As a fitness editor, I thought I knew what I liked in a gym shoe — but after using the VivoBarefoot Motus Strength II for one month, I’m not sure I’m ever going back

I thought I knew what I liked in the best gym shoes. As someone who tests fitness kit for a living, I really liked shoes like Under Armour’s Tribase Reign or Adidas‘ Dropset Control series, both of which helped lock my feet down during big lifts such as squats and deadlifts, and have enough cushion and grip to support high-impact exercises like plyometric jumps. This sort of shoe, along with my trusty quiver of the best running shoes, have supported me throughout my training (which I document now and again as part of our regular Fit List series).

But I recently had the opportunity to test the VivoBarefoot Motus Strength II shoe, which is very different from those mentioned above. If you’re not familiar, barefoot shoes are effectively made with your foot’s natural movement in mind: they tend to be thin, zero-drop, flexible shoes designed to keep your feet as close to the ground as possible, with wide toe boxes to promote spreading feet.