Adidas The Total – Our Review

I’m not a competitive powerlifter.

I like squatting in heeled shoes.

I don’t understand how dedicated powerlifting shoes can help my bench press.

Needless to say, I’m probably not the target demographic for the The Total.

That being said, I came into my training with the shoes with an open mind. Maybe I would grow to appreciate completely flat/zero heel-drop squatting and deadlifting and could find some utility for wearing them while benching.

So far, so good (except for that last part, but then again, I leave the real powerlifting to the experts) and I think most would appreciate how this shoe feels during their heaviest sets.

I say “most” because as snug as the back and middle ends of the foot feels, the toe box has a reasonable-enough girth to support even the most staunch “I want to be able to wiggle my toes when lifting” crowd. Personally, I’m in the odd minority that prefers a more compact toe box, so I find The Total’s box to be a decent compromise…although some others might take issue with this.

If you can appreciate this kind of compromise…read on…

Squatting

When it comes to squatting, I’m really quite torn since for years now, I have almost exclusively squatted in my Olympic weightlifting shoes, especially at higher weights. However, there has been something about The Total that have given me some pause when thinking about my squatting footwear moving forward.

Right off the bat, let’s discuss the elephant in the corner: if you’re mainly into Olympic lifting and/or exclusively high bar squat, you should probably stick with elevated heel squatting. This heel creates the added leverage that you need (save for those with outstanding, God-given mobility) for these more upright squats.

I have squatted both high bar and (quasi) low bar and prefer the latter. I don’t quite position myself in the Starting Strength/Rippetoe, “point your nipples to the ground!” manner (which also is facilitated by additional heel leverage) so, in all reality, non-heeled shoes should work for me.

The thing is, you’re getting the real flat-soled lifting experience in these bad boys; I feel like my feet are literally touching the floor.

Unlike one of Adidas’ other powerlifting shoes, the Powerlift 5, there is no hard, elevated flat rubber bottom between your foot and the ground. With The Total, it’s just your foot, a small layer of rubber, and the ground.

…and for squatting, it ain’t bad.

I like the greater connection my foot has with the ground when squatting and find it a little easier to bend my knees to initiate the movement (which, I know, is controversial for some!) with my feet at the angle The Total promotes.

I still think I prefer more of a heel when squatting, but for those who are into barefoot-esque squatting, maybe give The Total a closer look.

Squatting Score: 80

Deadlifting

If you read what I wrote about my squatting preferences, it probably comes as no surprise that I’m not a yuge barefoot deadlifting kind of guy. The sheer panic I feel when I see someone deadlifting in socks…well…you do you, my man.

However, I’ve given deadlifting in my Oly lifting shoes a try on 3 or 4 occasions…and those were probably my last 3 or 4 occasions of lifting with 17mm+ heels.

These considerations in mind, I’d like to think that I’m a bit more open minded when it comes to my deadlift shoes, although, as things have turned out, I don’t really need an open mind to appreciate how The Total feel. These might be my new favorite shoes to deadlift in.

I think what I like about The Total as a deadlift shoe so much is that they have a bunch of hybrid qualities that come together ideally for my preferences. They are not quite as zero-heel as a deadlift slipper, but they’re pretty close. At the same time, they have a much more compact “shoe” feeling which I find much more preferable.

I know I’m an outlier with appreciating the not overly wide toe box, but the combination of an almost barefoot feeling with my toes compressed and, for a lack of a better term, “working as one”, makes my foot feel both stable and natural while the each lift feels more efficient.

All of this being said, if you’re used to deadlifting in any kind of heel (even smaller heels present on most CrossFit-style shoes) and in shoes with a wider toe box, The Total is going to feel very different and will take a few sessions to adjust to. I didn’t work up to my usual loads until the 4th session I lifted in them.

Overall, I have quickly come to appreciate deadlifting in The Total, even though I only perform between 6 and 10 dedicated sets of deadlifting each week. I’m sure I would appreciate them as a deadlifting shoe even more if I had a couple more dedicated sessions each week, but for the short amount of time each week that I actually (continue to) lift in them, I enjoy the experience.

Outside of the sub-population of heeled shoe enthusiasts, as well as those who desire dedicated ankle stability, I don’t think many could find fault with how The Total feel while deadlifting. The combination of the feet-to-ground connectivity with the ultra-compact body of most of the shoe around the feet really help facilitate each rep.

