Dead Lift

I have arches, but they are terribly weak, thus the problem...  I have to have something in there to keep them up, or I won't be able to walk for a while...

I have used swimming shoes before.

Booyah.  Socks ftw.

DL is AWAYS good for any sport. I say it's Def. good for
HG, as well. I'm not going to say so much about why you
should or should not do it, or what to wear when you do.
There's plenty of comments
already on that you can find. Instead, I'll suggest a few
things that
may help you not hurt so much from them. Getting older
typically means that heavy leg day only comes once a week
or you start over-training and DL is out the door because
it leaves your back screaming at work. Try these;

Sumo-style DL:
   It takes a lot of pressure off the lower back compared
to a conventional pull. Try it first with a blind-fold.
Keep your eyes open so that you don't pass out (weird
thing the human body does)bump your shins into the bar at
a wide stance and let your arms hang loosely. Sit into a
"chair" with good monkey-butt form and grab the bar
wherever your hands naturally hit on the descent. Squeeze
your cheeks together and pull the bar through your shins
at an angle. Think of pushing your heels through the
floor more than pulling the bar up.

Fewer Reps:
   Contrary to popular belief you don't need to do a lot
of reps to get better at DL. Take a few warm up sets to
get your blood moving and loosen up then take 2-3 working
sets of 1-3 reps at a heavy weight. That's it. No more DL
till your next Back workout.

Also, try backing off a little bit and do some back
extensions to help strengthen your lower back. Hope
everything works out well for you.

GOOD LUCK

I like the aqua socks because of the grip they provide.  I like the way the VFF's look but I have weird feet. If I am not mistaken don't the VFF's still have arch support.  If so I can't wear them.  I like CT's going to get a pair just b/c they are cool and you can custom make them on the Converse web site.

But for the time being it's going to remain socks.  Might switch back to aqua socks since it's that time of the year you can pick'em up pretty much anywhere.