Generally, you don’t mess with success. And Nike is aware of it too.
Final yr, Nike launched the Metcon 5, an ultra-well-rounded coaching shoe that was my favourite coaching shoe from Nike to this point. It delivered all the pieces I wanted in a coaching shoe, from a super-stable platform for squatting, deadlifting, and cleansing to only sufficient flexibility within the mid- and forefoot areas to permit me to dash and field leap solidly. Little thrives helped me carry out in different areas, delivering a grippy rope climbing expertise, and the tight match I want so as to add only a little bit of slicing and change-of-direction work into my exercises. It shortly grew to become my go-to sneaker for each non-running exercise.
So how does Nike comply with all of that? Reply: With the Nike Metcon 6, a sneaker that builds on final yr’s design in solely the neatest of the way. Which means refined modifications, not huge ones. However the finish result’s a superior coaching sneaker—and my new favourite coaching shoe to this point.
The Metcon 6 Breathes Higher
If there was a difficulty with final yr’s Metcon, it was a breathability story. That is one thing I’ve realized all through the early summer time. Due to the pandemic, I’ve been coaching at residence since March—typically exterior. And round Might and June, when it began getting sweltering exterior, my ft actually felt that sweltering.
Nike Metcon 6 Coaching Sneakers Nike Metcon 6 Coaching Sneakers $130 at Nike
I’d head out for a leg exercise in my Metcon 5s, and in a matter of minutes, I’d really feel my ft overheating. I truly liked final yr’s Metcon aesthetic, with the 3D haptic print, nevertheless it left little room for air to achieve my ft. For the reason that Metcon 6s arrived, that downside’s been fully eradicated.
The Metcon 6 options an higher full of tiny holes and perforations, by no means massive sufficient to compromise match and lockdown, but sufficiently big that they’re clearly seen. These play a key position in conserving you cool, leaving loads of room for air to vent. Since donning the Metcon 6s, I’ve seen an incredible distinction. Each few units within the Metcon 5s, within the warmth of summer time, I’d take off my sneakers briefly, or unlace them to “breathe.” I’ve but to do this within the Metcon 6s.
The Exterior Feels Louder
Nike additionally delivers a splash of colour onto the Metcon 6s. I truly liked the muted, two-tone look of final yr’s Metcons; one thing about them felt completely no-nonsense, good for a critical, centered exercise.
However that doesn’t preserve Nike from being bolder this yr. So the Nike examine stands out in a lemon-ish inexperienced this yr, and there’s a vivid camo vibe to the complete package deal. Nothing about these sneakers feels refined, which might be why practically each time I don them on Instagram, I get a DM or remark in regards to the look.
As a lot as I preferred final yr’s look, I really like this really feel extra. It’s enjoyable to put on loud, assertion coaching sneakers, and these are precisely that. They’ll draw a little bit of consideration. The draw back is these Metcons are a bit tougher to match. Final yr’s most-black colorway match with practically each coaching ensemble recognized to man. This yr, that’s now not the case.
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Lifting and Operating Each Thrive
Nike doesn’t change a lot of the core expertise, even returning final yr’s glorious heel wedges. That’s shortly made this my go-to sneaker for my entrance squat and deadlift exercises. You get a strong, steady platform for all these lifts. The gum sole colour can also be super-underrated and can assist you if you happen to take a whole lot of your individual coaching movies. Final yr, if my heel began elevating off the bottom as I did a squat, the shoe was so equally coloured to most gymnasium surfaces I didn’t discover. Now, I can inform when my squat kind is shaky and my again heel is lifting off the bottom.
There’s an excellent sense of contact with the bottom within the Metcon 6s, and this aids you in each single elevate, from bench presses to rows. Your entire foot feels grounded with intent, permitting you to higher give attention to sustaining a good core and squeezing your glutes on actions the place you would possibly neglect.
The forefoot flexibility turns out to be useful although, and never simply throughout runs. Workouts like sissy squats and heel-elevated squats, the place the forefoot and midfoot parts of the shoe should bend, really feel good, by no means restricted by the footwear. Nike delivers a novel mixture of mobility and stability in its shoe, and also you’ll like it.
This high quality additionally interprets to runs within the Metcon 6. This nonetheless isn’t going to be your principal working coaching shoe—and it’s actually not meant for that. However after I’ve achieved alternating EMOMs of, say, 20 kettlebell swings and a 100-meter sprint on an Assault Health treadmill, the Metcon 6s maintain up simply advantageous, and so they give me sufficient freedom of motion for me to select up pace.
All of it provides as much as Nike’s greatest coaching shoe but, and the very best coaching shoe available on the market. Nike knew higher than to mess with success this yr.
It simply saved constructing on that success in sensible methods.
Nike Metcon 6 Coaching Sneakers Nike Metcon 6 Coaching Sneakers $130 at Nike