Deadlifting Score: 90

General Training

I don’t know how many people would purchase The Total for use as their multi-functional/general training shoe, yet alone as their primary gym shoe. If you’re thinking about this possibility…stop now. This ain’t what the shoe is for.

Is it possible to wear The Total around the gym, to run in, or even to perform CrossFit workouts in?

Sure…but no

For the vast majority of people, the totally zero-drop sole will not be comfortable navigating the gym floor in. Also, because of how compressed and compact the feet feel in each shoe, wearing The Total for an extended period of time isn’t recommended (I guess if you have a larger size than you would normally wear, you could handle wearing them longer…but that kinda kills the whole point of wearing/owning the shoe).

Additionally, there aren’t too many general training exercises that are exceptionally enhanced by what the The Total is putting out.

Now running…yeah…just don’t.

These are not shoes designed for any type of mileage. A “quick” 200-meter run during a CrossFit metcon? No good. Something longer (ex. a mile or longer) forget about it.

Now…speaking of CrossFit…there are some circumstances where The Total can work decently well. I’ve performed a few different bodyweight workouts in these (most notably Cindy and a deadlift/deficit handstand push-ups couplet) and I appreciate how much “lighter” I feel in comparison to my normal CrossFit shoes (usually my GORUCK Ballistic Trainers).

I would extend this to many movements where your feet are more or less “stationary” (with the exception of wall balls and thrusters where the complete lack of support makes these feel a bit wonky). So, for “bodyweight ninja” types of workout days, The Total can be a decent substitute, if not a “go-to” shoe.

…but for everything else in the domain of general training, look elsewhere.

As far as bench pressing goes, I don’t really find that much utility in sporting dedicated powerlifting shoes when I bench so I don’t really have much to add on how The Total has affected my bench press. I will say that they aren’t distracting to lift in by any means so you shouldn’t worry about them feeling weird and making you lose focus during a heavy attempt.

General Training Score: 70

Stability

For those looking for an all-encompassing, wrap your feet in heavily padded, ankle-stabilizing lifting shoes, The Total ain’t for you (if this is you, I’d advise looking for something like the Sabo Deadlift Pros or Sabo Heavy Duty shoes).

That being said, The Total do provide good lower-foot stability to the degree that I would say that they feel like the most stable lifting slippers (like, really stable).

Because of the way the shoes morph around the feet, I don’t experience much movement at all when squatting or deadlifting. This experience is accentuated by the foot-to-ground connection enhanced by the completely flat sole.

The thing is, for those unaccustomed to the feeling of all of the weight resting on their feet (as opposed to being absorbed by hard -ish rubber sole) when squatting, the shoes might actually feel less stable. Minimalist…anything can be a tough transition for everyone accustomed to “gliding” on heeled shoes for the majority of their lives.

As it is, for a low-topped lifting shoe that lacks any type of dedicated ankle support, The Total holds up pretty well. If you’re used to lifting in a more general-purpose shoe or a CrossFit shoe, the stability difference will be apparent.

Stability Score: 90

Construction & Materials

Adidas prides itself on producing shoes comprised of largely recycled materials. I don’t go out of my way to purchase such products, but I do think this is a commendable approach to product development, particularly when the end result is still a quality shoe.

As it is, I think the “recycled” product materials is pretty discernable with The Total as the shoe itself doesn’t exactly feel as though it’s constructed of the highest quality materials (which is somewhat ironic since Adidas’ Powerlift 5 shoes, also constructed of recycled materials, feel like much higher-quality shoes).

The textiled materials feel a bit “plastic-y”, although considering that they aren’t intended for extended use or all-day wear, I don’t find this to be that big of a deal. The lacing system works just fine and generally speaking, these are pretty easy to slip on and off and secure onto the foot.

I’m always of two minds about large velcro straps on lifting shoes because I feel like they’re often high risk/low reward plays. Yeah, they secure the shoe that last little bit (which, in many cases, could be accomplished with a more efficient lacing system), but if that strap gets stuck, caught, or does something else to break or tear, you’re pretty well screwed. The Total’s straps aren’t overly thick or resilient either so this is something to watch out for.

I’m also not a huge fan of how easily The Total scuffs. Sometime during my fourth wear, my right shoe obtained a large black scuff. I haven’t bothered to wipe it off yet and think it would be pretty easy to fix, but I find it a little frustrating that powerlifting shoes could be so fragile. I’ve trained in my also white Ballistic Trainers for months now and have yet to scuff them like this.

Maybe it was a fluke incident of bad luck, but knowing what I know about the materials, I don’t think this is the case.

