now onto the dreaded chest to bar pull-ups… I grab my chalk ball, giving it a tight squeeze I look up and being the midget I am at 5ft 9 (and a half on a good day) getting my tunnel vision on and focusing on the bar I jump grabbing the bar, swing my head through the bar, pull back with a big kick and an almighty pull I nearly clear the bar in what would of been my first muscle up! I’m immediately hit with a surge of confidence…that wasn’t as bad as I remembered!

I push down, head through again and a big push and that’s my two first CTB out of the way and just another 8 to go! That’s all i can think is if i let go now i’m never going to be able to get back up there on the bar so i power through and do my first 10 unbroken and land on my feet in disbelief with the first round of  OHS and CTB done in little over minute with 2 minutes left to complete the 2nd round of them.

I was aiming to beat last years score at least and make it into the 2nd stage, which I did with a lot less effort than i first thought ok it wasn’t easy but man did I struggle on the 2nd set of CTB last year!

I didn’t have high hopes for this attempt I just wanted to get further than last years score and got through the 1st set of 12 OHS and CTB but this final set of CTB did take it out of me. I gripped the barbell ready to go for the 12 OHS managing 6 before dropping the bar for a quick breather and throwing it up overhead for my final 6, which I managed to get through with 2 seconds of the 2nd stage to go.

I’d did it, I’d beat my goal of passing last years score and was just 2 reps off doubling last year score of 39 with 76 reps 🙂

 

Want to find out how we’re all doing at the box in the Crossfit Open Games 2015?

Check out the custom leaderboard showing how everyone at Crossfit Caerphilly have done so far in the Open Games.

[fusion_text]Reebok in my eyes have held the title too long in terms of the best Crossfit and functional fitness shoe with their Reebok Crossfit Nano’s so it’s about time someone else stepped up to the mark. Who else could take on a sports brand who sponsors the Crossfit Games and holds a sponsorship with the fittest man on the plant Rich Fronning other than Nike who have been making legends from their footwear for years with their Air Jordans.

I’ve always liked the look of the Reebok Nano’s but the thing I didn’t like was that they were way too popular and I like to have something a bit different so I’ve opted for the Inov-8 F-lites for wod’s and the inov-8 fastlift for oly lifting, which have served me well over the past year. One thing i would say about the Inov-8 flites is that they don’t feel very sturdy on the toe area and have started to wear and tear a bit now due the softness of the toe area.

It was no surprise when the “Nano Gate” conspiracy happened back in January when Reebok supposedly made a mistake by selling the newest model Reebok Crossfit Nano shoe for £18.50 instead of £85. Low and behold news spread like wildfire on social media nearly crippling the Reebok website with visitors who fought to kit themselves and flood every Crossfit box in the UK with the Nano 4’s just weeks before Nike were set to launch their eagerly anticipated first dabble in the functional fitness shoe arena with the Nike Metcon 1.

I’m not going to lie I jumped on the bandwagon and bought myself 7 pairs of the Nano’s one for each day of the week no doubt but only on talking to a couple of mates my Box I go to Crossfit Caerphilly they said they weren’t the comfiest of shoes in the Reebok lineup and were nothing compared to the trusty old Nano 2’s saying they were like slippers and felt like they were walking on pillows. One of the guys even put his Nano 4’s up for sale after a few wears to fund a pair of the Nike Metcon 1’s after not taking to them very well. I have to admit they looked more sturdy than my Inov-8 flute 230’s with the front toe box protection but it was the sturdiness that were putting people off they just weren’t as flexible as some of it’s predecessors.

I ended up selling all but one pair of my Nano 4’s and managed to bag myself a pair of the Nike Metcon 1’s two weeks after launch on ZALANDO.CO.UK as I woke up at 9.30am on the release date just 30 minutes after launch time and they had flown off the website for the colour i wanted the grey volt with it’s instantly recognisable yellow/green sides for rope climbs as opposed to the slightly bland black dark grey option.

