Adidas The Total vs Powerlift 5 – Our Review

If you’re like most people, I’m going to assume the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word Adidas is…”soccer”.

I’m sure there are others who associate the word with, like, “general fitness” or something.

…and of course, there are those who associate it with this…non-sports or fitness-related cult classic by Korn:

That oddity aside, I’m willing to bet that “powerlifting” isn’t one of the first things you associate with the brand. However, as fate would have it, today we have a showdown between a couple of Adidas’ speciality powerlifting shoes.

The Total and the Powerlift 5

Neither of these shoes are the top of the line options for serious powerlifting competitors, but for reasonably low-priced shoes, each is a solid option and each shoe has characteristics that make it ideal for a certain type of lifter.

Adidas The Total vs Powerlift 5

Despite being one of the most recognizable sports apparel brands in the world, Adidas has a bit of a problem with its naming processes. This is especially apparent with the Powerlift…emphasis on the word Powerlift…5.

The company’s marketers describe the shoe as “Versatile weightlifting shoes made in part with recycled materials. Whatever you’re lifting, these Adidas weightlifting shoes ensure you do it in comfort. Lightweight but tough, their canvas upper includes open-mesh inserts for added breathability. A combination of strap and laces secures the midfoot, and a midsole wedge adds rock-solid stability under heavy loads. Underneath, a rubber outsole grips the mat to keep you planted.”

…so…are they a powerlifting shoe or are they a weightlifting shoe?

I would argue that they’re actually pretty adept at both. They also represent the “raised heel” entry in this match-up.

Meanwhile, The Total is a bit more straightforward with its marketing…right?

“Zero heel raise weightlifting shoes made in part with recycled materials. Inspired by gym culture. Ideal for deadlifting. The zero heel raise on these adidas The Total weightlifting shoes helps create the perfect low-to-the-ground stance favored by many deadlifters. The wide toe box also contributes to helping you find a stable stance. Displaying gym-inspired design details, the durable textile upper uses a strap and laces to keep you firmly locked in.”

Now, this is rich. I would not recommend cleaning or snatching in The Total…although they are pretty solid shoes for deadlifting.

Thankfully, we’ll clear up the confusion the Adidas marketing crew (maybe they are the members of Korn?) created by discussing the exact purposes of these shoes and the exact activities each shoe excels at.

Those (confusing) intros aside…

Squatting

Truth be told, the title of squatting shoe supremacy (nice alliteration!) between The Total and the Powerlift 5 shoes is largely determined by personal preference:

Do you like squatting in a heeled shoe or in an (almost) completely flat-soled shoe?

If you’re the former (I fall into this camp), the obvious choice is the Powerlift 5. The 16 millimeter, hard rubber elevated heel creates a very favorable platform for squatting.

Additionally, because the heel is completely distinct from the remainder of the shoe, I am able to experience more of that “foot-to-ground” connection…even though there is a large layer of rubber between the two. In many heeled shoes, this feeling is distorted and I only really feel like my foot is wedged against the heel below it.

In contrast, The Total are much more appealing to lifters who are accustomed to the (almost) completely flat/no-sole feel of something like a Chuck Taylor. There is no elevated heel and the feet feel much more connected with the ground throughout each lift.

I understand that this is a more “natural” way to squat and is preferred by a large selection of lifters. However, I almost always prefer the additional leverage that an elevated heel provides when performing any type of squat. Because of this, I don’t rate The Total nearly as high as I rate the Powerlift 5 shoes for this category.

With that being said, I do appreciate the ground-to-foot connection, which is very strong, in The Total. This allows me to essentially “push through” the floor as I squat, making each lift feel stronger and more stable.

Ultimately, though, I have my preferences and a shoe would have to put on a very hard sell for me to prefer to squat in a non-heeled shoe to a heeled one. As such, there really is no contest for me as to which of the two win this match-up. If you prefer a flat heel…you’d probably call this match-up very differently…

Winner: Powerlift 5

Deadlifting

As you might expect, a big determining factor to the shoe that wins this matchup is the preference for (or against) heeled deadlifting shoes. I know that the segment of the lifting population that is in favor of elevated deadlifting is lower (and likely much lower) than the population opposed to it, but these camps, nonetheless, exist.

Before diving into more specific characteristics or factors, I will confidently say that if you prefer a flat heel with limited heel drop for deadlifting, The Total are going to be the better shoe for you. In contrast, if you’re in favor of heeled deadlifting, the Powerlift 5 are the shoes for you (at least in this particular category).

Getting beyond this rather obvious distinction, both shoes present their own unique advantages within their respective groupings that set them apart from other deadlifting shoes.

The Total do not try to trick you into thinking that they are an overly-supportive, all-encompassing deadlift shoe in the mold of something like Sabo Deadlift Pros or Sabo Heavy Deadlift shoes. Being low-top shoes, they (obviously) do not provide any support for the ankle and upper portions of the foot.

