About the shoes --
Dave76 wrties:
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O/T, I highly recommend the lifting shoes in the above link. FWIW, Rippetoe practically insists that people wear them in his gym. Not necessarily that particular brand, but that style of shoe (raised heel, hard sole) does wonders for the deadlift and squat.
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Link (scroll down)
More on Shoes (BB.com Rippetoe Questions Thread)
FWIW, these felt much, much better than the running shoes I wore before for both the squat and press. I haven't tried deadlifting in them yet.