nike metcon 1 crossfit shoe after first wear

I’ve worn the Nike Metcon 1’s twice now, managed a PB on the first go on power clean adding 5kg and just 5kg from my target of 100kg. The WOD that day was a good test too with 10 rounds of 10 x 20kg plate GTOH and 10 box over jumps giving meaning they got tested squating and snatching needing good footing and stability and then the box overs giving a good grip and also balance when landing on the other side. What i like most about the shoe is the fit and the durable mesh fitting on the toes which cling to your feet , the flywire adds to the fit as I have quite small feet a UK 7 in fact my feet are quite short but they are a bit wide so i always find it hard to get a decent fit as they are either too narrow or too long on the toes but these fit just right with more toe protection on the Nike Metcon 1’s compared to my old Inov8 flite 230’s. The grip on the bottom looks a lot more hardwearing compared to the Inov-8 which although have lasted me a good year of use they are a bit too flexible if you ask me and they will bend any shaped you bend the sole but it’s good to have a bit of sturdiness in the sole for protection on the box jumps and wall walks.

Nike Metcon 1crossfit fitness trainer review

I also tried them yesterday not at Crossfit but my local gym who put on some good functional fitness circuit classes called warrior and spartan with battle ropes, tractor tyre flips, sledge hammer slams, kettle bells, prowlers, farmers walks and barbell moves. The shoe doesn’t look like they’ve been worn just a bit of dirt on the soles which i would expect for £100 price tag, which is 15% more than the Reebok Nano’s and around the same price as the new Inov-flite 235’s. I was going to go for the new Inov-8 flite 235’s after being quite impressed with my current flite’s but i wasn’t overly bowled over by the launch colours with luminous yellow and black for the guys and blue and pink for the ladies plus two people from my box had bought them for Christmas and i didn’t want to copy. I noticed they released a grey and black pair in the States too that hadn’t been released here so i was going to wait for those until i heard about the Nike Metcon 1’s and i’m glad held off buying them and that I got rid of all 6 pairs of my bargain Nano’s for the Nike Metcon 1’s as all my feedback is positive at the moment and would definitely recommend them.

If you’re not convinced on what pair to get Zalando is the only website that sells all 3 of the only players in the game of crossfit shoe ‘s as far as i’m concerned and that’s Reebok, Nike and Inov8 so you could order a pair of Reebok Crossfit Nano 4’s, the new Inov8 flite 235’s and they still have some black Nike Metcon 1’s in stock. They have restocked the site unlike nike since the launch as they initially sold out too but I managed to get mine 2 weeks later. They are the only two places to stock the new Nike Metcon 1’s as I rang my local Nike store in Cardiff on the morning of the launch date after I missed out online and they said they were only selling them in their Flagship store in London and online.[/fusion_text][tagline_box backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.7″ border=”1px” bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”top” content_alignment=”left” link=”http://tees-n-cheese.co.uk/cheapest-nike-metcon-2-in-the-uk/” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_shape=”” button_type=”” buttoncolor=”” button=”Check out the new Nike Metcon 2″ title=”New Nike Metcon 2’s released!
” description=”Nike have just released the new Nike Metcon 2 trainers, want to see them?” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][/tagline_box]

I’ve compiled a little list below of some potential gifts as my family keep asking me what i want for Christmas so i thought i’d put them on here with a link so they know where to go. If you’re looking for gifts for you son, brother or other half and they are growing a beard, into their Crossfit or need some new tees or warm winter coats have a peek below:

Fitness / Crossfit

Again Faster Hoody (Men’s) Grey | Equipment for CrossFit®

Shorts : Iconx Drive 5.0 Mens Shorts Black Flou Yellow

Shorts :Iconx Barbell Club Accelerate Flow Shorts

Eleiko Hooded Sweatshirt

Texas Heroes – Heavy Rep Gear

Muscle Club – Heavy Rep Gear

Dura-Force Active Short – Heavy Rep Gear

P28 High Protein White Chocolate Spread 453G – Groceries – Tesco Groceries

Protein Bars – Quest Protein Bars x 1 multiple flavours available

Inov8 Functional Fitness Black / Grey Long Socks | CrossFit Compression Clothing | KITBox

Inov8 Functional Fitness Red Long Socks | CrossFit Compression Clothing | KITBox

 

