Originally Posted by
Tom Kagan
The advantage of the raised heel on a specialized olympic style weightlifting shoe was developed due to the human body's limits of ankle flexibility necessary for the squat variation of the snatch and C&J lifts. Stability is mantained by allowing the lifter to more solidly connect his or her heel to the floor during the bottom phase of the lifts -- thus making the lifter more stable, not less. Regardless, this shoe design is not pertinent to discussing movement patterns where the ankles, knees, and hips are not at the limits of range for human joint flexion.