Besides this fact (which, like the heeled/non-heeled debate, often is more of a personal preference type of quality), The Total do a good job of blending a supportive fit that promotes the stabilization of each foot during the lifting process. This is accomplished by the medium-width toe box which is neither overly narrow or so wide that the toes feel as though they are dangling and uninvolved.

At the same time, the almost slipper-like feeling, particularly in regards to how the shoe’s outer sole feels, creates more of the barefoot lifting experience favored by lifters everywhere.

In contrast, the Powerlift 5s elevated platform creates a lifting experience that is more “disconnected”. I find it harder to “push through” the ground when deadlifting, even with the lower-than-standard (by weightlifting shoe terms)16mm heel.

The Powerlift’s more robust materials are more supportive around the lower foot, providing stability to this region that is oftentimes lacking in more minimalist or minimalist-feeling lifting shoes. However, this is not a region where stability is most needed when deadlifting, making this a “nice”, but not overly necessary quality.

As we have mentioned multiple times now, your ultimate winner will be determined by what you personally look for in a deadlifting experience. With that being said, The Total are still probably better deadlifting shoes for lifters who specifically prefer non-elevated lifting than the Powerlift 5s are for those who specifically prefer heeled lifting.

Winner: The Total

Construction & Materials

You know how we played that little “word association” game earlier? Well, one of the phrases I’m almost positive would not have come to your mind when thinking about the word “Adidas”, is “environmentally friendly”.

Jokes on you!

I’m not exactly sure when Adidas began to heavily prioritize its sustainability practices, but judging by how their shoes are now marketed and branded, you could say…well…

Interestingly enough, despite both pairs of shoes containing significant amounts of recycled materials, the Powerlift 5’s materials feel like much higher quality materials than The Total’s.

With that being said, neither shoe feels like it is the highest quality (you really shouldn’t expect too much from a sub-$100 shoe, yet alone a sub-$100 specialty lifting shoe) and you’re not going to confuse either of these shoes for some of their more expensive brethren.

However, the Powerlift 5s do feel to be a bit more “quality” than The Totals do. Maybe this is because they have a bit more cushioning in the interior of the shoe, making them feel a bit more robust. The Totals don’t necessarily feel “bad”, but they do feel a bit more “basic” in their general construction than the Powerlift 5s.

Winner: Powerlift 5

Price

Both of Adidas’ powerlifting shoe offerings make the rounds, showing up on a number of different fitness shoe and apparel websites. In some rare cases, going to the “source” i.e. the Adidas main website, will be your best bet on pricing. However, in most cases, going with other well-known options makes more sense.

Depending on where you do your shopping, your shoe size, and color preferences, The Total and the Powerlift 5s are going to run you about the same price, all things evened out.

As you might expect, the more bland color options are normally the most…”cost-effective” options.

Winner: Tie

Customer Reviews

As evenly matched as the two Adidas “powerlifting” offerings have been so far, their customer review scores are equally tight.

Looking at a combination of scores from the official Adidas website and from Amazon, The Total are currently sporting an impressive ~4.54/5 out of a little over 300 reviews.

Meanwhile, the more popular (over 500 total review between Amazon and Addidas.com) Powerlift 5s are currently boasting a ~4.64/5 cumulative score.

Nobody would say that the Powerlifts’ score represents a resounding “victory” in this area and both scores would have secured an “A” on their respective tests. However, the higher overall cumulative score (not to mention that it was attained with a much larger sample size) gives this to the Powerlift 5s.

Winner: Powerlift 5

Overall Winner

According to our metrics, the Powerlift 5 is the winner.

However, despite winning objective areas like cumulative customer review score, how you would decide between these two would almost certainly be largely dependent on which lifts you would intend to use them for and how you prefer to perform these lifts.

A shoe that scores .1 points lower than the other isn’t going to bother a lifter as much as a raised heel would…assuming that they prefer to deadlift barefoot.

With these shoes being very similar in most respects, particularly in price and reputation, I strongly suggest simply picking the “winning” shoe that best matches your squatting and deadlifting preferences.

Our Testing Process

We understand how important it is to get a sufficient amount of time “with shoe” as well as “in shoe” in order to develop more accurate assessments of the lifting shoes we test. In this case, I used these for a multitude of powerlifting, Olympic lifting (mainly the Powerlifts), as well as relevant CrossFit workouts/metcons.

In addition to personal use, we have scoured the Internet to find out everything that has been written about these shoes as well as the statistical information that has been compiled about them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Just a few more for those in the back!

Adidas’ “Powerlifting” Shoes…

I might be alone in my continued confusion over Adidas’ whole naming and marketing deal when it comes to the Powerlift 5s

These are more like weightlifting shoes in my opinion; why does everyone, to include the Adidas marketing team, think this way except for whoever named them?!

That frustration aside, it’s cool that the company has multiple budget-friendly shoe offerings for those who are interested in taking their training shoes to a more “specialized” level.

Don’t expect miracles from either of these, but if you’re an intermediate lifter, I think you’ll get a bit of utility out of these. If you’re a beginner and have only been lifting in your old New Balances or Crocs or something…well…maybe you will experience a miracle or two during your first max out…