Beard styling

Tweezerman Moustache Scissors with Grooming Comb | From Bath & Unwind

Tweezerman Gear Moustache Scissors with Comb – Boots

Tees

Black Scale | Black Scale T-Shirt With Digital Dream Roses at ASOS

Black Scale | Black Scale T-Shirt With Silent Science Print at ASOS

Converse | Converse All Star Raglan T-Shirt With Star Sleeves at ASOS

Trainerspotter | Trainerspotter Baseball Top at ASOS

Abandon Ship | Abandon Ship Super Longline T-Shirt with Long Sleeves at ASOS

Monarch Knit Jumper (Light Grey) – Bolongaro Trevor

Monarch Knit Jumper (Charcoal) – Bolongaro Trevor

Shirts

Farah Vintage Shirt with Dobby Dot in Slim Fit

Levis Vintage Clothing Shirt Slim Fit Floral Print Western

Paul Smith Jeans Shirt with Check and Contrast Check on Pocket in Classic Fit

Diesel Dinar Shirt Floral Print with Stretch

Soulland Short Sleeve Shirt in All Over Print

Reiss Polka Dot Shirt In Slim Fit

Polo Ralph Lauren Shirt in Slim Bengal Stripe

Fred Perry Shirt with Overdyed Camo Gingham

Scotch & Soda Shirt in Tartan Check

Farah Vintage Shirt with Paint Smudge Print in Slim Fit

Farah Vintage Shirt with Paint Smudge Print in Slim Fit

Sisley Shirt With Floral Paisley Print In Slim Fit

Trousers

Military Chino (Khaki Grey) – Bolongaro Trevor

Military Chino (Black) – Bolongaro Trevor

Coats

Major Jacket – Bolongaro Trevor

Schott | Schott Parka with Faux Fur Trim at ASOS

Barbour | Barbour X Pantone Wax Jacket at ASOS

Fidelity | Fidelity Peacoat Made in USA at ASOS

Denim & Supply by Ralph Lauren | Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren Parka with Down Fill at ASOS

Spiewak | Spiewak Parka Heron Snorkel with Insulation at ASOS

Gloverall | Gloverall Duffle Coat in Melton Wool at ASOS

Gloverall | Gloverall Peacoat at ASOS

If you’re a seasoned Crossfitter or just poked your head in once then you know everyone at the box likes to spend a pretty penny on their kit and usually the brighter the better from lifting shoes, wod shoes, compression socks, shorts, compression trousers, graphic tees, vests, hoodies, belts, headbands, hand wraps, hats and bags.

I myself have spent more money on gym gear in the last year than i have in the last 28 years i’ve been on this earth with nearly one of each of the items above in the list.

Reebok the official sponsor of the Crossfit Games have their own Crossfit Wod inspired range of clothing and accessories and although they do have a few nice items on the website, which i’ve bought a pair of the shorts recently myself but they are quite expensive to be honest.

There are a number of businesses coming onto the Crossfit scene recently offering a wider range of tees and apparel with a quite a few coming out of the South Wales area due to the huge following Crossfit has in Cardiff and the valleys recently with around 10 crossfit boxes in a 10 mile radius of Cardiff.

bear strength tee Iconx-mens-black-yellow-shorts-side-pocket-500x500

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to shop around to get something a bit different as i’m quite fussy even with my gym kit i hate having the same thing on as someone else so i do spend a fair bit of time hunting out something new and different when i’m in the game to make a new purchase of some Crossfit wod kit.

Some of the brands aimed at Crossfit i’ve come across, bought and seen at my box at Caerphilly are:

Bear Strength
M
anufacturer and retailer of Crossfit clothing and apparel from graphic tees, shorts and hoodies

Again Faster
S
tockist of Crossfit inspired clothing and apparel but also lifting equipment from bars and weights to custom built fully fitted Crossfit rigs.

IconX Barbell Club
Manufacturer of graphic tees, hoodies, shorts, hats, wraps and vests. They even do branded box kit like ours at Crossfit Caerphilly for regular WOD classes and bespoke kit for events and games.

Inov8
M
anufacturer of fitness footwear including road running, off road and Crossfit inspired lifting shoes and WOD trainers. They also offer tees and hoodies.

