If you’re serious about the time you’ll be spending in the gym in 2025, a battered old pair of trainers just aren’t going to cut it. For dynamic, high-intensity movements, you need a pair of the best gym shoes for men that are lightweight and responsive and can handle quick changes of direction.
By contrast, heavy lifting – particularly squats and deadlifts – calls for a robust, flat-bottomed shoe that grips the ground and allows you to drive through your heels. It’s a design that’s quite different running or lightweight gym shoes. So what if you do a bit of everything in the gym?
Fortunately there are a wide range of hybrid shoes – the jacks-of-all-trades – which offer stability, grip and lateral support. They may not excel at any one discipline but offer decent performance across the board.
To help you make the best decision for your workout needs, we’ve pulled together the following buyer’s guide, featuring the very best gym shoes for 2025.
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Our team of bike reviewers included experienced product testers, journalists and fitness writers – as well as the core MF team – who know exactly what sets the best products apart from the rest. Find out more about how we test.
If you want one pair of gym shoes that can do it all, we’d recommend the inov8 Bare-XF. If you’re a gym-goer who likes to mix up their routines and do a bit of everything – including bigger lifting – you’ll appreciate the shoe’s unrivaled versatility. The lack of cushioning may take a bit of getting used to, but it’s well worth it.
Despite its unassuming appearance, this shoe is a powerhouse of performance. Boasting Boomerang technology and a wide toe box, it offers the perfect blend of bounce and natural movement. The lightweight design feels like a breeze during workouts, while the stretchy laces add an unexpected level of comfort.
Transitioning to minimalist shoes has transformed not only my workouts but also my perspective on footwear. The Bare-XF’s wide fit option accommodates my broad feet comfortably, reflecting its thoughtful design. The zero drop, meanwhile, promotes better form and proprioception, enhancing my connection to the ground during lifts and dynamic movements.
For anyone seeking a shoe that marries minimalism with top-tier performance, the Bare-XF is a great choice. From enhancing running efficiency to powering through lifting sessions, these shoes have become an integral bit of kit in my fitness arsenal.
The Reebok Nano X3 is a superb all-around gym shoe, and one of the the most versatile trainers on this list. It features excellent lateral support, plus good grip and traction from the shoe’s rubber outsole. In testing, I found that it could also handle multiple movements, as well as the strain put on it by heavy lifting, making it perfect for cross-training. Its heel has a good spring to it, and its breathable upper kept my feet from becoming too hot and stuffy.
If you’re looking for a quality all-rounder that can handle the variety of exercises included in a multi-format routine, this is one of the very best gym shoes for men.
Vivobarefoot does things a little differently: creating feet-shaped shoes, not shoe-shaped ones. The Motus Flex is the brand’s latest barely-there training shoe, with a flat base and minimal cushioning to allow your feet to move as nature intended.
The result is an excellent lifting shoe, with a stable base that allows you to stay stable and exert maximum force with compound lifts like squats and deadlifts. While its sister shoe, the Motus Strength, is marketed more towards strength training, I appreciate the ever-so-slightly bolstered outsole (0.5mm) of the Flex, and the two-part construction couples with the trademark wide toe box to give the feet even more freedom to grip, stretch and, well, flex.
The Under Armour TriBase Reign 6 is a solid, versatile trainer, offering stability during various cardio and weights sessions, with a little more heft than its previous incarnation.
It features a durable base, sock-like wrap-around upper and a thick, blocky midsole that provides plenty of support. I also found it to be a highly breathable shoe, with a layered mesh material that stopped my feet from getting too sweaty during intense workouts.
Designed to maximize ground contact while promoting natural motion, on test this shoe provided a good blend of stability and movement. I also liked the strong rubber build under the toe box, which offered a solid base and powerful floor grip – helpful during weight lifting and mixed workouts. If you’re incorporating heavier weights alongside your aerobic work, this might just be the ideal gym shoe for you.
The Nike Metcon 8 provides plenty of stability and support during heavy lifting. But I also found it was versatile enough to allow you to perform a more mixed set of exercises. In testing, its wide, thick heel provided a strong base for deadlifts and squats, giving the shoe a solid feel with plenty of protection.
The foam midsole gave a cushioned, springy base and the shoe’s rubber tread provided ample grip. Plus, the uppers are fairly light, creating a good balance between sturdiness, flexibility and responsiveness.
Like the mullet of men’s gym shoes, the Under Armour SlipSpeed is business in the front, party in the back. This innovative gym shoe switches effortlessly from beast mode to recovery comfort in the flick of its ‘crushable’ heel.
In training mode, the SlipSpeed is built to be a capable all-rounder, handling everything from moderate strength training to aerobic exercises and even short runs. In recovery mode, it’s designed to look sharp and deliver comfort for general kicking about. I felt overall the versatility of the SlipSpeed more than made up for a slight loss of heel security.
Our testers have been busy putting a large number of gym shoes through their paces over the past year. The shoes featured in this list are there because our testers deem them to be the very best options for a wide range of gym-based workouts.
A good gym shoe can enhance your workout experience significantly by providing the right support, comfort, and durability. Here are some key factors our testers considered when rating their best gym shoes.
When trying on gym shoes, it’s a good idea to walk around in them and possibly do a few movements similar to those you’d perform at the gym to ensure they feel right.
If your main goal at the gym is to pound the treadmill before maybe spending some time on the exercise mats, a classic running shoe will do the job. However, if your workouts extend beyond treadmill running, you’ll want to get more specific.
There are a few key differences between a gym shoe and a running shoe. Think about the type of action that a running shoe is made for: it supports forward-going, heel-to-toe movements, rather than lateral movement or upward propulsion. A higher heel-toe drop provides a running shoe with extra cushioning and shock absorption, protecting the runner’s joints and ligaments from injury.
Heel cushioning is particularly important, as is the use of lightweight mesh materials – a running shoe need to be light and breathable for those long, sweaty runs.
A gym shoe, however, is made with multidirectional and lateral movement in mind. Generally, it’ll have a lower heel-toe drop and a smaller cushion, which gives athletes a better range of motion. Typically, a wider toe box also helps to support quick directional changes.
Now you’re kitted out with some killer kicks, we’re sure you want to make them last as long as possible. While there is only so long a pair of gym shoes can last if you’re using them regularly, there are certain steps you can take to prolong their lifespan.
Firstly, to minimize the build-up of bacteria and odors, it’s always best to wear socks when exercising and to allow your shoes to dry out properly after sweaty sessions. We recommend leaving them outside in the sun to air dry, removing the insoles first if they are particularly damp. Steer clear of the radiator or tumble dryer: the heat can cause damage, warping and premature ageing.
Even with these precautions, it’s likely your shoes will need freshening up from time to time. However, you need to make sure you learn how to wash your gym shoes properly to avoid any damage (spoiler: don’t throw them in the washing machine).
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The post We put the best do-it-all gym shoes for 2025 to the test appeared first on Men's Fitness.
2025-02-05T12:00:26Z