LANE EIGHT HIIT Trainer Review: The Training Shoe I’m Re-Buying Despite the Rowing Flaw

I’m Replacing These Before They’re Even Dead

I’m retiring a pair of shoes I loved, and I already clicked buy on the replacement. That’s the weird part. The ASICS Gel-Cumulus 23 got worn down by one machine in my gym, and instead of swearing them off, I’m buying the exact same pair again 0:00.

Here’s my context, because it matters. I’m a class person. I move between gyms every few years, I’ve done Olympic lifting, OrangeTheory, CrossFit, and I’m at Lifetime now living in the group fitness room. My week is HIIT, weights, treadmill intervals, and rowing intervals, sometimes all in the same 50-minute block 0:26. A shoe that only does one of those things is useless to me. These did almost all of it.

What the Gel-Cumulus 23 Is Built For

This is a cushioned running shoe I pressed into cross-training duty, and the cushioning is the whole point. ASICS built the Gel-Cumulus line for road runs, but the padding underfoot is exactly what makes them survive a HIIT class where you’re jumping, pivoting, and dropping into squats on a hard floor.

The comfort level was high enough that I never reached for aftermarket insoles, and if you’ve ever owned a pair of trainers that fought your arches by week two, you know how rare that comfort is. Sizing ran true for me. I ordered my normal size and they fit out of the box with no break-in drama 1:19. No heel slip, no toe cramming, no “give it a week and they’ll loosen up” gamble.

Treadmill, Weight Floor, HIIT: One Shoe Did It All

The standout was how little I thought about them mid-workout, which is the highest compliment I give gear. I’d run treadmill intervals, step off, walk straight to the rack, and load up without changing shoes or feeling like I was lifting in marshmallows.

That transition is where a lot of cross-trainers fall apart. Either they’re so soft you feel unstable under a barbell, or they’re so flat your feet ache on the treadmill. These split the difference better than anything else I’d tried. Under moderate lifting they felt planted, not squishy, and on the treadmill the cushioning carried me through intervals without my knees filing a complaint by Friday.

The support is what sets these apart, the slightly more substantial build made them work as a true do-everything shoe instead of a one-trick runner. I went in expecting a “lighter is better” situation and got the opposite. More shoe underneath me turned out to be the feature, not a compromise.

Rowing Straps Peeled the Sole Apart

The rowing machine killed them, full stop. Not the running, not the lifting, not the jumping. The foot straps on the rower 2:01.

Here’s what happened. When you strap into a rowing machine, that tension band sits across the ball of your foot and pulls hard every single stroke. Over months of rowing intervals, that constant strap pressure worked its way into the front of the shoe and started separating the sole from the upper. It wasn’t a fluke or a defect. It was repetitive stress in one very specific spot, the exact spot the strap clamps down on.

And it’s the kind of damage you don’t notice until it’s already happening. One day I looked down between rounds and the toe of the sole was visibly peeling away. That’s the drawback that retired them. If your gym programming leans heavy on the rower, this is the thing the product page will never tell you, and the thing I’d want a fellow class junkie to warn me about. It’s not a deal-breaker for me because I can swap shoes on rowing-heavy days. For someone who lives on the erg, it would be.

Worth knowing: the cushioning and support that make these great for jumping and lifting are also softer materials up front, which is probably why they gave way under the strap. The trade-off that makes them comfortable is the same trade-off that makes them vulnerable on the rower. You don’t get one without the other.

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ASICS Gel-Cumulus 23

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Who Should Lace These Up

If your workouts look like mine, these are a strong pick. HIIT, bootcamp-style classes, moderate lifting, treadmill intervals, and the kind of week where you’re doing three of those things back to back. That’s the sweet spot.

They’re also a good call if you’ve been frustrated by trainers that don’t cushion enough. The padding here meant my feet weren’t wrecked after a long class, and I never had to play the insole-swapping game. For the perimenopause crowd dealing with feet that feel less forgiving than they did at 30, that support matters more than it used to.