Overall, I don’t have the highest opinion of The Total’s materials, but considering that I wear them for at most ~30-40 minutes, a few times per week, I can’t really complain.

Construction & Materials Score: 75

Price

On one hand, The Total shoes are somewhat surprisingly affordable. If you compare their usual Amazon price to popular CrossFit shoes or Olympic weightlifting shoes, you’ll be impressed by the price point.

On the other hand, there are a good number of really affordable powerlifting shoes (especially if you have giant-sized feet or wear kid-sized shoes).

Taking this information into consideration, The Total are still relatively inexpensive, especially if you can find your size on Amazon for sub-$90.

Price Score: 90

Customer Reviews

One thing consistent with The Total’s customer reviews is that they are generally good-to-very good. I’m not the only person who has a pretty high opinion of the shoes. However, there are some disparities that exist between the reviews The Total have received on Amazon and on the Adidas website.

On Adidas, 165 proud owners (or at least users) feel confident enough in the shoes to collectively assign them a total of 4.8 out of 5…pretty high praise for any product, yet alone something as niche as powerlifting shoes.

On Amazon, The Total receive pretty high praise, although the ratings are a bit lower. 125 owners have collectively assigned a score of 4.3 out of 5 for the shoes.

To be fair, in many cases, low Amazon reviews are the result of “slow shipping”, receiving the wrong product, or users being upset that they can “only” powerlift in the shoes…so…take those 1-star comments however you’d like!

Customer Reviews Score: 92

Customer Service

For better or worse (mostly better for me…but not so good for the purposes of this review), I have not ever had to contact Adidas or, more specifically, Adidas’ customer service department with any problems or questions. Because of this, I cannot speak to how effective (or ineffective) the company is in this department.

Customer Service Score: N/A

Who are the The Total Really For?

The market for powerlifting shoes isn’t nearly as big as the market for general training or even for CrossFit/functional fitness shoes. As such, you gotta dig even deeper to find The Total’s sweet spot.

Powerlifters Looking for Zero heel Drop Shoes

If you take the Chuck Taylor-wearing powerlifting population and convince them that they don’t really need the (very little) added stability of that shoe’s high top, you have almost the ideal demographic for The Total. If you like to deadlift and squat with as little heel elevation as possible and generally prefer a low-top shoe, congratulations, The Total is for you.

Lifters who Prefer to Deadlift with a Zero heel drop Shoe

This is the camp I personally fall into.

If you’re like me and:

• Prefer a completely flat heel for deadlifting
• Prefer an elevated heel for squatting
• Don’t mind owning two separate pairs of shoes to meet the two requirements above

Then you also fall into this camp!

At the end of the day, if you’ve already shelled out a few hundred bucks for Oly lifting shoes or squatting shoes, the extra ~$80-100 for The Total will be relatively less painful.

Not for Those Looking for “Do Everything” Shoes

I am constantly amazed by the sheer number of reviews that complain about The Total because they user found that they can “only really use them for powerlifting”. Either these people don’t understand the significance of “The Total” name or…yeah, I don’t know.

If you wanna deadlift, get these. If you wanna deadlift and do some CrossFit, get these and the Ballistic Trainers.

How we reviewed The Total

My current training regimen includes a few sessions of deadlifting and squatting each week as well as the odd CrossFit metcon thrown in that includes a deadlift or front squatting repetition scheme.

Additionally, after my initial experiences with testing them during bodyweight workouts, they have become staples during metcons where I am solely performing pull-ups, push-ups, air squats and related exercises.

The Total Alternatives

Powerlifting shoes are more popular than you might think. The same can be said about dedicated deadlifting shoes. If The Total don’t sound like they’re the shoes for you, check out some of their competitors:

Frequently Asked Questions

At this point, you’ve probably already made up your mind regarding how you feel about the The Total. If not, here’s a few more answers that may do the job for you:

Great for some. Good for most.

Adidas is one of those brands I’ve always associated with soccer, to a lesser degree football, and, to an even lesser degree, sports in general. The fact that they have multiple powerlifting shoe options, yet alone one at a reasonable price, somewhat blows my mind.

What’s even more mind blowing is that for a certain type of lifter, this shoe could be almost perfect.

Even if you’re not a “minimalist everything” kind of lifter, you’re likely in the (large) camp of lifters that appreciates little-to-no heel deadlifting. Although you won’t likely hit your “total” solely (ha!) wearing The Total, they’re a good bet for hitting a big number on the final lift of the meet.