Heavy Rep Gear
M
anufacturer of Crossfit WOD kit from graphic tees, hoodies, vests, caps and shorts, which were the first ones i purchased over a year ago and still going strong today with their toughened material used.

Kratos RX’d
M
anufacturer of Crossfit inspired sports nutrition but also produce clothing such as graphic tees and shorts.

Rogue Fitness
T
he most well known Crossfit clothing supplier and manufacturer who sponsor 3 time Crossfit Games Champion Rich Fronning who has his own tees available on the site. They also supply lifting equipment and supply the Crossfit Games with their weights and bars that are used in the competition.

Reebok
M
anufacturer and retailer of sports clothing and accessories but also sponsor the Crossfit Games and have a range of Crossfit clothing including shorts, the legendary Reebok Nano shoes, tees and lifting shoes.

 

You only have to look towards the floor at any Crossfit box and you’re almost instantly blinded by some of the crazy footwear fellow Crossfit goes have on their feet. As with anything in life people have different tastes but there seem to be just two brands of footwear at the top of the league when it comes to Crossfit and that’s Reebok and Inov-8.

Regular Crossfit WOD Shoes

Reebok for obvious reasons who sponsor the Crossfit Games and have a range of kit aimed solely at Crossfit and work with athletes to cover all bases of what’s needed to get your through those gruelling WOD’s. Reebok Nano’s are from my experience leading the way in the popularity stakes with the now annual release just like the iPod with new colours, slight shape change and general upgrade based on feedback from the previous version of the shoes.

Reebok Crossfit Nano the trophy shoe for Reebok when it comes to Crossfit footwear, which as you probably know needs to stand the test against anything they can throw against you at the box so it has to be strong and durable for rope climbs, olympic lifting, wall walks and HSPU’s when they are dragged against the walls yet light for running and skipping.

There are currently 4 versions of the Reebok Crossfit Nano with the original, Nano 2.0, Nano 3.0 and the latest Nano 4.0 released only a few weeks ago. They also have the Reebok Crossfit Lifter Nano 2.0 aimed with it’s low profile and strap fattening aimed at olympic lifting WOD’s.

One of the reasons I think Reebok wins in the popularity stakes over Inov-8 is the ability to customise your shoe too you can fully customise the colours of the shoe and add your own identity or name with custom sticking. There’s also a lot of pink options available, which seem to go down well with the ladies too as they are by far the most popular at my box.

Prices start at £80 for the standard Reebok Crossfit Nano 2.0 and around £95 for the Nano 4.0 online at the Reebok store but if you register for the first time you can get 15% off your first Purchase. Prices are cheaper in the US at around $120.

I’d say the 2nd most popular brand of footwear when it comes to Crossfit has to be Inov-8, which happens to be my choice of footwear basically as I hate going with the majority and wanted something a bit different. Inov-8 have a whole line of footwear aimed at different types of fitness and sports from road running, off road and trail running and they have tapped into the Crossfit arena too offering models aimed soley at the sport.

The two most popular models of Inov-8 trainers for Crossfit are the Inov-8 F-lite 195 and the slightly heavier (the number at the end of the model simply shows the weight of the shoe) F-Lite 240 for guys, which I sport on my little size 7 feet and the F-Lite 232 for the girls.

The Inov-8 F-Lite 240 are very light and nearly weigh anything to hold in your hand and mine come with a mesh upper that keeps your feet cool throughout the WOD, which is good for running yet very tough for other exercises like box jumps and HSPU’s as i’ve put it through it’s paces over the past year and they are still going strong. They also feature rope-tec on the sole so that the soles don’t tear or get damaged on rope climbs and more importantly the descents.

I’ve witnessed someone wearing a pair of nike Free Run attempt to descend on a rope climb as is standard i Crossfit by separating the feet with the rope between your feet and holding the rope and big chunk of the sole just tore clean off leaving them unusable again as the was no balance with a big hole in the surface of the sole.

RRP for the Inov-8 -Lites are around the £110 mark but you can get some pretty good deals online and the cheapest place I found and where I bought mine in the UK was Wiggle.

Crossfit Lifting Shoes

A big part of Crossfit is not just the WOD but working on technique and strength. These are usually done at a slower more controlled pace in order to progress and hopefully be able to put more metal (or rubber) on the bar in the WOD in future.