The one group I’d steer elsewhere: dedicated rowers, and anyone whose programming puts them on the erg several times a week. The strap issue is real and it’s going to find you eventually. Keep these for everything else and own a second pair for rowing days.

Why These Beat the Lighter Trainers I Tried

I came to these after striking out on lighter trainers 0:41. The pitch was always speed and agility, and every time I bought it, I’d be ten minutes into a jump-squat circuit wishing there was more between my feet and the floor.

The lighter alternatives felt fast for about ten minutes, then I’d notice my feet getting beaten up on the harder movements. Less cushion, less support, more “I can feel every floor in this building.” The Gel-Cumulus 23 went the other direction. More structure, more padding, and a planted feel that held up across a whole varied workout instead of just the running portion.

The trade-off is enough to name: a minimalist trainer will feel quicker and more connected to the floor for fast footwork and box jumps, and some people prefer that. If your priority is ground feel over cushioning, a lighter shoe wins. For me, comfort across a long mixed session beat that, every time.

What I’d Tell You Before Buying

Order your true size and don’t overthink it. Mine fit right out of the box with zero break-in, so resist the urge to size up or down based on past ASICS or other brands.

If rowing is even a small part of your week, plan for a second shoe from day one. Don’t make the mistake I made of letting these become my only gym shoe and then watching the rower slowly destroy them. Keep these for HIIT, weights, and treadmill, and rotate to something else for rowing intervals. Two pairs sounds like overkill until you’ve split a sole open mid-class.

And the bottom line that surprised even me: I’m buying them again despite the flaw 2:54. When a shoe is that comfortable and that capable for the 90% of my training that isn’t rowing, one fixable workaround doesn’t outweigh it. You can grab the current pair here and check today’s price.

Pros

• Cushioned enough for HIIT and treadmill without aftermarket insoles
• Planted, stable feel under moderate lifting
• Seamless transition from treadmill to weight floor in one workout
• True-to-size fit with no break-in period
• More supportive than the “lighter” trainers I tried first

Cons

• Rowing machine foot straps separated the sole from the upper over time
• Front of the shoe is the weak point under repetitive strap pressure
• Standard width with no wide-toe-box option
• A running shoe at heart, not purpose-built for cross-training abuse

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 23 good for lifting weights?

Yes for moderate lifting. They felt planted and stable under the barbell, not squishy like a lot of cushioned runners. For maxing out heavy or competitive powerlifting you’d want a flatter, firmer lifting shoe, but for class-style and general strength work they held up well.

Do the Gel-Cumulus 23 run true to size?

True to size in my experience. I ordered my normal size and they fit right out of the box with no heel slip and no break-in. Don’t size up or down unless you already do that across every brand.

Why do the soles separate on the rowing machine?

The rower’s foot strap clamps across the ball of your foot and pulls hard every stroke. Over months that repetitive pressure worked into the front of my shoe and started peeling the sole from the upper. It’s stress in one specific spot, not a manufacturing defect.

Can I use these as my only gym shoe?

Only if you barely row. For HIIT, weights, and treadmill they can absolutely be your one shoe. If your week includes regular rowing intervals, keep a second pair for those days so the straps don’t shorten the life of these.

Are these better for cross-training or distance running?

They’re a running shoe I successfully used for cross-training. If you mostly run distance, that’s their home turf. If you want one shoe for mixed gym work, they handle it well outside of rowing, which is exactly why I keep buying them.

Do they have a wide-toe-box version?

I wore the standard width and didn’t find a roomier toe box option. If you need extra forefoot space, check the listing for width variants before ordering, since the standard fit is fairly typical, not generous.

How long did a pair last before retiring?

The rowing strap damage is what retired them, the sole was still intact everywhere else. If your week skips the erg entirely, I’d expect meaningfully more mileage out of them; the non-rowing wear after all those HIIT and lifting sessions was unremarkable.

Do I need aftermarket insoles with these?

No, I never added any. The stock cushioning was comfortable enough through long classes that I didn’t reach for replacement insoles, which is a real money and hassle saver if you’re used to upgrading every pair.

Get it now

ASICS Gel-Cumulus 23

Get the best price on Amazon →

This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.