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Pretty much every sport, from basketball to golf, has its own line of shoes to meet an athlete's needs. If you’re running a marathon, it’s easy to find a sneaker designed to shave seconds off your time (with picks from top brands like Nike, On, Brooks, HOKA, New Balance, Saucony, and Asics). But what do you wear when you just want to hit the gym? Gym-goers aren't an exception to that rule. From the best weightlifting shoes to cross-training shoes, there's something for every modality: CrossFit, Olympic lifting, and high-intensity interval training.
As a long-time sneaker writer, I’ve had the chance to try out hundreds of different shoes at the gym, and I’ve put every kind of sneaker you can imagine through its paces—deadlifting in Converse All Stars, squatting in Air Jordans, and lifting weights in practically every wide-ranging training shoe on the market.
But my favorite gym shoe isn't the fanciest. It's the Reebok Nano X4, a simple, versatile cross-trainer released earlier this year. Breathable, durable, and tailored for a variety of common exercises, it’s the desert-island shoe that’s become my go-to choice for every workout. And at less than a hundred bucks right now, it’s also an absolute steal.
Reebok Nano X4 in Pure Grey 3 $99 Was ($140) at Reebok
Reebok Nano X4 Training Shoes
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The Nano traces its origins back to a partnership between Reebok and CrossFit in the early 2010s. The idea was to create a shoe that could be both level enough to provide support during heavy lifts and dynamic enough to offer speed and acceleration during high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
Running shoes tend to be really bouncy as a result of the cushioning along the sole and heel, which isn’t ideal for moving weight. The Nanos were made to be more adaptable, and with X4, the latest iteration, that philosophy of universal function feels like it’s been perfected. You don’t need to be doing CrossFit to get the benefit, either: These are ideal for any kind of training or functional fitness, especially HIIT classes like Barry’s Bootcamp or HYROX.
Reebok Nano X4 Training Shoes
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One of the best things about the Nano is how simple it is. When the shoe came out back in January, its launch campaign featured an ad mocking other training sneakers for their much-touted add-ons and bonus features, the implication being that other shoes are jammed with unnecessary junk.
And the Nano, by contrast, really does feel smartly streamlined. It's incredibly light, weighing only 12 ounces (i.e., three-fourths of a pound), and the silhouette has a spartan, stripped-back minimalism that’s also very pleasing aesthetically. It’s exactly what you want in a best-in-class, all-around sneaker, one that you can bust out and rely on in any situation. specialty necessary—just a successful day at the gym.
Act fast before the sale ends, with on-sale colorways including Ash, Black/Cyan/Laser Pink, Blue Slate, Dynamic Red, White/Black/Reebok Rubber Gum, Hyper Green/Black/Vector Red, and Pure Grey 6/Black/Orange Flare.
Related: We Tested Dozens of Trail Running Shoes. These Are the Best for Rocky, Uneven Terrain