For strength and tekkers Crossfit users usually have a 2nd pair of shoes and they are usually lifting shoes especially when working on Squats whether it’s back squats, overhead or front squats, clean and jerks and snatches. The reason for wearing lifting shoes and how they differ is that they are usually cushioned a lot more rigid in order to shift the power from the soles of your feet through your body and out through the bar. They usually have a flat surface and a slight heel too.

There’s a few more options and a few runners for the top spot when it comes to brands for lifting shoes as opposed to just 2 front runners in the standard footwear used for Wodding in.

As Olympic lifting has been around for much longer than Crossfit and obviously being an olympic sport it has a much bigger following and had time to grow meaning there are a lot more options when it comes to choosing the right footwear.

Two other big names in sports apparel and equipment join the table offering lifting shoes and those being Nike and Adidas.

I will list the Olympic lifting shoes used for Crossfit in order of popularity at my box below:

1. Adidas – The Adidas Olympic lifting shoe is definitely the most popular of brands for Olympic lifting at my Crossfit box with the three models being worn and they are the Adidas Power Perfect 2 in first place, Adidas Adipower and Adidas Power Lift 2.

2. Reebok offer Olympic lifting shoes with their Reebok Crossfit Lifter and Lifter Plus models. These are quite popular and would say they are the 2nd most popular at my Crossfit box.

3. Inov-8 have just stepped into unchartered territory for them anyway recently with their release of their first lifting shoe the Inov-8 Fastlift 315 for women and the Inov8 Fastlift 335 for guys, which is my choice of lifting shoe again for it being new out and nobody else at my box had them although a couple more have purchased after seeing them on me obviously 🙂

The reason for buying them too was that they look better, are light and are actually lighter than my standard WOD shoe coming in at 335 grams compared to 340g for my F-Lites.  The others on the market looked really sturdy but also a bit ugly and I personally have to like the look of something if i’m paying for them and have to be seen in public with them on.

They were also marketed at not just being an Olympic lifting shoe but also a cross bread between a lifting shoe and a regular WOD trainers as they are made of synthetic material, which is light so they can be used to WOD in, which I have done quite a few times but with the flat sole they are no good if you have running involved in your WOD.

4. Last but not least is Nike with me being to count the number of owners on one hand. The model worn at my box seems to be the Nike Romaleos 2 Olympic lifting shoe.

If your a beginner or thinking of starting up Crossfit then there are a few pieces of equipment that can help you out in your WOD.

First and at the top of the list for any Crossfitter is the humble chalk ball. You’re going to be hitting some high number of reps whether it’s working on your technique or doing on the minute every minute in the first half of the Crossfit Classes at Caerphilly Crossfit where you do something like 3-10 reps on the minute every minute for around 6 minutes.

Chalk gives you more grip to hold the bar whether it’s a oly bar, pullup bar, ring or kettlebell. You’re going to break more than a sweat so you need to get a decent grip of that bar if you’re going to get through the designated number or reps and rounds.

Wrist wraps are always a good choice for keeping your wrists supported for exercises like bear crawls, head stand press ups and front squats to name a few. Check out my other post on Wrist Wraps for more info.

Shoes are an important factor to consider on your workouts depending on the exercises involved on the day. Most Crossfitters have two pairs of shoes one for the running and aerobic exercises and lifting shoes for stability and support for the olympic lifting.

Back support is a good idea when your hitting high weights on the deadlifts or sheer numbers of reps for some wods you don’t want  to be bending and arching that back or you will be in a world of trouble injuring yourself and putting you out of the game for some time.

Knee support seems to be a hit with a lot of Crossfitters for exercises such as squats. I’ve not got some or tried them to comment but you do see a lot of people wearing them at the box I go to.

Clothing should be sensible and common sense should be used here. Your not going to be having much flexibility on a squat in a pair of skinny jeans but spare a bit of modesty for your fellow crossfitters they probably don’t want to see you smuggling budgies in skin tight lycra leotard either mind. There are some decent crossfit aimed sports apparel brands on the scene right now offering toughened materials that stretch as the barbel is going to be rubbing against the shorts when doing cleans etc so you don’t want them to tear easily.